OPETH: “HERITAGE”

 Album Reviews  14 Responses »
Sep 262011
 

(NCS writer BadWolf reviews the controversial new album from Opeth.)

The mark of a good album is that I cannot stop listening to it, the mark of a great album is that it makes me think, and Heritage is spinning my gears the way Opeth first did six years ago. When I first heard Ghost Reveries, it opened up my eyes to the possibilities of metal to be artful, emotional.  Heritage is opening my eyes to the possibilities of abandoning metal (and genre, period) entirely.  This is in many ways a massive departure, but a necessary one.

But first let’s talk about that adjective “progressive.” Opeth are prog, but not progressive; after all, how can Mikael Åkerfeldt progress when he’s effectively re-written 1999’s Still Life album 4 times in a decade to varying results? For ten years Opeth has only explored Chiarascuro (admittedly, an amazing concept). They have already mastered the juxtaposition between light and dark in a metal context to the point where they’re being imitated constantly (with almost no success).  Heritage needed to happen—Opeth needed to expand their palate or commit to rereleasing lesser permutations of Blackwater Park forever. Here’s a very NCS metaphor: the sex was getting boring. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

FOR THE SAKE OF COMPLETENESS: THE NEW MASTODON AND OPETH VIDEOS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Sep 242011
 


Most of the time I act on impulse and the rest of the time I over-think things. Yesterday or the day before, both Mastodon and Opeth released new music videos for songs from their new albums. I had already posted new videos yesterday from The Devin Townsend Project and Dark Tranquillity, but because Mastodon and Opeth don’t use the initials “DT”, I decided to skip them.

Actually, I decided to skip them because, by the time I found out they had been released, I figured that anyone who cared about those bands had already seen them via some other metal blog or elsewhere. I think that qualifies as over-thinking things. Both videos are good, some people who visit NCS don’t read other metal blogs, and just because I was going to be late to the party doesn’t mean I should ignore the party, so . . . both videos are now viewable the jump.

Mastodon’s is for a song called “Curl of the Burl”. The song is okay, with a nice stoner riff running through it, but it probably isn’t going to join my list of Mastodon favorites. The video is freaky to watch, though. I especially liked the boobs shining as bright as headlights. And if anyone can figure out what that backwoods cretin is snorting in his cabin, please clue me in.

Opeth’s video is for “The Devil’s Orchard” and, like the Mastodon video, it appears to be a drug-induced dream. Some of the psychedelic images are cliched, but the video as a whole is still very well done and fun to watch, and it complements the song quite well. I just wish I liked the song more. Continue reading »

A THOUGHT PIECE (or THOUGHTS IN PIECES) — AND “HERITAGE” IS NOW STREAMING IN FULL

 Mosh Pit  43 Responses »
Sep 122011
 

Opeth’s new album, Heritage, leaked at some point in the last week or two, I forget when exactly. The official release date isn’t until September 20, but lots of fans have already heard it — and as of today you can now hear the whole thing in a stream at NPR — and flame wars have already begun here, there, and everywhere. Mikael Åkerfeldt has been giving interviews about the album (here, there, and everywhere). Among other things, he has said (here) that although the album isn’t “a massive departure for me and for the guys in the band,” some of the band’s legions of fans may find it “different.”

In the same interview, he said, “We don’t make albums thinking about the fans too much. We have been fortunate to have people who have accepted what we put out so far. Because we were just doing what we wanted to hear and apparently other people liked it too. So I’m hoping it’s going to be the same for this album.” When asked about fans who shout “treachery” whenever a band decides to tread off the path they have beaten, he replied: “Well, they wouldn’t be fans if we hadn’t started as a band. We have fans because we did what we wanted. Our success, or whatever you want to call it, is based on the fact that we do what we want as opposed to doing what the fans want. So it doesn’t apply to us.”

