Opeth
Still Life

PERFECT, IN ONE WORD! SOMEHOW I PREFER THOSE EARLY ALBUMS RATHER THAN THE ONES THAT CAME LATER. BUT STILL OPETH IS A MASTERPIECE OF THE BAND!

The melodies of "Still Life" amaze with their depth and multi-layered musical canvas. Up to 4 guitars (not counting the bass, which also did not stand aside) take part in creating the atmosphere, playing at the same time, each sounding in its own way, without breaking out of the melody, as is often the case. The bass player, unlike many metal bands, is not a scarecrow that is almost imperceptible, namely, what he plays. Moreover, he plays as masterly as the framework of the instrument and the compositions themselves allow. Opeth's drums have always been interesting, but on "Still Life" they really create a sound that fits perfectly here. The experiment that the musicians decided to carry out turned out to be very successful: the result was the unique ballad "Face of Melinda", played so sensually that it literally falls in love with its sounds. This composition is a fusion of ideas from different styles: blues, jazz, prog-rock and metal, all of which are organically intertwined, allowing you to enjoy the result of the work. I consider Mikael's vocals to be the best in metal in general and among death and prog metal in particular, although it is a crime to drive Opeth's music into any framework. On "Still Life" he gave the listener the opportunity to enjoy both his emotional clear-voiced singing (and the thought of "snot" does not arise), as well as extreme growls and screaming, with perfectly distinguishable pronunciation of words. Mikael manages to sing growling and screaming from notes, which is quite rare. Compared to the previous work ("My Arms, Your Hearse"), this release marked another turn towards the complication of musical material and even more conceptualization with lyrical connection. New playing techniques appeared, there was more clean vocals (which only benefited), and the melodic component moved into an even more emotional plane. The overall impression is spoiled by only one thing: the recording of some moments. I listened to this album from different media, but this problem manifested itself everywhere: the sound of cymbals suddenly disappears in one of the channels. I cannot relate this to the idea of the musicians, their loss cuts the ear too much. It is impossible to single out individual compositions - all of them are complete musical works, nevertheless, included in one great masterpiece. Giving advice is a thankless task, sometimes even too much, but in this case it is just the opposite: listen to this album and perhaps your inner world will change, and if this does not happen, at least you will not lose anything.

Opeth remains true to itself - progressive metal with elements of doom, death and black music expertly executed and flawlessly recorded logically continues the line begun in "Morning Rise" and "Orchids". True, the reviewed album will be worse than the previous opuses - there has been less soulfulness, there is no indescribable autumn atmosphere full of romance and melancholy ...

Probably my favorite Opeth album. This is the one that represents the breaking point for the band which ventured into the realm of progressive metal. If you want an introduction to Opeth's music, this is the record to begin with.