TGC studio version really sucks IMO. It was ment to bring the album to a climax, and it just didn't work. Horrible track. But live, thats a different story.

Yeah, it owns live.

Dirge for November is one of my favorite Opeth songs.

[QUOTE=pate]Dirge for November is one of my favorite Opeth songs.[/QUOTE]

I used to love it loads but it's gradually declined in my liking. I love the whole atmosphere of the song and the outro is so cool.

Ok, not in a derogative or provocative way, can somebody explain to me what makes this band so highly regarded ?

I just do not find anything interesting about Opeth; I find it to be drawn out and actually physically draining to listen to in the sense that I just cant stand it, it really really grates me.

I know this is subjective, but if anyone could chuck in what makes them so great, i'll listen to them with some more things in mind.

I'd have to second that...

Its not that I despise them, i just don't understand the appeal I suppose. I've tried getting into them four separate times now, but to no avail

Outstanding drumming and bass playing, interesting, original riffs, great vocals, and contrast between light and shade.

[QUOTE=pate]Outstanding drumming and bass playing, interesting, original riffs, great vocals, and contrast between light and shade.[/QUOTE]

That and the huge amount of emotion that I sense in the bands music.

[QUOTE=JamJar][B]I personally prefer Dirge Of November to TGC.[/B] Overall I think BWP is better than GR purely because of the first four tracks. But in all, I think that Still Life is the Opeth masterpiece. Everything about the album is so perfect.[/QUOTE]
I totally agree. Dirge for November is so incredibly dark and awesome, while The Grand Conjuration just drags on for way too long. They play the main riff way too much on that track. The intro riff for that song is awesome, though.

[QUOTE=pate]Outstanding drumming and bass playing, interesting, original riffs, great vocals, and contrast between light and shade.[/QUOTE]

Plenty of bands use this 'light and shade' [and in my opinion, to much much better effect]

I find the drumming rather bland and pale; it doesn't seem to jump out and grab me in any way.

I find his growls to be rather lacklustre, same for his riffs.

It's all subjective, as I say, so to that end, I find the points you stated to be the opposite to my thoughts.

[QUOTE=Squirrel]Ok, not in a derogative or provocative way, can somebody explain to me what makes this band so highly regarded ?

I just do not find anything interesting about Opeth; I find it to be drawn out and actually physically draining to listen to in the sense that I just cant stand it, it really really grates me.

I know this is subjective, but if anyone could chuck in what makes them so great, i'll listen to them with some more things in mind.[/QUOTE]

It's hard to say exactly what makes Opeth so great for me. I think what first drew me in (back when I was first starting to get into heavier music) were the vocals. At the time the switches between growling and clean singing were totally foreign to me and it got me hooked. Now it's not so much something totally different from other stuff I listen to, it's just that I still love both Mikael's clean singing and his harsh vocals.

I also really like the way the songs are constructed. Take The Drapery Falls for instance. That short little tension-building intro, then the opening heavy section, the soft first verses... it all flows perfectly for me. I think Mike uses dissonant intervals extremely well, without becoming abrasive in texture.

And on the Dirge For November vs. TGC: I love TGC and Dirge is my least favorite post-Still Life track. The middle section of TGC makes it for me. That part where it cuts out and then swells into a scream... ownage.

I can see the attraction of their use of tension and feel in songs; i'll give them that, they seem very good at writing songs more than just growl/clean etc, more the use of such things in a way that creates and atmosphere.

Opeth is inexplicably epic and beautiful music. Saying they combine heavy/soft is lame, because every other metal band and his mother does that.

The only other thing is that his vocals are amazing.

[QUOTE=Shadius]Considering Blackwater Park has The Funeral Portrait and Dirge For November which has some hugely boring parts in it, Ghost Reveries is definately up there with it as an album. The worst part of Ghost Reveries is TGC, which is better than both of those songs.

Still Life beats Ghost Reveries though. Regardless... My Arms Your Hearse is a better album than Blackwater Park, probably. Even though Blackwater Park has some awesome songs.[/QUOTE]
MAYH is better than BWP, that's true. I just took two albums as examples.

I really like Ghost Reveries. :)

I really like it aswell, it's just that Opeth have at least four albums which are better than it IMO.

