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Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse CD (album) cover

MY ARMS, YOUR HEARSE

Opeth

 

Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

3.97 | 884 ratings

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frenchie
Prog Reviewer
5 stars By the second track you will imedietly recognise that this is a huge step up from the first 2 albums. The production, riffs and musical exploration have all became so much better. Opeth have really grasped the kind of sound they want to make here. This album is full of great progressive moments. They still stick to their formula of having very heavy parts that lead into acoustic breaks but they sound so much more organised on this album. Mikael really starts to push himself vocally by including some of his most heaviest vocals of Opeth's career as well as starting to express his more emotional side by showing off some of his amazingly talented mellow vocals properly. This album is so much more pleasing to the ear.

I would have to say that this is a strong contender for being the heaviest album that Opeth have made. Though it is not pure death metal as the classical guitar influences are very strong here. This album is incredibly energetic with some of the best and heaviest riffs they have ever written. Things havent got heavier than this till 2002's "Deliverance". This album gleams with Opeth's trademark ghostly, gloomy and haunting essence, represented well with the album artwork. Even the solos here sound better than before and the drums are just incredible, adding to the heavy atmosphere. You can always hear the bass drums pounding at machine gun speed and it is near perfection for the uber metalheads!

i would say that this album is directed more for the heavy fans but the mellow moments here are undeniable. Maybe this album is not for beginners, though it is an excellent journey that really tests just how heavy you can take your music. For me, i love heavy albums, the heavier the better! This is one of the heaviest albums i have ever heard next to Pantera's "The Great Southern Trendkill", Dream Theaters "Train of Thought" and Slipknot's "Iowa".

Opeth have clearly recognise the type of sound and structure that they want to make here. This album is quite unique in their discography as it is the only one to have an intro and an outro, named "Prologue" and "Epilogue". This instantly suggested to me that the album was gonna flow like a dream. This album plays without gaps, and is one continuous journey. "Prologue" enters brilliant with the sound of rainfall, followed by a ghostly piano intro that leads into a fade in vocal harmony from Mikael. This explodes into "April Ethereal", one incredibly heavy and explosive tracks. This album flows excellently with an endless amount of sonic fast riffs, sown together with smooth mellow breaks.

This leads into "When", now judging by the intro this sounds like one of Opeth's mellowest moments, with a soft clean guitar intro and the style of very classical acoustic influence. If you thought this was going to be a soft ride with a built up intro you were wrong, about 20 seconds in this soft clean piece explodes into one of the most frighteningly evil pieces ever! This actually made me jump when i first heard it! Talk about contrast! This song is a real teethkicker, which will have you headbanging for the whole 9 minutes that it lasts for. This track instantly flows into "Madrigal", a soft yet energetically moving piece that takes you into the next heavy outburst, "The Amen Corner", smoothly, keeping the albums flow going with no breaks.

The softest piece on this album is probably "Credence", where the listener really gets the best out of Mikaels mellow vocals. Opeth really hav great lyrics though sometimes they are hard to hear because of the harsh death metal vocals, this gives you a chance to hear the amazing poetry of Opeth. Not only does this band have some of the most original, heavy and incredible riffs i have ever heard, but they are masters of the acoustic guitars, which is very evident on this track. "Credence gently fades away and then BOOM! Opeth are kicking your ass once again with the insanely heavy, "Karma", perhaps a song that you would expect to be so heavy with a title like that! It does start to thin out with some great harmonies and screams.

My Arms, Your Hearse manages to show off some much more atmospheric music, which Opeth didn't deliver so well on their first 2 albums. The true sound of Opeth is born on this album, and is definetly one of their strongest pieces.

This monster is gently rocked to sleep with the beautiful guitar soloing on "Epilogue", one of the best album closers i have ever heard. This is a classic album, breaking new boundaries of metal, prog and acoustic work. This is essential for any Opeth fan. Those who like their music heavy will also fall in love with this album. Highly recommended.

frenchie | 5/5 |

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