It's slightly hard to believe, but today marks the 100th post since I started 365 Days of Metal back on August 22nd of last year.
Despite a minor hiatus that lasted a couple months, due to the dreaded combo of business and laziness, everything so far has gone more or less according to plan, and in a way that exceeded some of my own expectations.
365 Days of Metal is first and foremost something I do for fun. It allows me to explore the depths of my favorite music, discover new bands and artists and share that with friends, and of course anyone else who stumbles upon it. While I don't do this for recognition or praise, it's always nice to get feedback from people, but most of all from artists who might happen to come across one of their recordings up on here. It's rare, but it's always a fun surprise.
Day 100
Band Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
Label: Music for Nations
Running Time: 67 minutes
Release Date: February 27, 2001
Best Part: The title track for this remains one of my favorite songs in the history of everything, and aims to stay that way for a long time.
Favorite Tracks: Blackwater Park, Dirge for November, Patterns in the Ivy, Bleak, and The Drapery Falls
Grade: 5.0
---------
Blackwater Park in way more than 20 words or less:
While My Arms, Your Hearse was the album that would mark the beginning of the earliest shift in Opeth's sound and pushed them onto the world stage, Blackwater Park is without a doubt their magnum opus, and the record that would define them as one of the best metal groups of this generation.
The Band:
Opeth is a five member progressive metal band from Sweden which was founded in 1990. The most interesting point in the history of the band is in its formation, as original vocalist David Isberg had asked then bassist Mikael Åkerfeldt to join the group, despite having not informed the other band members that he would be joining, including the bands current bassist; something which did not go over well with the rest of the group. The end result had everyone but Isberg and Åkerfeldt leaving to start a new project. The irony behind the humble beginnings of the band would be that Åkerfeldt would eventually become not only the only remaining original member of Opeth, but would become the driving force behind the bands success, as its lead songwriter, lyricist and visionary. Since 1990, Opeth has crossed over a number of musical styles, with their earliest works following a blend of progressive death metal and progressive black metal. Their gateway opening album My Arms, Your Hearse would be the record that introduced the first significant shift in sound for the band as they moved prominently into the progressive death metal genre, and it was also their first international release, garnering them increased worldly attention. Opeth is known for their ability to blend every aspect of their chosen musical styles, in creating vast soundscapes which run between clean, serene acoustic or piano driven passages, leading into high tempo, furious death metal ensembles. In more recent years, Opeth has begun to shed its death metal persona, leaning towards a more straight forward progressive metal or progressive rock and jazz fusion approach, with Åkerfeldt even eliminating death growls from their last two releases, and some of the more heavy, extreme elements from their most recent release, 2011's Heritage.
Åkerfeldt has stated that "[he] doesn't see the point of playing in a band and going just one way when you can do everything". Something which speaks to the willingness to experiment and evolve within, and even outside of their musical roots.
Opeth's other releases include: Orchid (1995), Morningrise (1996), My Arms, Your Hearse (1998), Still Life (1999), Deliverance (2002), Damnation (2003), Ghost Reveries (2005), Watershed (2008), and Heritage (2011)
Jay's Take on Blackwater Park:
Blackwater Park has been described by many different individuals, in many different and almost polarizing ways. Some have called it breathtaking. Some have gone as far to compare it to critically acclaimed records from eras past. Then there are others who would say that despite its epic soundscapes, Opeth remains a group that is inaccessible to many metal aficionado's due to the level of stylistic shifts, and sheer length of most tracks. Some have even said that some of the tracks are just plain boring. Regardless of what position you may find yourself in, Blackwater Park is the album that would catapult Opeth onto the world stage following the stylistic changes that had begun in the three years prior with My Arms, Your Hearse and Still Life.