I really love the contrast and atmosphere that Opeth creates. Also, I love how they use dissonances and rhythmic variation to make the music heavy rather than downtuning and going "chug chug chug"...

I also really like the vocals...

[QUOTE=Hope Eternal]MAYH is better than BWP, that's true. I just took two albums as examples.[/QUOTE]
Do I detect blasphemy in here? I think so! :thumb: Blackwater Park is much better, but I've really become partial to MAYH lately.

I can understand if you like it for its incredibly dark and gloomy atmosphere, but BWP just has flat out better songwriting.

i still have trouble listening to MAYH. i can't seem to concentrate on each song individually or through the album as a whole. same with orchid actually, but i really want to get into MAYH like i have with BWP and Deliverence.

I love MAYH, but it does have a couple of tracks that arent utterly amazing. In particular, I cant really get into Karma the same as Demon of the Fall or April Ethereal. Ive just bought Still Life and Deliverence, although Ive only listened to the former so far and just the once. On first impression, I thought Serenity Painted Death was a great song (I love the pinch harmonics and the evil sounding chorus). What does everyone else think of it?

^It's my favourite song on Still Life. I love it for pretty much the same reason that you liked it on the first listen. Great song.

[QUOTE=Thor]Do I detect blasphemy in here? I think so! :thumb: Blackwater Park is much better, but I've really become partial to MAYH lately.

I can understand if you like it for its incredibly dark and gloomy atmosphere, but BWP just has flat out better songwriting.[/QUOTE]
BWP is a better album in terms of production, songwriting etc. It's the atmosphere that does MAYH for me.

@VomitStainedCretin: [I]Serenity Painted Death[/I] is one of my favourite songs of all time.

Im just wondering something. As I mentioned, Ive just bought Deliverence(₤5) and Still Life (₤6), but Blackwater Park was just a tad more expensive (₤7) which is why I chose not to get it. Should I have bought it instead of either of the albums I got?

Serenity Painted Death \M/! That pinch harmonic riff is awesome.

WHITE FACE, HAGGARD GRIN AND THE SERENITY PAINTED DEATH! :evil:

All of those albums are incredibly good, but personally I like [I]Blackwater Park[/I] more than [I]Deliverance[/I]. I think [I]Still Life[/I] and [I]Blackwater Park[/I] are the two favourite albums for most.

Deliverence was just going incredibly cheaply and Im a sucker for bargains. Plus, I liked the title track when Id previously heard it, although its not amazing the whole way through - it has parts to it which dont really work that well together.

i need to listen to Still life a lot more too really pass my judgement on it or any of the songs. i've listened enough to know its a good album, but i still haven't got a good picture of all the songs in my head yet. except The Moor.

For me [I]Still Life[/I] is their best, but I know alot of people like BWP more.

Still Life reigns supreme. BWP and Morningrise are its right/left hand men, though.

For me it's BWP reign supreme, with SL and MAYH as its right/left hand men.

Righty and Lefty are BWP and MAYH.

So I've just realised how much Wreath owns. I used to never like that song that much, but I've just listened to it now and it owns so much.

Good for you! :thumb:

I think I really like Still Life.

I still don't understand you haters, Ghost Reveries is awesome. In terms of being good metal, it sucks, but in being prog and having great songwriting it owns.

Metal Opeth >>>>>>>>>> Their prog stuff.

I completely disagree. Almost everything that I find interesting about them completely lies in their prog/genre crossing type stuff.

Pre-GR Opeth > GR Opeth

:)

I hate progressive when mixed with metal normally though. It ruins it for me. I highly prefer stuff like Orchid now.

I think their songwriting started getting good on MAYH, got significantly better on Still Life, stayed solid with better vocals on BWP and the songwriting is nearly perfect on GR.

Orchid and Morningrise are good but as a band they weren't very strong in my opinion. Very emotional and great content, but wasn't carried out as well as the new stuff, in other words amateur.

I'm starting to dislike any metal that isn't progressive. Besides even the old stuff of Opeth is progressive.

MAYH will always be my favorite.

GR was just terribly unintersting and not heavy at all. Orchid and Morningrise are great. Very intense and heavy, which means me = happy ;)

I thought GR was significantly more interesting than most of the other stuff they've done. It's definately a newer sound and there's so much going on. It's also pretty heavy straight from the start.