I had an experience today that I have had before. I was in my apartment listening to music, when my friend came over. The cd-player and just switched to "Still Life" when he came in, he started listening and said, "Wow, I really like this." As soon as growls came he told me, "Oh man, turn this shit off." He wouldn't even give it a chance. Now, I understand people not liking the vocals of Opeth, but I get pissed off when people pass judgement without ever giving something a chance, especially with Opeth which I love so much. Am I wrong to feel this way? Do you have similar experiences with people shunning something without understanding it?
Why don't people give Opeth a chance?
- Thread starter S4R
- Start date
I was about to do the same thing as your friend did when I first heard Still Life. Hmmm ... I guess years of prog experience have taught me to be patient. And I was. And here I am.
Juggie
Member
there was a time when i was depressed..i was so tired of hearing the human voice, opeth was my excape..but i think its the vocals that bring the power.
Obyeybyeogone
New Metal Member
Duvall
Ia!
I know what you mean. I love to open peoples' minds, but most people cannot get past the vocals.
They're too trained as to what the human voice should sound like, not prepared for any kind of deviation. It's like..we're higher beings or something!
hah, yeah, right
They're too trained as to what the human voice should sound like, not prepared for any kind of deviation. It's like..we're higher beings or something!
hah, yeah, right
Morningrise
...I am just thin air...
The argument that my friends have come up with about the growls is what good is it to sing (any style) if you can't understand what their singing. My response was how about Led Zepplin and they deemed Plant's voice is like another instrument, so I claim that Mikael's growls are also like another instrument. The outcome was still the same which leaves me to say THEIR LOSS!
Enjoy the moment......
Enjoy the moment......
crumbling mirth
the song remains the same
Lina
kickass elizabethan style
i've told people this and it seems to open their minds a little bit. they still might not like it, but at least they can begin to understand it. it really bothered me at first too -- i listened to opeth in the beginning just for the music and tried to block out the death vocals, but now i love them and wouldn't want JUST singing. they really add an agressive *timbre* to the mix, like another instrument.
crumbling mirth
the song remains the same
yes. the contrast of clean vox and growls gives opeth's music extraodinary depth. the growls also allow us to treasure the clean vocals all that much more, irrespective of how sparse they may be at times.
opeth's brilliance isn't necessarily revealed on first listen, and similarly the vocal delivery demands quite a degree of perseverance. yet those who persevere are warmly rewarded.
opeth's brilliance isn't necessarily revealed on first listen, and similarly the vocal delivery demands quite a degree of perseverance. yet those who persevere are warmly rewarded.
Kushantaiidan
SPASIBA AX.
I left BWP with my guitar teacher for a week.
He said:
"Well, I put it on, and sat there, bobbing my head, going oh year, 12 bars of the same riff, then the roaring came, and it was yuk. So I turned it off. But the next day, I tried again, put it on, the growls still annoyed me, so I went and made a cup of coffe, and came back, and I noticed something, these riffs were AMAZING, so I sat and listen to the whole thing, and over the week I've showed this album to about 10 of my students, and a few said they were going to buy the album."
So yeah, he liked it. He said Still Life was boring though. *Shruggs*
He said:
"Well, I put it on, and sat there, bobbing my head, going oh year, 12 bars of the same riff, then the roaring came, and it was yuk. So I turned it off. But the next day, I tried again, put it on, the growls still annoyed me, so I went and made a cup of coffe, and came back, and I noticed something, these riffs were AMAZING, so I sat and listen to the whole thing, and over the week I've showed this album to about 10 of my students, and a few said they were going to buy the album."
So yeah, he liked it. He said Still Life was boring though. *Shruggs*
when i first heard opeth i liked it until the growls came in, i fast forwarded the cd, and promptly put it away for a about a month or so. i decided to listen to heavy music one day while everyone was out, and in my haste i picked up the opeth cd only remembering that i liked the music but was unsure about the singing. for some reason they clicked and i haven't looked back. deffinetely one of if not the best band i know.
rogue27
Misanthropic Lich
It took me a while to get into Opeth because of the Vocals, but I liked the whole "sprawling" feeling of their song structures (this was Orchid I was listening to) had to them, and I liked the general "nature vibe" the band and the songs had to them.
