What do you dislike about Opeth's music?

[Nico]

I think Black Rose Immortal deserves a break. Obviously, Mike set out to write a 20 minute song. People get stuck into it because it's a single audio track, where as I've always looked at it as more of... how do I describe... a book of short stories... get it?

 

[etotheipiequalsminus1]

For me the repitition - particularly on the deliverance album - gets annoying.

Also I think the critisisms of Opeth fans is generally unfounded. Most here make intelligent contributions.

 

[Detric]

I think some of their songs is a little too long. A Fair Judgement and The Moor. But still great songs.

 

[Conservatory Resonance]

i dont like it how mikaels lyrics arent that personal to him
alot of the lyrics just talk about imagery and use big vocabulary words to sound cool

the best lyrics are the ones u can relate to and thats why everyone loves the to bid u farwell lyrics, etc. Like you might take drapery falls, or funeral portrait, what is it about, i cant get any emotion out of the lyrics and i rekon the songs would touch me more if it id.

maybe cuz mike kinda rites them last thing in 1 day or sumthing

then again wateva opeth are great

 

[RjBeals]

Since I grew up on 80's metal, I still like the "chunk" of the muted power chords - like the off time riff at the end of deliverance. I wish Mikael used more of that. Sometimes the distored open chords get kinda bla sounding to me (Man, I hated saying that).

 

[Demilich]

Lots of good answers so far! This thread has been pretty fun to read! Feel free to expand on your answers guys, and the fans didn't make the music, so why bother mentioning them!?

 

[Korlich]

I personally dislike the production of Morningrise, especially the drums and it pisses me off each time I hear it ´cos I can´t help but think how awesome "Advent" or "BRI" would´ve sounded if produced better. Another thing that has begun to bother me is the "telephone-voice" it´s everywhere on BWP, and in Masters apprentice it plain sucks. I also think Deliverance is a little to repetive but it´s not such a big issue to me as it use to be.

 

[koolboee cdmo87]

Also, lack of 'metallness' a lot of the time. Opeth's music doesnt realy share many of the characteristics of metal, except for heaviness and the growled vocals.

What do you mean? To me, that has always been the point of Opeth... how unique they are.

As for Lopez, I think he has been amazing. You're right that he could've had more freedom on his first three albums... but he showed just how good he could be in terms of speed, odd timing, and precision on Deliverance. I think Damnation is his best work, because of the "ornamented grooves" he plays... really unique, and very cool to hear.

 

[Demoke]

Actually, the over-repetition of riffs I think is due to the lack of preparation for their last albums. That's what annoys me. It seems as if to get the formulaic ten-plus-minute song, the solution was to repeat a bit more the little material they had gathered. It really pisses me off that they said something like "we're sorry, we'll be well prepared next time" or hearing Méndez say he was learning the songs in the studio... They can only relieve my pain with their OPUS MAGNUM, to come.

 

[ChrisAHC]

hmmm...was deliverance rushed? maybe they still wanted to have 10 minute long songs but didnt write enough material for it...so they kinda repeated the riffs they had made over and over again. They probably repeat riffs on other albums a lot but I only seemed to notice it on deliverance...maybe cos they didn't frantically layer 5 guitars on that album and it was more noticeable...

So yeh the repetition on deliverance...and the drums which should be varied up a bit

 

[adnilem]

i dont like it how mikaels lyrics arent that personal to him
alot of the lyrics just talk about imagery and use big vocabulary words to sound cool

the best lyrics are the ones u can relate to and thats why everyone loves the to bid u farwell lyrics, etc. Like you might take drapery falls, or funeral portrait, what is it about, i cant get any emotion out of the lyrics and i rekon the songs would touch me more if it id.

maybe cuz mike kinda rites them last thing in 1 day or sumthing

then again wateva opeth are great

I disagree. (I know by the tone of the e-mail that you could be joking, but...) I like lyrics that show imagery much better than the personal lyrics. I think the lyrics that are sometimes narrative and descriptive create much more of an atmosphere. I think they are loaded with emotion. I can't stand it when a band writes lyrics that deal with their personal problems, the whining gets annoying after awhile. Just my opinion.

 

[Dhalaren]

I disagree. (I know by the tone of the e-mail that you could be joking, but...) I like lyrics that show imagery much better than the personal lyrics. I think the lyrics that are sometimes narrative and descriptive create much more of an atmosphere. I think they are loaded with emotion. I can't stand it when a band writes lyrics that deal with their personal problems, the whining gets annoying after awhile. Just my opinion.

I know exactly what you mean, bands that complain about their problems in their lyrics usually aren't Death Metal bands. I've always found lyrics that use imagery and create a certain mood or atmosphere are really great.