Oh, I beg to differ Monsieur Åkerfeldt! You can’t so easily escape the ire of fans who are already up in arms over Heritage, calling it “boring”, or “lazy” or “70’s prog rock”, or worse. Of course, there are at least as many defenders of the Opeth faith who, while agreeing that it’s “different”, admire the music on Heritage and support the freedom of the band to do whatever it is they did on the album.

I’m not entirely sure what they did, because I’ve only heard the first song that premiered back in July — “The Devil’s Orchard”. I liked much of the instrumental music on the song, didn’t care for the vocals, and decided I probably wouldn’t listen to the song again (after the first four times). But that’s mainly because of my own taste in music. This just isn’t the style of metal (if it is metal) that I want to hear. But I wouldn’t say the song is bad, for what it is. Which leads to a few thoughts and a few questions about “music criticism” and fan response (after the jump). Continue reading »

OPETH: “THE DEVIL’S ORCHARD”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Jul 262011
 

Not long ago, Stereogum premiered the first song to be released from Heritage, the next album from Opeth. It’s the album’s second track, following a piano-led intro. I haven’t tried to embed it, because I’m hurrying off to SUMMER SLAUGHTER, but HERE IS THE LINK to Stereogum, where you can listen. In fact, I’m in so much of a hurry that I haven’t heard this song either. Let me know what you think.

THIS IS COOL

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Jul 112011
 

This.

Opeth performing one of my favorite Opeth songs, “The Grand Conjuration”, live at the U.K. installment of the Sonisphere festival, which was held July 8-10, 2011 at Knebworth House. Professionally filmed, multiple camera-perspectives (including a great shot of Martin Axenrot’s concentrated face viewed through a hole in a cymbal), awesome sound, smoke.

This is one of the reasons we recognize Exceptions to the Rule of no clean singing.

Equally superb clips of Opeth performing “Face of Melinda”, “The Lotus Eater”, “Master’s Apprentices”, and “Hex Omega” can be viewed here.

Opeth’s new album, Heritage, will be out September 20 on Roadrunner Records.

NEWZ FROM ALL OVER (INCLUDING A MASSIVE INTERVIEW FAIL) AND ONE ACTUAL SONG

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  28 Responses »
Jun 222011
 

I’ve never been entirely sure about the point of metal news releases about music you can’t yet hear, albums you can’t yet buy, and tours for which you can’t yet acquire tickets, but people still seem to be interested in this kind of shit. Not me, of course. I’m so fucking zen-like in my outlook that these kinds of pointless cock-teasers just flow over me like a soft summer breeze, barely ruffling my hair. My pulse rate doesn’t move a beat from its normal, slothlike resting state. I remain as steady and unmoving as a hummingbird.

Wait, that didn’t end right. Okay, well maybe it did. Truth is, I am metal-nerd enough to get excited about this stuff, though I can’t provide any rational reason why. In keeping with our unintentional Finn-centric theme of this week’s posts, several of these items focus on Finnish metal.

So, here’s the top-level summary of news for this post: Announcement of two new European tours — one featuring Gorgoroth and Vader and the other headlined by Machine Head; a progress report on Insomnium‘s new album; word of an all-star album (and the label “all-star” is no bullshit) in the planning stages from Finland’s Spinefarm Records; and perhaps the most glaring example I’ve seen in months of an interviewer failing to ask a follow-up question (in this case, about Opeth‘s new album).

While I’ve got your attention, I might as well also throw in some music you can actually hear right now — high-quality footage of Suicide Silence performing a song from their forthcoming new album.  (all that stuff after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

WOULD YOU BELIEVE YET ANOTHER OPETH OPDATE?

 Metal News  5 Responses »
Jun 022011
 

Do you think we’re overdoing it with these Opeth opdates? Nah. Not possible, is it?

