I am raving mad about Opeth, and most people that I have tried to turn it on to have a problem comprehending this most amazing band.
I went to see the Sean Baker Orchestra last night (not only is he a good aquaintence, I video taped the performance for the band.) There were many people there that I knew from hanging around Sean Baker at my buddies Alfredo Riojas' house, but one in particualr by the name of Kevin.
Many a Saturday we have had a Saturday night boxing party we watch that Alfie has, where we get together, eat some awesome munchies, smoke a little herb, drink some brews, jam a little, and listen to some music. I met Kevin at one of these gigs, and about a year ago he said to me, " Have you ever heard FREAK KITCHEN? I said no, and he went out to the truck and got two of their CD's, and he blew my senses away when he put them on. When he put on Porno Daddy, he went into a trans-like state playing air guitar like mad, and going.... "you have to listen to the next song." I knew he was as passionate about music as I am.
So Kevin came up to me and introduced himself and his wife again because I had not seen him in about five months, and he wanted to talk to me about the show, mostly to be cordial. He is a big fan of Dream Theater, I asked him if he knew Dream Theater about being in town on the 20th, and he said no, and we planned on going to the concert together. Not intentionally, but being a major fanboy because of seeing Opeth last week in Grand Rapids, I told him that I wanted to give him a CD of Deliverance that I had in my car, because I knew he would totally enjoy it. He said sure, and after the S.B.O. went on we went to the parking lot to smoke a joint with about six people, and on the way back into the bar, I told him that he needed to go to the car with me and check out the song "Deliverance". Being freshly baked, I was craving Opeth myself.
We got in the car, and I turned on the CD player, and Deliverance came on. I could see in his eyes that something that "clicks" when you hear something, and you begin to "connect" with it. When Mikael's death metal growl came on, his head started moving, and then the first mellow break came, and he was hooked. In two minutes and four seconds, he was repeating "who are these guys" and "where in the fuck did they come from?" By six minutes into the song he was screaming over and over agian, " I FUCKING LOVE THIS! I FUCKING LOVE THIS! WHY HAVE I NOT HEARD THEM BEFORE?" And then the last four minutes of "Deliverance" came on. His jaw basically dropped, and he was stating " I have never heard anybody else out there like this. This is fucking awesome." I asked him if he wanted to hear more, and I could just feel his newfound hunger for Opeth. (I think this maybe the exact same feeling once a vampire tastes fresh blood for the first time. LOL)
I continued on with the Deliverance album playing "A Fair Judgement", and about melted to his seat. I then realized that if you "get Opeth", your musical life changes forever. March 11th, 2006 was the day that Kevin was "Born in Opeth", that critical day the first time you hear them and really connect with them. After that song, I asked him if he wanted to go in and check on his wife, he said he wanted to hear more. I told them how musically diverse they were, and popped in "Damnation", and played "Closure" for him. Words cannot describe the look on his face. He looked at me and said "I can tell that these two albums are going into heavy play rotation in my car." I told him that "in less than a week you are going to have a new favorite band". He agreed with me. I gave him both Deliverance and Damnation, and he was so thankful for introducing Opeth to him.
I have never played any music before where in less than five minutes someone is not only "liking it", but foaming at the mouth for more.
I then thought of something that I saw on the Opeth website, and never a word about a band, has rang more true in my minds eye.
From the Opeth website:
"As you all know, it is sometimes very hard to put your finger on what makes a band original and unique. I am not trying to boast here, but in my point of view there is no other band just like Opeth. Personally I appreciate when bands shock you, when they take unexpected turns in their music that you couldn´t see coming. That is somewhat the essence of Opeth, and I think it is something that is present on all our albums. See, when we started up as Eruption we were more or less a ordinary (pretty bad) death metal band, but somewhere along the road we found something that made Opeth what Opeth is today. It might be our interest in symphonic and progressive music which to me is the ultimate form of music. We have come to the point where we don´t care at all what kind of music we are playing, there are no boundaries at all!
The strange thing is that it´s not intentional. I don´t doubt one second that we´d be a bigger band if we did what was good for Opeth..but we just don´t! The day we would limit ourselves or adapt to the music scene, would be the day Opeth dies. "
Next Saturday we are getting together for an Opeth listening party, and I am going to introduce him to "Ghost Reveries" and "Blackwater Park" I made him promise to not listen to any other Opeth albums until then. I want to see the expression on his face the first time he hears "The Baying of the Hounds, Beneath the Mire, Ghost of Perdition", and last but not least, "The Grand Conjuration."
