[antiman]

favorite album blackwater park,followed closely by watershed...but favorite individual song isn't on either... it's 'face of melinda'

 

[Enverxis]

I've gone through various stages of Opeth album preference and after a few years of listening to all of them I'd probably have to say

Orchid: Pretty eerie and organic. Interesting at first but it becomes a bit of a drag to listen to eventually as the songs kind of meander around sometimes without much exitement, and make me think ... tbh, i'd rather be listening to a different album.
Very Atmospheric though.

Morningrise: Was my favourite album of theirs to begin with, has a lovely clean sound where all instruments can be heard significantly. The songs are as long as, and if not longer than Orchid however I generally find them more interesting and atmospheric, over time though I found other albums more exciting and captivating.

My Arms, Your Hearse: This really is their best album, it's short, doesn't **** around and just puts out 48 odd minutes of excellent metal with epic memorable tracks that really get you going. It is however a bit dodgy sound quality wise, non-present bass guitar almost.

Still Life: Arguably better than MAYH in a lot of cases, containing more variety of music and more complexity, as well as improved vocals and the arrival of new bass player Martin Mendez (although you still can't really hear the bass under the music). This is where the catchier tracks start coming in for Opeth, but they're very good and well placed.

Blackwater Park: This one is a lot of people's favorite however it never went down well with me. This time they use a more mainstream sounding production, some of the songs really annoy me (Bleak IMO is their worst track). There's a couple of good songs but overall I thought it was a very weak album in comparison to their past ones. I don't really see how it's catchier than Still Life either.

Deliverance: Has some good tracks and great display of technical drumming, however overall I felt it was quite inconsistent and the band themselves even admit this due to their trouble with the studios etc etc

Damnation: I actually really liked this, and I still do but after hearing Green Carnation's The Acoustic Verses this album feels very meh in comparison. It's a very easy listening CD that fits a lot of moods so it's got quite a lot of playtime for me. It's an intelligent mix of soft music with very dark lyrics, overall song quality is pretty consistent, although the "fun" song Ending Credits doesn't really fit the overall feeling of the album.

Ghost Reveries: I really loved this after hearing it as it was the second Opeth CD I bought, but after hearing all of their old work this album doesn't really make sense to me. It's got lovely sound quality and some fantastic drumming by Martin Lopez (his last album unfortunately) however the band starts overusing the mellotron and starts becoming very pretentious with a lot of their songwriting, and new influences are clearly present (Modern Day "Prog" Rock such as Tool and Radiohead etc) as well which I feel is starting to wreck the great atmosphere that their past albums have conveyed and don't quite convey the emotions as significantly as the past ones. I find I love bits of the songs, but then the very same song will have a few bits that make me roll my eyes at the wankery.

Watershed: this is where I stop listening to the band, they've taken too many steps in the opposite direction of what I enjoy about their music and I never really gave this CD a chance but I don't enjoy it at all. Pass for me.

YMMV for all of my input, but if I was to name essential Opeth albums I'd probably tell you to get Morningrise, MAYH and Still Life and perhaps Damnation, but for newbies who are still coming out of the Hardcore, Rock or Nu-Metal stage of diving into Metal you would probably enjoy their most recent two albums the most (at first anyway

)

 

[Caution]

Has anyone listened to the 5.1 tracks on the dvd that come with each special edition? I'm listening to them for the first time, and they seem to have recorded the songs a bit differently. Pretty cool I gotta say

. The recordings also sound more raw.

 

[Azathoth]

A tie between "my arms, your hearse" (DEMON! DEMON OF THE FALL! = awesome) and "still life" for me. Those were their absolute peak as songwriters IMO. Their new album "watershed" is taking the longest time to grow on me, probably because it's more of a predominantly prog rock record than anything else.

 

[Dublo7]

The only one I can listen to is Damnation. I'm really not a metal fan, but Damnation is a beautiful album.

