Controversial opinions on metal

[SomeGuyDude]

Everything besides BWP is a letdown (unless you count Damnation and Deliverance as one). It's like a tipping point in their discography. Before that they were more DM'y and after that too proggy. The Drapery Falls was the first Opeth song I heard and it remains my favorite. Might be just my emotional attachment and being amazed at hearing something so rad for the first time, but I think it's got that perfect combo of ethereal softer bits and just slamming down with the melodeath.

But regardless of it all, I think it's really sad when a genre that was originated as "breaking the rules" begins to have people who just copy a template.

Although I'll happily play devil's advocate to myself with this controversial statement: I think a lot of "copycat" bands make better albums than the innovators even if the musicians themselves have much less creativity.

 

[The Ozzman]

My Arms, Your Hearse is their best

 

[ProphetofHatred]

My Arms, Your Hearse is their best

Agreed. The last riff in April Ethereal gets my juices flowing every time.

 

[waif]

Opeth has some good riffs and I don't mind it as background music, but their songwriting is so aimless and unfocused that I can't listen to the individual songs.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Since when did Opeth become a good example of good prog metal

 

[waif]

They're boring, long-winded, and self-indulgent. That's a pretty good example.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

good prog metal

FWIW I do like a little Opeth here and there. Generally not even full songs, just kinda "Oh yeah that was a cool part" every once and a while.

 

[uhhhhmmmm4]

My Arms, Your Hearse is their best

Obviously their best is Morningrise

 

[Westsiyeed]

Since when did Opeth become a good example of good prog metal

From about Still Life onwards they really started evolving their more progressive elements, but agreed with SGD that BWP is at the zenith, I also think Ghost Reveries and Watershed are fine albums.

Deliverance is not up to their standards and Damnation a different category. I need to listen to more of their earlier albums though.

Other good examples of (more modern) progressive metal: Green Carnation, Porcupine Tree (Fear of a Blank Planet), Disillusion, Leprous, OSI and the aforementioned Ihsahn are at the top of my list.

Mastodon did the same thing roundabout Remission and Leviathan. Both bands are still talented, but no longer interesting.

Crack the Skye was also a great progressive album; agreed Mastodon have become more straight-forward metal now.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Green Carnation, Porcupine Tree, and OSI are barely/not at all metal. And although I love Fates Warning, Matheos, and Moore's work in both DT and FW, the only good OSI album is the first one. Everything since then has been increasingly dull electronic alt rock, and the new one is actually borderline-terrible.

Back to Times of Splendor was definitely a positive surprise for me though. I had seen the cover art a bit and knew the name in passing, but I always expected some pansy-ass false-prog like Edge of Sanity. Really good stuff, and I like the thrash bits that pop in from time to time. A shame the second one was such a failed experiment.

 

[Mort Divine]

I forgot all about Green Carnation until just now. Man, LoD, DoD is really solid.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Nah, it's overblown shite. Admittedly I'm biased since on an Iron Maiden forum that was my introduction to a lot of metal, there was this one wannabe music critic who would say that Light of Day... was his only 10-worthy album in nauseating verbosity (oh wait Chaosphere was up there too), and convinced several other members to fellate it as well. All these Scandinavian progressive metal bands with female vocalists and saxophone solos and etcetc should just be labeled "art metal" or something, not because I believe it to be an inherently more valid artistic form of metal, but because it's metal for "art rock" peeps. The metal elements are usually nothing spectacular.

 

[Mort Divine]

I dunno, I'm listening to it right now and I'm enjoying it. It certainly is no worse than a lot of the shit that gets praised amongst prog metal fans. The riff work is really solid at points.

It certainly has nothing on In The Woods...'s Omnio though.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I don't think I've heard one song from them, but I doubt that it's possible for a metal band to be named after plants or anything related and be good.

 

[Mort Divine]

See for yourself

 

[waif]

I don't think I've heard one song from them, but I doubt that it's possible for a metal band to be named after plants or anything related and be good.

Agalloch.

 

[Westsiyeed]

Green Carnation, Porcupine Tree, and OSI are barely/not at all metal. And although I love Fates Warning, Matheos, and Moore's work in both DT and FW, the only good OSI album is the first one. Everything since then has been increasingly dull electronic alt rock, and the new one is actually borderline-terrible.

Metal influenced/inspired at least I suppose (FOABP is Porcupine Tree's most metal sounding album).

Agreed on OSI's last album; I only listened to it a couple of times. I thought their second and third especially (Blood) were pretty solid.

Some other bands/albums: Ensalved (RIITIR), Shining (both Norway and Sweden), Burst – Lazarus Bird.

I forgot all about Green Carnation until just now. Man, LoD, DoD is really solid.

Yeah I'm really enjoying it. Only really discovered it in the last few months.

 

[Nephilim96]

How is the Swedish Shining progressive?

 

[UltimateApathy]

Some other bands/albums: Ensalved (RIITIR)

You mean Enslaved?

 

[Krow]

He listed the band then an album, so i assume yes he meant Enslaved, you knob.