Novembre influenced by opeth?

[Nostalgiaplatz]

I hate arguing about Novembre vs Opeth, but I am tired of seeing peeps comparing Novembre to Opeth. I mean, how are they similar? Let's dissect a bit of both these two distinct, yet timely similar, bands:

Songwritting:
Opeth - Unpredictable, less solid
Novembre - More predictable, solid

Singing:
Mikael: Linear clean singing, harsh death growls (demoniacal at times)
Carmelo: Lots of harmonies, choruses, huming; Growling is more like "raging screams", a bit like some black metal bands

Drums:
Lopez: Linear, rhythmic, prog oriented.
Giuseppe: Non-linear, outstanding arhythmic fills, prog oriented

Bass:
Opeth: Linear
Novembre: Linear with some experiments with fretless bass

Leads & Solos:
Mikael: Lots of feeling going on, classy stuff!
Massimiliano: Barely does solos and the few are reminiscent of hard-rock/virtuosisms

Category:
Opeth: Prog Death metal
Novembre: Prog Death/Doom Metal

More facts:

Novembre & Opeth both recorded their debut in 1994.
Novembre & Opeth recorded both of their first 2 albums in the same studio, Dan Swanö's Unisound Studio, in Sweden.
Novembre & Opeth were proudly among the first bands in the metal scene to alternate between Growling and clean singing
Novembre & Opeth are opposites on their approach to vocals! Opeth stay more on the agressive singing whereas Novembre stand on the calm clean singing more.


Discuss.

 

[affinityband]

Id say theres mostdefinatley a similarity. difference would be that Opeth sounds more complex musically, and there are more transitions. But Novembre are a great band to chill down too.

 

[Jeremy]

they're not equal but the sound is definitly similar... and Novembre owns most of it's fame to the Opeth mania that was born circa 2002. Two metal bands with progressive roots that combine growls and clean voices.
Mikael's singing is definitly not linear... it has as much or even more choruses than Novembre in the last albums... some of them with Steve Wilson himself.

 

[Tubbs]

Who?

I've never even heard of them...

 

[Sfarog]

In my opinion there is much less influence there than people tend to believe. There are similarities, but Novembre easily stands on its own feet and has its own style and sound. Look they both probably got influenced by similar music 10-15 years ago. Similar stylistical approach, but I doubt they have cross influenced each other much.

 

[wankerness]

In my opinion there is much less influence there than people tend to believe. There are similarities, but Novembre easily stands on its own feet and has its own style and sound. Look they both probably got influenced by similar music 10-15 years ago. Similar stylistical approach, but I doubt they have cross influenced each other much.

Yeah. Novembre's riffs are just plain radically different. As someone who's transcribed junk by both bands, it seems that Novembre's stuff was much more carefully composed...it depends much more on tons of overdubs and lots of stuff (like for example the intro of Everasia) where one guitar keeps playing the same thing while the rest of the band does other stuff underneath it which interacts with the unchanging guitar line in really interesting ways. Opeth's stuff almost never displays this amount of intricacy.

On the other hand, Opeth's guitar riffs are much more interesting. It sounds like they were often written to sound good even if only one guitar was playing them. They tend to have more riff-based material instead of depending on a ton of overdubbed leads, and they have many more solos and things. Also their stuff translates really well live, while most of Novembre's doesn't (and it doesn't help that their singer sucks live ).

As for drums, Novembre's drummer is possibly my favorite in the metal universe. He's just wonderful. He's FAR, FAR less restrained than Lopez and most of their songs have random double-bass fills all over the place. One could argue it's tasteless, but it's highly entertaining.

Basswise, Novembre tend to have basslines that are more integral to the song, especially on Novembrine Waltz. Some of the songs just wouldn't work right without the bass line, especially on Everasia...the bass doesn't double the guitar all that often compared to the vast majority of metal bands (and Opeth).

Vocally, Novembre REALLY has a different thing going. The clean ones sound vaguely reminiscent of the guy from Tool, and they're really heavily processed and with TONS of vocal overdubs. It results in a much more "flowery" sound. The guy is undeniably highly inferior compared to Mikael when it comes to singing skills, but he does a good job of compensating for it with those really lush harmonies on the cds. Growl-wise, the guy from Novembre sounds much more vicious and snarly. The growls on the remake of "Sirens in Filth" and the end of "Everasia" are just plain terrifying

Overall I like both bands about equally. And I very rarely hear any similarities that are more than extremely superficial (growling/singing and clean/distorted contrasts are about it).

EDIT: Oh, and Novembre's last album absolutely positively sounds nothing like Opeth at all and should settle the argument. Their earlier stuff is closer, but not by that much.

 

[CAIRATH]

What's the new Novembre like?

 

[Nostalgiaplatz]

What's the new Novembre like?

Awesomeness, a mix of arte novecento and novembrine waltz, yet it's different sounding. It's got a modern sound, compared to their early albums.

 

[Kenneth R.]

"driving under the influence of opeth"

 

[Fenlenus]

Er, considering the band themselves say they're influenced by Opeth...i'd wager so.

Influences:
Paradise Lost
My Dying Bride
Anathema
Katatonia
October Tide
Opeth <---
Beyond Dawn
Nightingale / Swano
The 3rd And The Mortal
Bathory
Black Sabbath
Iron Maiden
Metallica before the madness
Slayer
Voivod (Piggy R.I.P.)
Destruction
Kreator
Sodom
Schizo
Necrodeath
Pestilence
At The Gates
Autopsy
Napalm Death
Repulsion
Burzum
Darkthrone
Mayhem
Immortal
Radiohead
Sigur Ros
Amina
Noir Desir
Dead Can Dance
Pink Floyd / Roger Waters
Depeche Mode
Marco Masini
Franco Battiato
CCCP / CSI
Fabrizio De Andr
The Police / Sting
U2
The Cure
The Smiths
REM
Kate Bush
Tori Amos
Suzanne Vega
Bjork
A-Ha
Howard Jones
Duran Duran / Arcadia and most of the Pop/Dance Music of the 80's...

 

[Hubster]

Oh for gods sake.

What is it with fans on this forum? You think EVERYONE is influenced by Opeth? Every new album which comes out from someone gets mentioned in this forum as being influenced by, or being similar to Opeth. Next thing you know, the Beatles were influenced by Opeth!

 

[JoeVice]

nah, the beatles came way before opeth.

 

[Pethical]

influenced or not, novembre are excellent.

 

[Splintered Vision]

Oh for gods sake.

What is it with fans on this forum? You think EVERYONE is influenced by Opeth? Every new album which comes out from someone gets mentioned in this forum as being influenced by, or being similar to Opeth. Next thing you know, the Beatles were influenced by Opeth!

Well considering they said they were influenced by Opeth shouldnt that be the end of the arguement?

And Opeth HAVE influnced everyone. Get over it.

 

[illidurit]

novembre is like opeth, in the same way a big mac is like a steak

 

[hibernal_dream]

Umm... guys? Novembre's 1st album was in 1994, while Opeth's was in 1995.

 

[daz436]

orchid was recorded in 1994

 

[Nostalgiaplatz]

Er, considering the band themselves say they're influenced by Opeth...i'd wager so.

Influences:
(...)
Opeth <---
(...)

Maybe I should've posted the question in a different manner: can you find the slightest moment in a Novembre song which sounds like a moment in another song of Opeth?

I seriously can't..

 

[Nostalgiaplatz]

orchid was recorded in 1994

Orchid was recorded few weeks before Wish I Could Dream Again (Novembre Debut) in the same studio.

 

[daz436]

interesting