| Author |
 Topic Search  Topic Options
|
GoldenSpiral 
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: May 27 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3839
|
 Posted: June 09 2008 at 09:47 |
This reminds me of an older thread in which someone was complaining that they'd like Symphony X a lot more if they'd just ditch the heavy riffs and guitar solos. 
other than that, everyone else has pretty much covered it. the beauty/brutality balance is what makes the band.
|
|
|
 |
laplace
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 06 2005
Location: popupControl();
Status: Offline
Points: 7606
|
Posted: June 09 2008 at 09:34 |
|
actually I think Miasma and KC fall into really similar places in music and share a lot of fans... "Manticore" from their latest EP reminded me more of "Fracture" than any other song I've heard.
|
|
Evans
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 15 2006
Location: Sweden
Status: Offline
Points: 3004
|
Posted: June 09 2008 at 08:58 |
|
Even if you compare with Magma or Henry Cow, "Providence" and "Moonchild" will never be easy listening.
|
'Let's give it another fifteen seconds..'
|
|
Starless
Forum Groupie
Joined: June 29 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 85
|
Posted: June 09 2008 at 08:03 |
Well I do seem to have opened a can of worms here. Don't mean to put anyone's nose out of joint, it was simply a "what if". Will listen to "Damnation" and let y'all know what I think, as musically they're right up my alley. I don't think I'll ever get used to the growling tho'.
MikeEnRegalia - of course you're right about me being a fan of the the mighty Krim (of some 35 years!!), but if they ditched the "avant " (not avant at all IMO, just very technical musicans) stuff, and became huge, Mr Fripp would probably never play as KC again, just to annoy everyone, contrary bugger that he is. He's already said they'll never play in Europe again, somethimg to do wuth inconsistent hotels - Wot a grouch!
Dargdean - love that pic of Mrs Fripp!!
Incidentally, if you think KC are avant garde, you ain't heard Henry Cow or Slapp Happy or Magma or Miasma or countless other unlistenable (for some) bands.
|
|
Plankowner
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: April 09 2008
Location: Florida
Status: Offline
Points: 4006
|
Posted: June 09 2008 at 01:30 |
|
|
|
Yorkie X
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 04 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 1049
|
Posted: June 08 2008 at 12:53 |
to growl or not to growl this is the question ? .. growling is the Opeth way ! I respect that (just don't like so much the copy cats that do it) 
|
|
Visitor13
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: February 02 2005
Location: Poland
Status: Offline
Points: 4702
|
Posted: June 08 2008 at 04:36 |
 Drew wrote:
Reminded me of another 'dilemma'; If only Dream Theater had a different vocalist. |
Or if only LaBrie got rid of his mannerisms. It would be a step in the right direction, but only one of many they'd have to take. As for popularity, a great way for making *any* band more popular is adding a rapper. I'm sure we'd all like to see that done with the music we love. And at the end of the day, Akerfeldt writes the music he wants to hear, again, it's as simple is that. If anyone else happens to like it, cool. If not, they can go elsewhere.
|
|
Drew
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 20 2005
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 12600
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 20:29 |
|
Reminded me of another 'dilemma'; If only Dream Theater had a different vocalist.
Edited by Drew - June 07 2008 at 20:30
|
|
|
|
Dean
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout
Joined: May 13 2007
Location: Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 37575
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 20:23 |
Darklord55 wrote:
Oh for the love of God, let Opeth be Opeth.  |
There's the rub - Opeth is that magical balance of death and clean vocals coupled with music that is both Prog and Metal in perfect proportions. Opeth themselves have shown that they can leave out any single element without the house of cards collapsing ... they remain Opeth, yet it is only when heard in context of a complete album that the whole thing really works as Opeth.