Especially when this opdate concerns the initial dates for a North American Opeth tour with Katatonia. Yes, you read that correctly. Tour news! Here are the dates that have been disclosed so far:

Sep. 19 – Worcester, MA – Palladium
Sep. 20 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre
Sep. 21 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Sep. 22 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Sep. 26 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
Sep. 28 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom
Sep. 29 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend
Oct. 06 – Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
Oct. 08 – Winnipeg, MB – Garrick Centre
Oct. 16 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
Oct. 21 – Pomona, CA – The Fox Theater
Oct. 25 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theater

More dates will be coming in the near future. Seattle better be one of them or there will be hell to pay. I can sense Opeth trembling in their boots already, just imagining the awful wrath of NCS if Seattle is snubbed.

But that’s not the only opdate we have. You may be asking yourself, “Self, how will Opeth play live shows without a keyboardist?” Answer: There’s reason to believe Opeth has found a replacement for Per Wiberg, who was relieved of his duties in April. For the latest word on that, continue on after the jump. Continue reading »

MORE 2011 SICKNESS (PART 6)

 Forthcoming Albums  2 Responses »
Jun 022011
 


Damn, I’m finally able to go outside without shivering and being beaten about the head and shoulders with high winds and rain blowing sideways. That must mean it’s June in Seattle!  And so it is. A largely dismal May is behind us, the Seattle Mariners are astonishingly only a game and a half out of first place in their division (that’s baseball for you outlanders), and the summer lies ahead.

What else lies ahead? A bunch of new metal, of course. And because it’s the beginning of a new month, we’re bringing you another installment of METAL IN THE FORGE, in which we collect news blurbs and press releases we’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, we cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — this isn’t a cumulative list. If we found out about a new album during April or preceding months, we wrote about them in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier. This month’s list begins right after the jump. Look for your favorite bands, or get intrigued about some new ones. Continue reading »

ANOTHER OPETH OPDATE

 Metal News  15 Responses »
Jun 012011
 

Yes, that’s the opdate, right op there at the top of this post — the just-disclosed cover for Opeth‘s next album, Heritage. The artist is the very talented Travis Smith, who has done many other Opeth album covers in addition to cover art for dozens of other bands you’ve heard of.

So, all you album art critics out there, what do you think? With one lingering reservation, I think it’s damned cool. I love the vibrant colors and the arrangement of fantastical images, and the suggestion of the demonic underground feeding life to the green Opethian tree from which an endless line of fans is feeding (or at least that’s how I’m interpreting it).

The lingering reservation stems from those heads of the band members in the tree. It adds to the psychedelic aura of the whole picture, but it’s also a bit campy.

Coming back to the colors, much of what Travis Smith has done for the band in the past has been sombre and monotone (though there have been exceptions). After the jump, I’ve collected all of the cover art he’s done for the band in the past. Take a look — and by all means, let’s hear what you think of this cover.

ALSO, I’ve now got the detailed reactions to this cover of NCS writer BadWolf. He and I each wrote our thoughts without seeing what the other thought. Among other things, he sees this cover as a sign (among others) that Heritage will not be a metal album. Check out what he has to say after the jump, too. Continue reading »

OPETH OPDATE

 Metal News  10 Responses »
May 262011
 

I’ve been thinking about Opeth, and it has affected my word formulation. It’s some kind of temporary phonemic speech disorder, I think. But I’m not sure. I’ll have to continue thinking opon it. But for now, onward and opward!

So yes, I’ve been thinking about Opeth because some additional details were released this morning about their next album, entitled Heritage, which will be their tenth.

First, it will be released on September 20 by Roadrunner Records. Second, it was produced by the band’s vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt and it was mixed by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Åkerfeldt.  Third, Travis Smith (who has created many other Opeth covers) worked with Åkerfeldt to create, design and execute the album’s artwork.

Fourth, Åkerfeldt had a few things to say about the album: “It will be our 10th album/observation. I dig it; we all do. In fact, it feels like I’ve been building up to write for and participate on an album like this since I was 19.” He also had some intriguing things to say about the music — which we’ll quote for you after the jump. Continue reading »

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