There's always questions asked about what Opeth's lyrics are about, and I found the answer about two of the albums. I can't remember where this site was (i'll find it, though), but luckily when I did find it (over 6 months ago) I copied this part of the Interview. This is real, too. I'm not kidding, and as soon as I rediscover the site I'll post it.
"Would you summarize the basic concepts for each one?"
"For 'My Arms, Your Hearse' it was like a ghost story. The basic theme was that this person dies. He's kind of reborn as a ghost, and he stays in the same environment. He sees his loved ones, like family members and friends, going on with their lives. It's almost like a film - what's it called? The Sixth Sense - he doesn't understand that he is dead - but I wrote it actually before the Sixth Sense came out. It's almost like a film. 'Still Life' was not Satanic but an anti-Christian theme. It sounds pretty naive when I explain it like this. It kind of takes place a long time ago when Christianity had a bigger importance than it has today. The main character is kind of banished from his hometown because he hasn't got the same faith as the rest of the inhabitants there. The album pretty much starts off when he is returning after several years to hook up with his old "babe." Obviously a lot of bad things start happening with, as I call it on the album, "the council." The big bosses of the town know that he's back. A lot of bad things start happening. They see him as a hypocrite in a way. It's almost like a devil's advocate or whatever it's called."
There you have it, from the mouth of Mikeal himself.
"Would you summarize the basic concepts for each one?"
"For 'My Arms, Your Hearse' it was like a ghost story. The basic theme was that this person dies. He's kind of reborn as a ghost, and he stays in the same environment. He sees his loved ones, like family members and friends, going on with their lives. It's almost like a film - what's it called? The Sixth Sense - he doesn't understand that he is dead - but I wrote it actually before the Sixth Sense came out. It's almost like a film. 'Still Life' was not Satanic but an anti-Christian theme. It sounds pretty naive when I explain it like this. It kind of takes place a long time ago when Christianity had a bigger importance than it has today. The main character is kind of banished from his hometown because he hasn't got the same faith as the rest of the inhabitants there. The album pretty much starts off when he is returning after several years to hook up with his old "babe." Obviously a lot of bad things start happening with, as I call it on the album, "the council." The big bosses of the town know that he's back. A lot of bad things start happening. They see him as a hypocrite in a way. It's almost like a devil's advocate or whatever it's called."
There you have it, from the mouth of Mikeal himself.
