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Album Reviews
# of "Main" reviews: 359 (mean score: 8.5)
# of additional "User" reviews: 547
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http://www.opeth.com/
Origin: Sweden
(Stokholm)
Formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1990, this progressive death/doom metal band has risen to become one of the most popular groups in the entire prog genre. Their works are characterized by long compositions, dynamic writing that floats between heavy barrages and acoustic interludes, and vocals that trade off death metal growling with clean tones. Opeth's style has apparent crossover appeal, as the band's admirers extend to many metal fans of the non-progressive variety.
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Orchid (1995)
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User review(s) available below.
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Morningrise (1996)
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User review(s) available below.
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My Arms, Your Hearse (1998)
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User review(s) available below.
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Still Life (1999)
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User review(s) available below.
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Blackwater Park (2001)
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User review(s) available below.
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Deliverance (2002)
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User review(s) available below.
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Damnation (2003)
C 7.6
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Not being a fan of death vocals in any way whatsoever, I've so far put Opeth on hold despite rave reviews from prog metal fans and critics. By perhaps no coincidence, Damnation (an all-acoustic experiment with 100% clean vocals) became the first of the band's albums I really sat down to spend quality time with. Unfortunately, the excitement I had for truly experiencing Opeth for the first time was met largely with disappointment. The music, with a melancholy and crispness that does succeed in making the vibe of the album somehow tangible, is respectable and pleasant, but a little too self-limiting in the quest to stay all-acoustic. That is, the material sounds unnaturally burdened by the requirement, underachieving while at the same time creating a monotonous, repetitious sequence of songs. (To Opeth's credit, it was good of them to keep the disc short -- 43 minutes -- to minimize the homogeny.) Not that there's anything wrong or offensive about Damnation's somber vocal tones, passive melodies, Floyd-ian solos, and atmospheric strings, but aside from holding some value for me as a special sort of "artsy" work, it doesn't really offer much when stacked up against all the dynamic and soaring prog rock/metal CDs in my collection. There might be genius in this album somewhere, but I'm more tempted to describe it as simply depressing, acoustic stuff that I expect any group of competent musicians to be able to crank out. (2/11/2007)
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