For me, Damnation has to be heard in context - i.e. with Deliverance.
|
|
What?
|
|
Camelfan
Forum Groupie
Joined: October 05 2006
Status: Offline
Points: 48
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 20:05 |
|
I think some of the growling is overused sometimes and in a not particularly interesting manner, but I can overlook that when you have such awesome screams like say the very end of Black Rose Immortal. great songs like April Ethereal or The Funeral Portrait or Serenity Painted
Death wouldn't be nearly as powerful and exciting without them.
|
|
TGM: Orb
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 21 2007
Location: n/a
Status: Offline
Points: 8052
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 20:00 |
|
Interestingly, the growling was one of the things that really drew me to the band. Normally I really dislike growling, but I liked it on the samples, so I got my second metal album (oddly, I didn't consider Arcturus particularly heavy or metallic) for that precise reason. Weird, eh.
I look forward to getting more Opeth in the future.
|
|
MikeEnRegalia
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: April 22 2005
Location: Sweden
Status: Offline
Points: 21885
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 19:31 |
^ You have a point there ... it seems to me like some people take things like growling, heavy guitars and double bass drumming way too seriously. I don't see a big difference between growling vocals and Peter Gabriel in a flower costume. Both can be called "ridiculous" and at the same time we can enjoy listening to the music, or watching the performance. 
|
|
|
|
Duncan
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 23 2004
Status: Offline
Points: 180
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 19:12 |
MikeEnRegalia wrote:
^ Recently I bought their DVD (Lamentations) and I was really impressed with it. Not so much the musical performance - of course it was top notch - but the atmosphere, the positivity of band and audience. I can only recommend it to anyone who thinks he/she could like them if they quit the growling.
|
I haven't seen the DVD but I agree - in spite of their aesthetic, Opeth live turn out to be a personable, unpretentious bunch of musicians. Which, I reckon, goes hand in hand with being open and unpretentious about their influences, and about the music they're trying to make at whatever point in time (whether that means dropping the growls for one album, or starting to use keyboards); to arbitrarily strip things out because, say, We're A Prog Band Now would be a bit ingenuine. I certainly can't take growling seriously. But why the hell should I need to in order to appreciate Opeth?
|
|
Visitor13
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: February 02 2005
Location: Poland
Status: Offline
Points: 4702
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 16:16 |
|
Ditch the growls and you'll have to rewrite pretty much all the music, it's as simple as that.
|
|
Darklord55
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 08 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 357
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 16:12 |
Oh for the love of God, let Opeth be Opeth.
|
|
Avantgardehead
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 29 2006
Location: Dublin, OH, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1170
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 15:36 |
|
It's vocal distortion, really. More extreme vocals to suit the extreme music, which is a paraphrase of something Mikael said himself in an interview.
Now I'm not the biggest Opeth fan in the world (first three albums and nothing more), but both his singing and growls are top-notch.
|
|
http://www.last.fm/user/Avantgardian
|
|
Starless
Forum Groupie
Joined: June 29 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 85
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 15:05 |
|
Touche!!
|
|
Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 14:52 |
|
Stoney, you do have to remember, with melodic death metal, one of the main traits of it was the slightly higher pitched growl as compared to
say, brutal death metal. Although Opeth is pretty melodic, Mikael's
growl is a more brutal death growl, although more intelligible than many other growlers IMO.
|
|
|
|
MikeEnRegalia
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: April 22 2005
Location: Sweden
Status: Offline
Points: 21885
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 14:50 |
|
^ Recently I bought their DVD (Lamentations) and I was really impressed with it. Not so much the musical performance - of course it was top notch - but the atmosphere, the positivity of band and audience. I can only recommend it to anyone who thinks he/she could like them if they quit the growling.
|
|
|
|
stonebeard
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 27 2005
Location: NE Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 28057
|
Posted: June 07 2008 at 14:48 |
I love the growls! As far as I know, Opeth are the only death metal band to do growls deep enough, real enough, and brutal enough to be taken seriously. Dark Tranquility would be awesome if the singer could growl like Mikael.
|
|
|
|
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.
/PAlogo_v2.gif "Progarchives.com Homepage")
Opeth (Watershed) - Sack the HM vocalist??
