Does it bother anyone else that Mikael writes all of the music?

[John Gargo]

If the band keeps releasing albums like BLACKWATER PARK, DELIVERANCE, and (from what I've heard of it) DAMNATION, I could care less...

 

[John Gargo]

Someones are interested, if your not, who cares

Nobody should care about anyone else's opinions on this matter anyway... This is a matter of personal taste, and nobody's response is going to change anyone else's. If someone feels annoyed that Mikael writes all the material, how does that affect me who doesn't really mind if the music is as good as it is? So to answer your question, nobody cares what I think...

 

[Ecto]

I think Opeth lost part of their felling when Mikael took total control of the writing process...just listen to Orchid and Morningrise when Mikael and Peter used to write together and check out the following albuns...in my opinion the recent albuns are too similar, it seems that Opeth is making the same album always, of course with some little differences here and there, but it's basic the same recipe...
About the word "band" I understand it as a group of people that make music together and what happen with Opeth and many other bands is that there's one guy that do everything and the others are just like musician guests, so a one-man-band...I wouldn't like to be in these guys shoes...Opeth should change name for "Mikael and the Opethnians".
Answering the question: I really don't care so much about it.

 

[Neurotomania]

In the band I'm in, everyone writes sections or comes up with ideas, and me (drums) and the lead guitarist arrange everything and decide who plays what where, and our rhythm and bass guitarists are fine with this, so it works out well

Akerfeldt is a genius and I seriously doubt he wrote every note of every song and then delegated the parts between them. Besides, I consider the martins playing to be so full of character that I consider it writing in the traditional sense.

 

[Hondo]

I don't get that "the newer albums are all too similar" argument. So if they kept on making stuff like Orchid and Morningrise, that'd be ok and not too similar? Why make the point using them if not?

 

[diospada]

he's that good eh????

 

[GreatPhoenix]

if they keep putting out good shit then why should it matter that Mikael does most of the work? He's the creative thinker of the four and the rest just like to jam. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

 

[ProgMetalFan]

Lakes of shit rule.

 

[MetalManCPA]

I could care less who writes the music, as long as there is no animosity within the band.

 

[blakmetalemp]

Why do I think of Emperor when I read this thread???

 

[Fervisson]

"Democracy in a band is a path into a lake of shit. You can quote me on that."

Agreed, to an extinct. Complete monarchy can't work either. Look at Pink Floyd. They did amazing when Waters went power crazy (Animals, The Wall), but it got to the point where they all despised him and that began to shine through in their performances (The Final Cut.)

 

[Fervisson]

Oh, and to answer the thread's topic, no.

 

[blueskytheory]

i agree that I wish peter still contributed to the riff writing. Since opeth has always been a guitar-riff-centric band (versus bands that prominently use the bass or have drummers of standout personality), i think they lost something when only one person started writing the melodies. It seemed particularly bad on the(se) last album(s), when in an interview peter basically said all he did was solos this time (obviously, he must have done some more, but thats still a telling sign).

basically, no matter how much a single guitarist can try, he will almost always retread ground, be it rythmically (opeth: guilty) or melodically (also guilty here, but not so much). thats not even considering the structuring/transitioning of songs, which can get too samey with the same writer. Its a very, very rare guitarist who wont do this... and even they do, but then its called "their style" because of their prestige as famous players

so yes, i wish they wrote more together. these are nagging points... i still like opeth and all, and they have more variety than many bands. its still good now, but how long can it last...

p.s.-- spare me your "its your opinion" truisms.. yes... DUH DUH DUH.. its obviously my opinion!

 

[FlatteningOfEmotions]

In my band, the other guitarist and I write all of the music. We come up with riffs, and we arrange them as a band. Ocassionally, when we don't have anything left in us, our bassist will play something he came up with, and it works, as well.

We don't write the drum parts or anything, but that's where a talented drummer comes in. Our drummer can make up killer drum parts to our stuff, so it all works out.