Opeth is a five member progressive metal band from Sweden which was founded in 1990. The most interesting point in the history of the band is in its formation, as original vocalist David Isberg had asked then bassist Mikael Åkerfeldt to join the group, despite having not informed the other band members that he would be joining, including the bands current bassist; something which did not go over well with the rest of the group. The end result had everyone but Isberg and Åkerfeldt leaving to start a new project. The irony behind the humble beginnings of the band would be that Åkerfeldt would eventually become not only the only remaining original member of Opeth, but would become the driving force behind the bands success, as its lead songwriter, lyricist and visionary. Since 1990, Opeth has crossed over a number of musical styles, with their earliest works following a blend of progressive death metal and progressive black metal. Their gateway opening album My Arms, Your Hearse would be the record that introduced the first significant shift in sound for the band as they moved prominently into the progressive death metal genre, and it was also their first international release, garnering them increased worldly attention. Opeth is known for their ability to blend every aspect of their chosen musical styles, in creating vast soundscapes which run between clean, serene acoustic or piano driven passages, leading into high tempo, furious death metal ensembles. In more recent years, Opeth has begun to shed its death metal persona, leaning towards a more straight forward progressive metal or progressive rock and jazz fusion approach, with Åkerfeldt even eliminating death growls from their last two releases, and some of the more heavy, extreme elements from their most recent release, 2011's Heritage.
Åkerfeldt has stated that "[he] doesn't see the point of playing in a band and going just one way when you can do everything". Something which speaks to the willingness to experiment and evolve within, and even outside of their musical roots.
Opeth's other releases include: Orchid (1995), Morningrise (1996), My Arms, Your Hearse (1998), Still Life (1999), Deliverance (2002), Damnation (2003), Ghost Reveries (2005), Watershed (2008), and Heritage (2011)
Jay's Take on Blackwater Park:
Blackwater Park has been described by many different individuals, in many different and almost polarizing ways. Some have called it breathtaking. Some have gone as far to compare it to critically acclaimed records from eras past. Then there are others who would say that despite its epic soundscapes, Opeth remains a group that is inaccessible to many metal aficionado's due to the level of stylistic shifts, and sheer length of most tracks. Some have even said that some of the tracks are just plain boring. Regardless of what position you may find yourself in, Blackwater Park is the album that would catapult Opeth onto the world stage following the stylistic changes that had begun in the three years prior with My Arms, Your Hearse and Still Life.
Opeth has always been a group to weave tracks together that feel both epic and traverse multiple layers of sound and musical style elements. In doing so, their tracks have always been long, and Blackwater Park is no stranger to this with every track on the record, save for the instrumental interlude Patterns in the Ivy, being over six minutes in length, half of which border or richly surpass the 10 minute mark. I can see where this would beckon the 'inaccessibility' complaint, as not everyone has the time to sit through a 10 minute long track, let alone an album full of them, in every given situation. But in order to create such grandiose levels of progression, groove and musical style, length is a necessity. Blackwater Park features a near perfect balance of the two driving elements of early Opeth, which are the tight progressive grooves, and savage death metal inspired passages intermingling with the calm, mellow passages dominated by clean vocals, acoustic guitar and ambiance. Åkerfeldt's musical direction is clear, as at any moment you are subject to being knocked out of your seat by a swelling rush of sound, and the singers harsh death growls, as much as you are to being taken into a serene dreamlike trance. It's this fine balance and use of dynamic shifts that makes Opeth one of the best progressive metal bands in the history of the genre, and what makes Blackwater Park such a mesmerizing and satisfying experience. I've never quite understood the arguments stating that portions of this album are boring to the point of tears. There is always a sense of progression between each passage on Blackwater Park, whether its during the more subdued moments or in the more energetic sections, you always have the feeling that the track you're listening to is going somewhere, but you're not imminently sure where the next turn will lead you to. To me, that's not boring - that's interesting, it builds a sense of anticipation and excitement that leaves you wanting.
For individuals who are unfamiliar with Opeth, Blackwater Park is a great introduction to the core elements behind their music and style, and along with their two previous releases, serve as a great starting point for anyone wanting to discover the band further. Opeth's more recent work is much more subdued and clean, especially Heritage as I mentioned previously because it has become devoid of the death metal influences of their earlier works. Nonetheless, it's a part of their musical progression, experimentation and evolution, and Opeth remains one of the more inspiring acts of the past 20 years.
Sample of the Day:
- J
0 comments:
Post a Comment