It's funny, I just posted a message in Lacuna Coil discussion group trying to explain to LC fans that Opeth is not death metal. Progressive metal is what they are, in my opinion. I'll include a part of review of Still Life album by Lord Chimp from
www.amazon.com. This Lord Chimp guy.... his reviews are amazing, and he sums up the Opeth's music like few others can. So here it is...
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The fact that I usually hate death metal vocals but love Opeth is a
testament to their brilliance, I think. I am so impressed by this
band's unparalleled sophistication, their originality, and the sheer
beauty of their music. Most people wouldn't call them progressive
metal, reserving such a distinction for a band like Dream Theater or
Symphony X. However, Opeth is progressive in every meaning of the
word. They are earnestly pushing the boundaries of style with each of
their releases. They are entirely unique, blending myriad styles into
their complex web of incandescent, ingenious compositions. There's
many so-called progressive metal artists (who shall not be named) who
seem to say, "Let's throw in random changes and styles to be esoteric
and weird." Opeth's approach, however, seems more discriminating,
meshing everything together so naturally and seamlessly without any
adverse effect to the music's evocative flow.
More than any previous Opeth record, Still Life attains a greater
balance between the vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt's aggressive,
bowel-wrenching growls and his chilling clean vocals. There is also a
wealth of vocal harmonies during these clean sections, supplementing
the melody and the vibe. The songs "Benighted" and "Face of Melinda"
are delivered entirely with the clean vocals, and they are paralyzing
in their beauty. The growling vocals seem more vicious, powerful, and
even emotional. Akerfeldt also enunciates extremely well when
growling.
[snip]
Like My Arms, Your Hearse, Still Life is a concept album with a
somewhat nebulous story. Akerfeldt is telling the tale of an exiled
man, who returns to his home after fifteen years to find the woman he
loved. It's a powerful, but tragic, love story. I'm pretty sure I get
the gist of it, but I must confess that the poetry is extremely
complex and not always easy to understand. This challenge, however,
highlights the intelligence of Akerfeldt's lyrics. Very rarely does a
Swedish band offer such brilliant poetry in English. There is some
brilliant imagery and diction here, especially on the harrowing opener
"The Moor" and the gruesome "Serenity Painted Death." "Benighted" has
pleasant -- almost romantic -- lyrics.
The word "masterpiece" is tossed around rather carelessly, it seems.
It is a title that should be reserved for albums such as this. For 62
minutes and 7 songs, your world belongs to Opeth.
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