Opeth

Bloodbath is not even a band, just studio project but the Bloodbath meatheads don't get that.
Or... a collective group of people who make music together are a band. They have a few albums and EPs that are all very enjoyable. I enjoy the music a lot, right down my street. Nothing wrong with that.

Band im the vocalist for. We cover a Bloodbath song, and it is beyond fun. And very hard. The vocal patterns to Stillborn Saviour are immense. Such a pwerful song too!

Im a death metal band so... what else can you expect? Haha!
 
I love Opeth, but can understand why others don't.....I didn't like them at first. When Blackwater Park came out, I started hearing murmurings of them and some swedish friends were always on at me to listen to them. Dom Lawson at Kerrang (at the time) had also told me to listen to them (I used to moderate on their forum years ago....met my other half through that forum)

I couldn't be arsed checking Opeth out at the time :D

When I did listen to them, it was at a gig in the Underworld on that Blackwater Park tour....supported by Katatonia. It was my 2nd 'date' with my now wife.....genius idea that, bring her to that gig when she's not a fan of that style at all but free tickets must be used. Anyway....I'd gone along mainly to see Katatonia, but took it as an opportunity to have a listen to Opeth. They came on and I just didn't get it. The place was rammed, and the crowd were well into them, but I just couldn't get into it. The changes in style during songs was a bit too much for me to enjoy.....change style between songs, sure, but during? Fuck that....gimme the crunch! :D

So, after they finish I'm heading out the venue and bump into Dom Lawson and he says 'so you finally got into them then?'....and he didn't like my reply of 'Nope. Comes across as Metal by numbers....here's a handbook of all things metal fans should like, let's whack as much of it as possible into one song'

Few weeks later, HMV have a sale on and I find Opeth's back catalogue on sale for £5 each....no Blackwater park, but I picked up 'My Arms, Your Hearse'

And fuck me....that's a cracker of an album. Love it. I got them at last, and went back next day to grab 'Still Life' and 'Morningrise', and followed that up at a later point with 'Orchid' and 'Blackwater Park'. Now that I had them all, I listened to them in the order of release and saw how they were progressing through their style.....and still are.

'My Arms...' is still my favourite album by them, as it appeals most to my death metal side, but the later albums ('Ghost Reveries', 'Watershed') are great too. The only "bad" album is that fecker 'Blackwater Park'...I just don't like it :D

So, in short....I love them. But I can see why people don't because I didn't either.....and I can still hear why people wouldn't like them now.
 
FUCK I still don't have Ghost Reveries! I guess that should be next on my list....
 
still life and ghost reveries are the sex though.

Just searched through the forum to find a thread like this to point out this very statement. To me, my dominant prejudice has kept Opeth away for a long time, but this week I went to buy the Still Life album. I am truly amazed. The concept, lyrics and the musical contrasts are just pure art. If I am to point my finger on one minus though, I'd have to agree with that "bits-put-together"-thing. It's like every riff could've appeared perfectly in every other song. However, I would highly recommend this to everyone!
 
Been a fan since 1998 and happily to say, saw them play in the Cathouse in their 1st ever UK tour, saw them another 5 times after that, the pinnacle being the Barrowlands co-headlining Archenemy whom ironicly were on the same bill as Opeth in their 1st UK tour

I was gutted to have missed them with Dream Theater in October due to my recuperation from surgery.
 
the last album watershed burned out lots quicker than previous releases. Seems they lost some of their magic with the new lineup. Regardless i've seen them live 7 times, and still look forward to more of their records.
 
Yeah, I have to say I disagree about the new line up. While Watershed wasn't their best album, it was definitely solid. Axe is a great drummer and I think Fredrik's guitar style brings another dimension to the band, especially with his solos.
 
sorry to be a buzzkill, but i absolutely loved their older stuff up to blackwater park, and even damnation and deliverance, but as soon as Lopez left I lost a lot of interest. His drumming was SO good it was a huge thing for me in that band. When I saw them without him it wasn't as good. Then Peter left, and it just wasn't Opeth for me, and i've seen them a few times.

Still, I love Mikael's voice and song writing.
 
Blackwater Park, Still Life and Ghost Reveries are simply incredible. A band at the top of their game.

BUT yeah most of the time a lot of the riffs and parts in songs could be easily interchangeable with any other part in any other song and it wouldnt matter, they are amazing but not as amazing as you think when you realise that theres no actual structure (although i'm in evile so i'm sure there will be fallout from that comment haha)

Still, those 3 albums are top notch.

As for live, they don't have that special thing anymore, the new members don't have that magic feeling and personality in their playing, it's gone along with the players.

Oh but those albums, so damn good.
 
Can I tell you boys a wee secret

I'm not overly keen on Watershed, it just doesn't do it for me, that album is like my World Painted Red but not as extreme dislike, I just can't feel it, Lopez left due to ill health if memory serves, I think he was severely depressed and just couldn't cope with the immense attention that Opeth creates, Peter just got more or less fed up and wanted to do something else, Mikeal has a great stage pressence that you could more or less say that he is Opeth and the other guys are just the backing musicians.
 
I still think Mikeal is one of the coolest people in metal.

As for Watershed, it was the first Opeth album I bought, so it has a special place in my heart ;)
After I got that album, I REALLY got into them and I bought all of their albums except Ghost Reveries and The Roundhouse Tapes (which will be ordered soon).