 

[moogoob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dublo7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only one I can listen to is Damnation. I'm really not a metal fan, but Damnation is a beautiful album.

Damnation is their "non-metal" album. But I agree, very beautiful and haunting at times.

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dublo7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only one I can listen to is Damnation. I'm really not a metal fan, but Damnation is a beautiful album.

It is indeed my friend. And your avatar is effing freaky.

 

[10068]

So I just bought Morningrise, Still Life and My Arms, Your Hearse a few days ago for $40USD total. MAYH hasn't arrived yet but the other two have. I have the 2003 version of Morningrise (don't think it's remastered) but the 2008 version of Still Life. Digital remaster woo! Still Life is freaking sweet. I have had it on repeat for a bit now. Serenity Painted Death and White Cluster are particularly badass.

I had heard Black Rose Immortal before, from back when I used to download from Kazaa (I know don't shoot me). I really like this album too, but the SQ is pretty bad IMO. Harsh treble and weak bass

Ah well, nothing some EQ can't fix

Honestly I haven't decided if I like these better than the other albums yet. We shall see in good time

 

[10068]

I dunno man, I just was listening to Ghost Reveries and this album is still pretty tight. If you are doubtful listen to The Baying Of The Hounds / Beneath The Mire (I kind of consider it one song...) followed immediately by Harlequin Forest. Good stuff. My fave albums will probably change now but I think this will still be in the top three

 

[Canman]

Still Life is my favorite Opeth album. It's captivating the whole way through. I like Ghost Reveries - agree with Enverxis that the drumming is fantastic. Damnation is enjoyable but it feels too tightly constructed. I'm not a fan of Watershed. It went too progressive rock, meaning interesting but ultimately cheesy.

 

[jhoff80]

See, I do like metal quite a bit, but I'll still always be partial to Damnation, mostly because it was the first album I heard of theirs, and also it works well for more mellow moods and when in the company of people who might not appreciate their heavier stuff.

Though of their other stuff, My Arms Your Hearse and Blackwater Park are my two personal favorites.

 

[10068]

Interesting... some of these three older albums actually remind me of Agalloch quite a bit. Not the vocals obviously, but the syle/tempo of them. Cool

 

[moogoob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek /img/forum/go_quote.gif I dunno man, I just was listening to Ghost Reveries and this album is still pretty tight. If you are doubtful listen to The Baying Of The Hounds / Beneath The Mire (I kind of consider it one song...) followed immediately by Harlequin Forest. Good stuff. My fave albums will probably change now but I think this will still be in the top three

Those are my two favourite songs off that album.

"I hear the baying of the hooooooundss! In the dissstance!"

Harlequin forest is compositionally very similar to Black Rose Immortal in some ways, but different enough to make it interesting.

 

[moogoob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I just bought Morningrise... I had heard Black Rose Immortal before, from back when I used to download from Kazaa (I know don't shoot me). I really like this album too, but the SQ is pretty bad IMO. Harsh treble and weak bass Ah well, nothing some EQ can't fix

Agreed. It's my absolute favourite Opeth album, and I agree that it's a bit anemic on the bass and needs some warming up, particularly on my 325i goldies. As they don't react too well to all bu the most subtle of EQ, I've been using the Headroom crossfeed on my amp with this album. Brings those stereo-separated guitars in a bit, and has the nice side-effect of warming everything up.

 

[bakercj93]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enverxis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Blackwater Park: This one is a lot of people's favorite however it never went down well with me. This time they use a more mainstream sounding production, some of the songs really annoy me (Bleak IMO is their worst track). There's a couple of good songs but overall I thought it was a very weak album in comparison to their past ones. I don't really see how it's catchier than Still Life either.

Wow, Blackwater Park is my favorite Opeth album, and Bleak is probably my favorite Opeth track. Bleak reminds me of Edgar Allen Poe's Telltale Heart for some reason - and Steven Wilson's vocals just put it over the top for me.

Still Life is probably a close second.