First time I put the disc into the stereo, I was listening to the first minute or so of the first song, and thinking, "wow, I really like this" but as soon as the vocals kicked in, I was like "Hmm... I don't think I like that."
It was probably 6 months or so before I listened to it again. Just some night, I was like, "I'm going to play this all the way through and give it a chance" and although I still didn't like the vocals, I really appreciated the instrumental sections in the songs. (vocals were more sparse on their older CDs) So, anyway, I played it again the same night and started liking it.
Then I went into the phase where I was "ashamed" of it I guess. I mean, I didn't think others would like it, so I would not play it around anybody else, only when I was alone. It became my "relax in the room by myself" music, and I really started to like it, and it made me feel kinda unqiue in the sense that I had this thing all to myself and nobody knew about it.
I eventually got all of Opeth's CDs, but only recently started playing it for my friends and family and stuff. For the most part, the initial reaction is somewhat negative, but most of my friends have given them a serious listen and have started buying their CDs.
One person I actually sent an MP3 to "The Drapery Falls" from Blackwater Park said she thought it was awesome. The vocals didn't phase her one bit, and the next time I talked to her she said, "That Opeth song you sent me is amazing. I just listened to it 3 times in a row."
I try and have everyone I know give Opeth a listen, because I think the band deserves it, and for the people that like it, it really adds something nice to their lives.
First time I put the disc into the stereo, I was listening to the first minute or so of the first song, and thinking, "wow, I really like this" but as soon as the vocals kicked in, I was like "Hmm... I don't think I like that."
It was probably 6 months or so before I listened to it again. Just some night, I was like, "I'm going to play this all the way through and give it a chance" and although I still didn't like the vocals, I really appreciated the instrumental sections in the songs. (vocals were more sparse on their older CDs) So, anyway, I played it again the same night and started liking it.
Then I went into the phase where I was "ashamed" of it I guess. I mean, I didn't think others would like it, so I would not play it around anybody else, only when I was alone. It became my "relax in the room by myself" music, and I really started to like it, and it made me feel kinda unqiue in the sense that I had this thing all to myself and nobody knew about it.
I eventually got all of Opeth's CDs, but only recently started playing it for my friends and family and stuff. For the most part, the initial reaction is somewhat negative, but most of my friends have given them a serious listen and have started buying their CDs.
One person I actually sent an MP3 to "The Drapery Falls" from Blackwater Park said she thought it was awesome. The vocals didn't phase her one bit, and the next time I talked to her she said, "That Opeth song you sent me is amazing. I just listened to it 3 times in a row."
I try and have everyone I know give Opeth a listen, because I think the band deserves it, and for the people that like it, it really adds something nice to their lives.
Duvall
Ia!
I think a lot of people may shy away because the growls sound so painful. 
Kushantaiidan: I love the story about your guitar teacher. Always like to hear of people with minds open enough to give the album a second try. But why did he find Still Life boring? That's a shame.
I'm trying to get some friends into Opeth, but a bunch of people have just said "Oh yeah, such and such a person used to play Rammstein and all this stuff all the time." Why do people think that Rammstein is metal? Or that the vocals are at all similar?
All it takes is someone to be prepared to hear them, and I find it's best to pick a song like Moonlapse Vertigo or The Drapery Falls, which have heavier music, but start on clean singing. Maybe hand them a lyric sheet as well, so they can try to follow along. I always found it interesting to try growling along when I started to listen to metal.
Let's keep recruiting new Opethians! Share this beautiful art with the world!
Kushantaiidan: I love the story about your guitar teacher. Always like to hear of people with minds open enough to give the album a second try. But why did he find Still Life boring? That's a shame.
I'm trying to get some friends into Opeth, but a bunch of people have just said "Oh yeah, such and such a person used to play Rammstein and all this stuff all the time." Why do people think that Rammstein is metal? Or that the vocals are at all similar?
All it takes is someone to be prepared to hear them, and I find it's best to pick a song like Moonlapse Vertigo or The Drapery Falls, which have heavier music, but start on clean singing. Maybe hand them a lyric sheet as well, so they can try to follow along. I always found it interesting to try growling along when I started to listen to metal.
Let's keep recruiting new Opethians! Share this beautiful art with the world!
