Opeth - Black Metal to Death Metal?

[Brooks]

I think that when Opeth first started, they leaned towards Black Metal tendancies, the atmosphere, the vocal quality, and the lyrics. Mikael's vocals on the first few albums were much more black metal influenced screams than the later day death growling. And the bleak, nihilistic atmosphere that they created are very different from the layered death metalish soundscapes they create today.

Do you think Opeth went from Black Metal to Death Metal, all the while retaining their unmistakenably Opeth sound?

 

[Manbient]

YASE!. Broox i agree with you. though... they weren't exactly Black Metal at first, and aren't exactly Death Metal now... They were an AMAZING and unique form of black metal, and nowthey are an AMAZING and unique form of Death Metal. BUT let's not forget the touch of doom/goth they have always had too... which to me is what really gives it the spice.

Opeth=teh win

 

[blakmetalemp]

I dont think.

 

[Manbient]

Originally posted by Smekermann


You misspelled "the", bro.

'kin n00b.

 

[Cutter]

Brooks...I think you got it in one. This is a good sumation of Opeths sound from history to current. I initially thought of Orchid as black metal or at least a new age, progressive black type of album. More currently, their thicker sound and Mikaels growls lend to the idea that they're pretty close to Death metal these days. Though, it must be said...Opeth are too difficult to contain in one particular sort of sound. Given the amount of genre-mixing and blending of different styles of music...from acoustic harmonys, to folky melodys, to death driven riffage, to jazzy rock.

I think, Still Life is the best album if your trying to bear witness to what you might consider...the median of Opeths sound.

 

[Lutz]

No.

 

[MacMoney]

They've never been neither black nor death metal except perhaps in times prior to Orchid but I doubt that too.

 

[Jim LotFP]

Originally posted by Brooks
I think that when Opeth first started, they leaned towards Black Metal tendancies, the atmosphere, the vocal quality, and the lyrics.

I fail to see how a combination of Maideny dual-guitars guitars and prog rock in any way equals black metal.

The vocals should NOT define a band.

If Britney Spears sang vocals for Brutal Truth on the Extreme Conditions album, would their grind suddenly be pop? No.

 

[StorTroll]

It doesn´t make them black metal if they "sound" like it. Black metal is more like life style. Satyricon etc. are black metal because of their spirit, although they sound million times pussier than Opeth. Lyrical content doesn´t suggest black metal in their early days either...

 

[StorTroll]

Originally posted by Jim LotFP


I fail to see how a combination of Maideny dual-guitars guitars and prog rock in any way equals black metal.

The vocals should NOT define a band.

If Britney Spears sang vocals for Brutal Truth on the Extreme Conditions album, would their grind suddenly be pop? No.

You´re right here, dude.

 

[poet]

Opeth Black Metal???????

They are progressive metal , as simple as that dont go giving them titles that they dont deserve.

 

[bleedingskeptic]

i always looked at orchid as melodic death metal with black metal vox. and the lyrics could fit into any gothic metal album.

 

[phon1c]

Originally posted by Jim LotFP

The vocals should NOT define a band.

If Britney Spears sang vocals for Brutal Truth on the Extreme Conditions album, would their grind suddenly be pop? No.

This is true, but they DO contribute significantly to the overall sound of the band. If Britney sang with Brutal Truth they wouldnt be pop, but I dont think they'd be just grind either.

 

[Morningrise]

Opeth is Opeth of course, but I could agree to an extent that Opeth leaned more towards the forest-like sound of black metal, while the newer stuff is a little more Death Metal. But stuff like BWP is started to even lean more towards an kind of Katatonia like sound.

 

[Brooks]

Black Metal, to me, is more of an attitude, or overall atmosphere. Morningrise, and to a lesser extent Orchid, paints that bleak, nihilistic, frozen picture that represents Black Metal's ideals. Though the music technically doens't sound exactly like Bathory or Mayhem, the colors are the same.

 

[Morningrise]

I agree completely with your statement about black metal Brooks. Black Metal is my favorite genre because of that cold nihilistic feel that is produced by it. For example, people often say that Dimmu Borgir isn't black metal, but to me they are as much as Darkthrone, the atmosphere and feel is very similar, especially on Stormblast (their best)

 

[Misanthrope]

Originally posted by Jim LotFP


I fail to see how a combination of Maideny dual-guitars guitars and prog rock in any way equals black metal.

The vocals should NOT define a band.

If Britney Spears sang vocals for Brutal Truth on the Extreme Conditions album, would their grind suddenly be pop? No.

I dont know man im shure that is the wet dream of a lot of metalheads and in a genre filled with stupid males that think with their privates maybe some people would debate about it and consider it black metal ( yes i consider metal people to be THAT stupid....and horny...)

 

[Brooks]

Hmm, I would have to disagree with you about Dimmu Borgir. To me, they're not even close to black metal. The production is WAY too refined, and the keyboards instantly remove any possiblity. As Fenriz said (and I'm paraphrasing..) "Thats not black metal! The Keyboards make it sound like a soft pillow! Black metal is supposed to be harsh and painful!"

Krieg is black metal. Vlad Tepes is black metal. OLD Emperor is black metal. Dimmu and Cradle of Filth are too flawlessly Pro Tools produced and orchestrated to capture that grim atmosphere that shitty guitars, shitty drums, recorded in a shed outside during the middle of a Norwegian winter, without hope for humanity produced back in the day. Too bad real Black Metal is pretty much dead, once a market was created for it.

 

[MacMoney]

Too bad real Black Metal is pretty much dead

No, it isn't. It is just back where it came from, in the underground. Just check out www.barbarianwrath.org

 

[Morningrise]

My favorite black metal band that has come out recently is Taake. DEFINATELY, check them out.