favorite keystone

[JoeVice]

keystone - the central supporting element of a whole.

i think about this sometimes, and its always fucking cool. so, i thought i'd share. to me, an artist has a unique relationship with the fans. when a fan can be powerfully moved by an artist's ideas, they are being moved by that artist. when you listen to an album enough, you begin to form a view of who that artist is...especially when you have other albums over time to compare it to. this might sound fanboyish or stalkerish, but i think that in an abstract way, when an artist's work really resonates with fan, a bond is formed...it means that there is "something" there that the fan and the artist really have in common.

when i listen to the opeth albums...each one has a certain vibe to it...set aside individual characteristics of production, subject matter, style, structure...each album has a unique "keystone"...percieve it as you will.

the other day, for the first time in a while, i listened to deliverance...to me, this album stands out differently than any other opeth album...when examining music in this way, its kind of hard to put in writing what my reasoning is...its a feeling that can only be explained in my mind, to myself.

thats why i think that music can give you a unique insight to an artist...none of us know the band personally, but we all know a part of their personalities in a very abstract way...its like, we can be a part of their muse. its fucking cool.

 

[Tubbs]

What? Put it in terms us tards can understand.

 

[JoeVice]

its just like, the overall vibe...the emotional appeal of the music...in a way, you can connect to the artist on a personal level when you hear their music...and you can see the artist's "keystone" or their basic "frame of mind" when you hear their music...since art is expression.

 

[Braighs]

hmmm...bulletpoints

* Opeth is fucking cool
* You think Opeth uses you as an ispiration
* You feel that Opeth betrayed you when recording Deliverance
* Opeth doesn't plagiarize
* Trombone players rule!

Is this thread a question? Opeth only has one keystone (new word for the day) imo. So...I like Pain of Salvation's keystone too... ...What?

 

[Tubbs]

My keystone's are unhealthy... I got to go to the doctor. LOL it's ketones not keystones or however you spell it.

Umm... I'll try and answer...

Uhh....

Deliverance is dark and heavy and uhh...

damn I give up.

 

[JoeVice]

hmmm...bulletpoints

* Opeth is fucking cool
yes
* You think Opeth uses you as an inspiration
hahahahahaha
* You feel that Opeth betrayed you when recording Deliverance
hahahahahaha
* Opeth doesn't plagiarize
?
* Trombone players rule!
?

Is this thread a question? Opeth only has one keystone (new word for the day) imo. So...I like Pain of Salvation's keystone too... ...What?

i dunno, i guess its just another "what is your favorite opeth album?" thread.

and yes, i agree, there is only one "keystone" in all of the opeth albums, but you can see it change over the course of their catalogue.

the reason i used the word "keystone" is because i just learned it the other day...it was a word for something that i had always thought of...then i learned the word and was like, "cool," so i decided to make a thread about it.

 

[NickFBM]

I do get what you mean man. I feel that through listening to their music I almost get to know them, I guess it is because they put parts of themselves into the music so we (the listener) get these parts out also, but different parts, and amount of said part, depending on the person listening. I find that I get the most out of Still Life, Morningrise, and My Arms...and this is mostly for personal reasons, as in the time in my life I listened to them most etc.

 

[wwallinga]

I love you guys.

 

[Kenneth R.]

I totally understand Joe, and I must comment this is the best thread on this forum in recent weeks.

For Opeth, my keystone of intense interest is their ability to sound antique. By antique, I mean not a cheap trinket you'd find in a lawn sale, but that which, upon viewing, you halt for a moment, recognizing a relic, aged and worn, though still a superior example of crafrsmanship. As you note this, secretly, before you continue on, you wonder for a moment what atmosphere it was created in, handled in, and how it ultimately arrived here before you. It strikes you as eternal, timeless, and though no longer used, as a form of art it is strangely beautiful. It might have a thin layer of dust on it, and the smell of old wood. Someone has left it here absently with other items, but in that moment you recognized its true nature.

For another favorite band, Riverside, my keystone is their dreamlike orchestration. From the moment the first note is struck until the last fades away, I feel as though I am already asleep, drifting slowly on a river to nowhere, detached completely from the modern world and all its cares. Suddenly I am no one, nowhere, and yet in that same way, I am anyone, or everyone, and I ponder the state of human consciousness, and our collective hearts. The music is so smooth and connected, a true legato, that one thought drifts into the next, and one heart's story into another's.

I would also share my thoughts on other longtime favorites Zero Hour and Third Eye Blind (lol flame me if you so desire), or how by listening to Nightingale and especially Unicorn I glimpse the life and concerns of Dan Swanö, but I have written much already and fear I am boring you all.

 

[JoeVice]

I totally understand Joe, and I must comment this is the best thread on this forum in recent weeks.

For Opeth, my keystone of intense interest is their ability to sound antique. By antique, I mean not a cheap trinket you'd find in a lawn sale, but that which, upon viewing, you halt for a moment, recognizing a relic, aged and worn, though still a superior example of crafrsmanship. As you note this, secretly, before you continue on, you wonder for a moment what atmosphere it was created in, handled in, and how it ultimately arrived here before you. It strikes you as eternal, timeless, and though no longer used, as a form of art it is strangely beautiful. It might have a thin layer of dust on it, and the smell of old wood. Someone has left it here absently with other items, but in that moment you recognized its true nature.

For another favorite band, Riverside, my keystone is their dreamlike orchestration. From the moment the first note is struck until the last fades away, I feel as though I am already asleep, drifting slowly on a river to nowhere, detached completely from the modern world and all its cares. Suddenly I am no one, nowhere, and yet in that same way, I am anyone, or everyone, and I ponder the state of human consciousness, and our collective hearts. The music is so smooth and connected, a true legato, that one thought drifts into the next, and one heart's story into another's.

I would also share my thoughts on other longtime favorites Zero Hour and Third Eye Blind (lol flame me if you so desire), or how by listening to Nightingale and especially Unicorn I glimpse the life and concerns of Dan Swanö, but I have written much already and fear I am boring you all.

yah, i can totally see antique in opeth's music...certain sections or certain melodies always seem to stand out and really portray that....some of their music has such a light-hearted, simple beauty to it...the intro to when, and the "second" intro to the moor...and the clean section in the baying of the hounds.

i have to go.

 

[SacredReich]

OPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETH!!!!!!!! :hotjump:

 

[biggsy]

i agree... i do feel as if i know opeth, but mainly mikael. music is just a way of expressing yourself and when he writes his music he is putting a little part of him into it, so of course listeners (unless they are 'tards') are going to recognize certain things about the band/writer.

 

[Braighs]

Opeth's keystone has always been passion. Just using the full range possible of guitar/bass/drums/vocals. Conforming to nothing external, the music represents only what is inside them. (That mostly aplys to Mikael, but we know that the other band members aren't pushovers.) I think that in later years, they have moved slightly away from that keystone. With external influences (Wilson) and simply the fact that you can't repeat yourself. This is inevitable and natural, but Opeth has handled it nicely obviously.

Np: Porcupine Tree - Dislocated Day...fuck I like this song.