Opeth - Still Life CD (album) cover




Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

4.33 | 1197 ratings

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Prog Reviewer
5 stars If you even remotely like metal, this is the record for you. If you are even an open-minded music lover who likes just about anything but isn't familiar with metal, this is the record for you.

In fact, if you like music, this is the record for you, regardless of whether you absolutely hate any other type of metal or not. This isn't just metal. This is Opeth.

Now, I'm not the world's biggest metal fan, but I do like some metal. However, I've had these guys for a few months now and their work finally clicked on me. It probably sounds weird, doesn't it? I'm advocating you to get an album that took me a few months after my acquisition of it to fully love it. Well, I wasn't listening to it that entire time, and it took me a while mainly for one reason:

Death metal vocals.

I was one of those type people that ABSOLUTELY HATED any type of growling vocals, or vocals that seemed to scream too much for me. So, when I first heard Opeth, I immediately dismissed them because of the vocals. However, at the insistence of one person in particular and the very positive reviews of others that I had read, I had to give them another try. So, I kept trying, and finally it worked.

Now, to those of you who read death metal and probably thought they should stop reading this note, don't be alarmed. Opeth is NOT a typical metal or death metal band. They are extremely well-known for incorporating heavily contrasting acoustic passages and very heavy metallish passages (in the vein of death/doom metal). It sounds like a bizarre idea, but only this band can pull it off with extraordinary results.

Opeth's sound is primarily heavy/death metal, but there is also quite the reliance on guitarist/vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt's clean vocals as well, which are equally mind-blowing. Other influences come from jazz, progressive rock, melodic elements, and to a lesser extent blues and folk.

In conclusion: If you are a fan of any kind of music, GET THIS ALBUM. However, just be warned that if you are not a metalhead, you'll need to have quite an open mind, and don't tell me I didn't warn you if you are expecting happy pop music.

If you're going to make one adventurous purchase in your life, particularly in the heavy metal department, it has to be Opeth's Still Life. A complete masterpiece of hybrid metallic awesomeness that you simply have to hear in order to understand how it sounds.

MovingPictures07 | 5/5 |




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