In closing, I thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you want to, comment on the first time that you "connected" with Opeth, or created an Opethian yourself.
I went to see the Sean Baker Orchestra last night (not only is he a good aquaintence, I video taped the performance for the band.) There were many people there that I knew from hanging around Sean Baker at my buddies Alfredo Riojas' house, but one in particualr by the name of Kevin.
Many a Saturday we have had a Saturday night boxing party we watch that Alfie has, where we get together, eat some awesome munchies, smoke a little herb, drink some brews, jam a little, and listen to some music. I met Kevin at one of these gigs, and about a year ago he said to me, " Have you ever heard FREAK KITCHEN? I said no, and he went out to the truck and got two of their CD's, and he blew my senses away when he put them on. When he put on Porno Daddy, he went into a trans-like state playing air guitar like mad, and going.... "you have to listen to the next song." I knew he was as passionate about music as I am.
So Kevin came up to me and introduced himself and his wife again because I had not seen him in about five months, and he wanted to talk to me about the show, mostly to be cordial. He is a big fan of Dream Theater, I asked him if he knew Dream Theater about being in town on the 20th, and he said no, and we planned on going to the concert together. Not intentionally, but being a major fanboy because of seeing Opeth last week in Grand Rapids, I told him that I wanted to give him a CD of Deliverance that I had in my car, because I knew he would totally enjoy it. He said sure, and after the S.B.O. went on we went to the parking lot to smoke a joint with about six people, and on the way back into the bar, I told him that he needed to go to the car with me and check out the song "Deliverance". Being freshly baked, I was craving Opeth myself.
We got in the car, and I turned on the CD player, and Deliverance came on. I could see in his eyes that something that "clicks" when you hear something, and you begin to "connect" with it. When Mikael's death metal growl came on, his head started moving, and then the first mellow break came, and he was hooked. In two minutes and four seconds, he was repeating "who are these guys" and "where in the fuck did they come from?" By six minutes into the song he was screaming over and over agian, " I FUCKING LOVE THIS! I FUCKING LOVE THIS! WHY HAVE I NOT HEARD THEM BEFORE?" And then the last four minutes of "Deliverance" came on. His jaw basically dropped, and he was stating " I have never heard anybody else out there like this. This is fucking awesome." I asked him if he wanted to hear more, and I could just feel his newfound hunger for Opeth. (I think this maybe the exact same feeling once a vampire tastes fresh blood for the first time. LOL)
I continued on with the Deliverance album playing "A Fair Judgement", and about melted to his seat. I then realized that if you "get Opeth", your musical life changes forever. March 11th, 2006 was the day that Kevin was "Born in Opeth", that critical day the first time you hear them and really connect with them. After that song, I asked him if he wanted to go in and check on his wife, he said he wanted to hear more. I told them how musically diverse they were, and popped in "Damnation", and played "Closure" for him. Words cannot describe the look on his face. He looked at me and said "I can tell that these two albums are going into heavy play rotation in my car." I told him that "in less than a week you are going to have a new favorite band". He agreed with me. I gave him both Deliverance and Damnation, and he was so thankful for introducing Opeth to him.
I have never played any music before where in less than five minutes someone is not only "liking it", but foaming at the mouth for more.
I then thought of something that I saw on the Opeth website, and never a word about a band, has rang more true in my minds eye.
From the Opeth website:
"As you all know, it is sometimes very hard to put your finger on what makes a band original and unique. I am not trying to boast here, but in my point of view there is no other band just like Opeth. Personally I appreciate when bands shock you, when they take unexpected turns in their music that you couldn´t see coming. That is somewhat the essence of Opeth, and I think it is something that is present on all our albums. See, when we started up as Eruption we were more or less a ordinary (pretty bad) death metal band, but somewhere along the road we found something that made Opeth what Opeth is today. It might be our interest in symphonic and progressive music which to me is the ultimate form of music. We have come to the point where we don´t care at all what kind of music we are playing, there are no boundaries at all!
The strange thing is that it´s not intentional. I don´t doubt one second that we´d be a bigger band if we did what was good for Opeth..but we just don´t! The day we would limit ourselves or adapt to the music scene, would be the day Opeth dies. "
Next Saturday we are getting together for an Opeth listening party, and I am going to introduce him to "Ghost Reveries" and "Blackwater Park" I made him promise to not listen to any other Opeth albums until then. I want to see the expression on his face the first time he hears "The Baying of the Hounds, Beneath the Mire, Ghost of Perdition", and last but not least, "The Grand Conjuration."
In closing, I thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you want to, comment on the first time that you "connected" with Opeth, or created an Opethian yourself.
