A certain band is now included in the Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock !

[D Mullholand]

For those who didn't know, the GEPR is the largest and most extensive web-resource for prog reviews and links. I have discovered a plentitude of fine music thanks to that site.

Well, the recent update includes 3 reviews for Opeth, the first of which was done by yr fthfl srvnt ...

Here's the link : www.gepr.net

Or, straight to the .Opeth review

D Mullholand

 

[BillowOfZeal]

Thanks, that is a neat site

 

[JesterOfDeath]

great article. After getting Blackwater Park today and listening to it 4 times! i now see what all the fuss was about. Damn i've been missing something good. real good.

 

[Demonspell]

That's great to hear, especially since that site tends to neglect progressive metal.

 

[MetalManCPA]

It's nice to see reviews by people who actually listened before writing.

 

[Misanthrope]

I would not be so shure he listened that well. He claimed that no riff ever repeats in MAYH everyone knows Credence repeats 2 riffs and they are almost exactly the same ( no variation ).

 

[Mayh]

Ja es ist toll !!!

These reviews are great, let us hope it will bring more followers to Opeth.

 

[extensive desolation]

I've never red more craps about Opeth in one place!

His Mornigrise review is exactly what I thought about this album after first listening. He dind't bother to listen to it again.
Those review are shallow and are focused only on technic.
Don't even bother to read that crap.

 

[extensive desolation]

I think he should extend his great thoughts.
If Morningrise tracks are wasted becasue of their "unrelated parts structure" the I dare to say that most of the music out there is wasted by releasing it on CDs that contain may unrelated songs.

 

[extensive desolation]

Noooooooooooo! I can't stand that!!
He says that BWP is a cold apathy.
Do something and delete those horrible reviews!

 

[Misanthrope]

Yes indeed pretty inadecuate. He does not listens that good. I mean look at the Death section he praises Human mainly just because of Sein Reinert. Ok he is good but you cannot focus the whole band on that 1 guy and he totally diminishes The sound of Perseverance wich is by far the most close cd to the likes of that page, he says is riff oriented when really Richard Christy is the base of the whole songs ( An exeption for Death cause in all other albums Chuck is usually the base ). The whole TSOP album is filled with weird and allien drum patters wich are guiding weird and alien guitar patterns with a very unusual use of harmony for a metal band ( based around 9ths or relative 2nds ). He writes like less than a line about TSOP and praises human wich is evidently much more primitive. And do not let me get starting with Opeth i am sorry but some of the most sentimetal Opeth songs are on BWP you cannot diminish it with terms like a cold album.
Really wished they could be more objetive about things.

 

[D Mullholand]

First of all, the GEPR accepts contributions from anyone. It's not meant to be a source of "objective" information, since anyone can send a review of her favourite progressive band. How can one objectively describe music ? (see my self-descrpition, hehe) You'll forever be in-between the artist's intention (which is unknown to anyone BUT the artist) and your personal view of the music, no ? Can you write a sentence about Opeth which would be universal and agreed upon by everybody ?

OK, the "he" refered to in the next four quotes is me, so I'll respond.

He claimed that no riff ever repeats in MAYH everyone knows Credence repeats 2 riffs and they are almost exactly the same ( no variation ).

OK, so does a riff in April Ethereal and Amen Corner and probably somewhere else, but it's always in an A-B-A sequence, so I don't think it should be mentioned. "Oh, no riff ever repeats, except this and that and that and another, but only after one other riff". I don't think a review needs this.

His Mornigrise review is exactly what I thought about this album after first listening. He dind't bother to listen to it again.
Those review are shallow and are focused only on technic.
Don't even bother to read that crap.

I've listened to Morningrise quite a lot - more than I've listened to Orchid, by the way, and almost as much as the last three - not EXACTLY as much, because it's not my favourite. Unfortunately, unlike the other 4 Opeth albums, Morningrise does not improve for me with each consecutive listen - probably even the opposite. I did note in the end, that many Opeth fans have this album as their favourite - here's your "objectivity" gizmo.

Technic ? Sorry ? Please cite an example. I've been focusing on style, composition and the feelings I get from the music. I hope you understand that Opeth is not a wank-band that relies solely on technicality.