To answer the the thread's question, mostly I think all of Opeth is good, but there are times when I think, "What?! This riffs still playing?" But that's not very often.

 

[ethereallights]

Opeth was the first "death" metal band that I became a fan of. (I use the word death because it basically was the first band for me to listen to that used different vocals from singing, or growling. Please none of those unneccisary remarks like "IT'S NOT DEATH METAL YOU IDIOT. DEATH METAL IS BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH" because I know it isn't just death metal.) I used to not like the "death" vocals (first album was BWP) and I thought that if they didn't use them they would be the perfect band.

The death vocals grew on me, and I can say that in my book, Opeth is the perfect band. I find nothing wrong with their music, because I enjoy it, and it has opened me up to the vast and exciting world of underground and european metal.

 

[Risquit]

i dont like it how mikaels lyrics arent that personal to him
alot of the lyrics just talk about imagery and use big vocabulary words to sound cool

the best lyrics are the ones u can relate to and thats why everyone loves the to bid u farwell lyrics, etc. Like you might take drapery falls, or funeral portrait, what is it about, i cant get any emotion out of the lyrics and i rekon the songs would touch me more if it id.

maybe cuz mike kinda rites them last thing in 1 day or sumthing

then again wateva opeth are great

Dude, I feel the exact same way. Except for some of the Damnation tracks "In My Time of Need" and especially, the sad "Hope Leaves". Just think how great his songwriting can truly be when it comes from a real place.

 

[Nico]

What do you mean? To me, that has always been the point of Opeth... how unique they are.

Surely, but when you listen to metal, there are certain fundemental elements that make metal different from say, Celine Dion. One of those elements is the energy the music creates... just look at thrash metal for the perfect example. I dont beleive Opeth's music has a very strong grasp of this 'energy', and as Steven Wilson mentions on the DVD, "there is a degree of musicality and sophistication in Opeth's music that has NOTHING to do with metal at all"...

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Surely, but when you listen to metal, there are certain fundemental elements that make metal different from say, Celine Dion. One of those elements is the energy the music creates... just look at thrash metal for the perfect example. I dont beleive Opeth's music has a very strong grasp of this 'energy', and as Steven Wilson mentions on the DVD, "there is a degree of musicality and sophistication in Opeth's music that has NOTHING to do with metal at all"...

THat's exactly what I love about Opeth, they are playing metal, but in fact it is not metal at all.

 

[Super Mahrio]

Ok, I usually dont have to say this, but WHAT THE FUCK DOeS THAT MEAN??? Do you mean that it's really random??? I know Feng Shui, but what do you mean in musical sense???

uhh it means its arranged in a manner of putting things in a maticulous place in a maticulous manner...its arranged in such a precise way....however almost every song they have is arranged this way....and at times it tends to grow stale because its not random, its planned out with such deliberation that it reminds me of Feng Shui

 

[Rose Immortal]

I am apparently one of the few that does not have a problem with the repeating riffs on the song "Deliverance". In fact, I don't want that end section to stop!!! But that's the way I am...sometimes, when I hear a riff or a section of a song that I like, I'll obsess over it, listen to it several times in a row to take in every nuance. Now, sometimes there are riffs I don't like as much--but when I hear a good one, I actually like the repetition of it.

2 of my pet peeves about Opeth's music are related to the first 2 albums (certainly understanding that there would be issues in the beginning, for any band), and I know the band has since dealt with them. The third I know was the result of some severe problems during the recording process, and I am understanding of that, even though it does mean I don't usually listen to that particular album by itself.

--The production on Orchid/Morningrise...Orchid definitely suffered, but Morningrise also had some issues...particularly that one guitar tone that for whatever reason, gets old after awhile (for me).

--The vocals on Orchid and Morningrise are kinda...high-pitched in the screaming sections, and I prefer what's done on the albums from MAYH forward. I should also note that Mikael has made great strides with his clean vocals over time, as well.

--The mixing on Deliverance...I wish it hadn't come out quite that way, but I give the band credit for doing the best they could under adverse circumstances.

 

[ethereallights]

Why are we being such critics, we should enjoy this marvelous band!!

 

[koolboee cdmo87]

Rose, I think that the weird guitar tone on the first two albums may be because of the twin guitars... where Mikael and Peter play simultaneously, rather similarly but a little bit different. Sometimes it sounds like only one guitar, but played very strangely, like the beginning of "The Night and the Silent Water." I don't own the purchased version of Orchid yet (I DO plan on it especially since I need it to complete my Opeth collection), but on Morningrise, I noticed that Mikael's guitar plays in one channel while Peter plays in the other... which sounds cool sometimes, but on the other hand it can also be annoying.