#45 - The Twilight Is My Robe
well folks, with this one we have officially crossed the line into songs that i fully endorse, rather than having qualms about. that said, i feel this is the weakest of the orchid epics. overall the riffs are generally great but they don't kick as much ass as the rest of the album. same arguments apply here as to pretty much the whole first part of their career, i.e. songs are just a bunch of random riffs strung together. but there is a definite charm to these old recordings that was lost in their later material (but made up for by more skillful songwriting and execution).
#44 - White Cluster
easily the weakest song on still life (but still good). everybody makes a big to-do about the solos, but i always thought opeth has way better solo sections elsewhere. also they are mixed waaaaaay too low, but that's a problem with the whole album, not just this song. overall this isn't the perfect closer for the album but it's pretty hard to follow everything that just came before.
#43 - When
another forum favorite but as you can see my favorites lie elsewhere. pretty awesomely monstrous beginning, and generally solid but my one problem is that it feels kind of like a continuation of april ethereal, only not quite as good. but anyhoo the little acoustic break at 1:23, and then the way it comes back in like POW it's one of my favorite opeth moments. also that riff that follows is kinda wonky and jiggish, i like it. unfortunately the beginning of the song is the best part so it loses a little momentum later on, but overall it gets a thumbs up, very solid
#42 - April Ethereal
great opener for the album, keep in mind this was a very new direction for the band at the time so you've got to imagine the shock the fans had. very good momentum, good riffs, and so on. best part: the scream at 5:45 and the CRUSHING riff after it
#41 - To Bid You Farewell
i'm torn on this one. the beginning quiet part = great. the heavy metal part = not so great. so, do the math - it's in the middlish of the list. still overall i enjoy the song, it's just i can't help but feel a little let down when the heavy riffs come in, they just hadn't perfected this kind of song structure yet (see: face of melinda)
well folks, with this one we have officially crossed the line into songs that i fully endorse, rather than having qualms about. that said, i feel this is the weakest of the orchid epics. overall the riffs are generally great but they don't kick as much ass as the rest of the album. same arguments apply here as to pretty much the whole first part of their career, i.e. songs are just a bunch of random riffs strung together. but there is a definite charm to these old recordings that was lost in their later material (but made up for by more skillful songwriting and execution).
#44 - White Cluster
easily the weakest song on still life (but still good). everybody makes a big to-do about the solos, but i always thought opeth has way better solo sections elsewhere. also they are mixed waaaaaay too low, but that's a problem with the whole album, not just this song. overall this isn't the perfect closer for the album but it's pretty hard to follow everything that just came before.
#43 - When
another forum favorite but as you can see my favorites lie elsewhere. pretty awesomely monstrous beginning, and generally solid but my one problem is that it feels kind of like a continuation of april ethereal, only not quite as good. but anyhoo the little acoustic break at 1:23, and then the way it comes back in like POW it's one of my favorite opeth moments. also that riff that follows is kinda wonky and jiggish, i like it. unfortunately the beginning of the song is the best part so it loses a little momentum later on, but overall it gets a thumbs up, very solid
#42 - April Ethereal
great opener for the album, keep in mind this was a very new direction for the band at the time so you've got to imagine the shock the fans had. very good momentum, good riffs, and so on. best part: the scream at 5:45 and the CRUSHING riff after it
#41 - To Bid You Farewell
i'm torn on this one. the beginning quiet part = great. the heavy metal part = not so great. so, do the math - it's in the middlish of the list. still overall i enjoy the song, it's just i can't help but feel a little let down when the heavy riffs come in, they just hadn't perfected this kind of song structure yet (see: face of melinda)