I think he should extend his great thoughts.
If Morningrise tracks are wasted becasue of their "unrelated parts structure" the I dare to say that most of the music out there is wasted by releasing it on CDs that contain may unrelated songs.

Wow, even Lenin couldn't have said it better. Sorry, this one reeks of panic and should be discarded.

Noooooooooooo! I can't stand that!!
He says that BWP is a cold apathy.
Do something and delete those horrible reviews!

If you read it more carefully, you'll see that the BWP review is POSITIVE (that means "GOOD" !)... and the word "apathy" is right next to "scorn" and "disillusionment" - it takes great talent to reflect these feelings in music with such tremendous effect. Refer to Mikael's recent interviews - these are not only my subjective feelings from this album. And to avoid any misunderstandings, BWP is in my top 5 of all time.

D Mullholand

 

[D Mullholand]

Originally posted by Misanthrope
Yes indeed pretty inadecuate. He does not listens that good. I mean look at the Death section he praises Human mainly just because of Sein Reinert.

---snip---

And do not let me get starting with Opeth i am sorry but some of the most sentimetal Opeth songs are on BWP you cannot diminish it with terms like a cold album.
Really wished they could be more objetive about things.

To clarify a bit, I didn't write a Death review, or ANY review apart from the first Opeth one.

Sentimental ! That's right ! We're talking about Harvest here, I suppose - but amidst melancholy I feel also a strange and hidden "relief" in that song - as if the one who is dying is perfectly content with leaving this world. This song is very ambivalent in feelings, and taken as part of the whole album, it's only temporary warmth. "The Leper Affinity" and "Blackwater Park" are cold as the shadow of death, and the clean vocal parts in "Bleak" and "The Funeral Portrait" are not warm at all, they reflect disillusionment amidst hatred, at least to my ears.

Submit your own "objective" review if you wish - they'll accept it for sure, and you seem to be well-versed in music theory to write even an academic review on Opeth - why the hell not ? As for me, I think there's no objectivity as far as musical concepts are concerned.

D Mullholand

 

[Misanthrope]

well your words hold wisdom for reviews will never keep anyone happy. Everyone will always find something odd about the review. The Opeth Case might seem a little more open to interpretation ( because of BWP but credence is basically intro verse chorus verse chorus outro it is the most standart structure i can imagine and is really important to me in MAYH its like the emocional center of the album ( begins with the mellow part of demon of the fall and ends in credence ) )

But the Death case plain bother me i think you can agree that you need to hear all the artist recordings and being analitical about them all to write an artist review. The review on Death hardly shows that because human clearly is not the center of Death's evolution and its not devolution since then like he hints, and while subjetive still this is something so many people think that it should be considered to a review.

 

[D Mullholand]

Originally posted by Misanthrope
well your words hold wisdom for reviews will never keep anyone happy. Everyone will always find something odd about the review. The Opeth Case might seem a little more open to interpretation ( because of BWP but credence is basically intro verse chorus verse chorus outro it is the most standart structure i can imagine and is really important to me in MAYH its like the emocional center of the album ( begins with the mellow part of demon of the fall and ends in credence ) )

Yah, looking back on the review, especially the BWP part, there are some things I'd like to fix now - I was over-excited when writing that part, since I'd just listened to the album before that. I definitely over-exaggerated about the "atonality" thing, for example.

On Credence - well, it goes like A-B-C-B-C-D, where D is a sudden turn, but it's logical - it does fit the story. But I don't believe the chorus/verse structure in Credence is intentional, unlike Harvest.

But the Death case plain bother me i think you can agree that you need to hear all the artist recordings and being analitical about them all to write an artist review. The review on Death hardly shows that because human clearly is not the center of Death's evolution and its not devolution since then like he hints, and while subjetive still this is something so many people think that it should be considered to a review.

Agreed. That's why I waited for so long before sending the Opeth review to them. I feel like I want to know the band's music from A to Z, to feel it, and I also want to be sure that whatever I'm going to write, will be important. There's no point in writing a review if I have nothing new to say...

My favourite Death so far is Symbolic, but then, I haven't listened to TSOP enough yet. And Human doesn't sound THAT advanced compared to the later three, also I don't see any parts that "could" be influenced by contemporary classical, as the reviewer says.

D Mullholand