Review of Opeth - 'Still Life'
Richard Stuart
1. The Moor (11:28)
2. Godhead's Lament (9:47)
3. Benighted (5:01)
4. Moonlapse Vertigo (9:00)
5. Face Of Melinda (7:59)
6. Serenity Painted Death (9:14)
7. White Cluster (10:02)
'Still Life' is Opeth's fourth album, and their first for Peaceville
Records (the other three were on Candlelight, of course). I dunno if it
has anything to do with the change in record label, but this time the
band name is on the front cover, and there are some proper photos of the
bandmembers, instead of just silhouettes.
This is, undoubtedly, Opeth's best album yet. It's definitely still
recognisable as an Opeth album, but the most noticeable difference here
is that the song structures are a bit more conventional, and there's
more repetition - rather than the technical wandering of the previous
works. Surprisingly, given their progressive nature, this new approach
actually suits Opeth really well.
As usual, the music is very melodic Death Metal, including many acoustic
guitar sections - which are of an even higher standard than ever.
Mikael's extreme vocals are as powerful as before, but there is also a
lot more of his clean vocal style used this time. In fact, 'Benighted'
and 'Face Of Melinda' use only this style, with no screamy vocals
whatsoever. His clean singing has always been impressive, but here it's
improved again, sounding incredibly classy and mature. I think Mikael
must be one of the best vocalists I've ever heard, in fact, at both the
extreme style and the clean singing.
With a strong production too, this album is almost impossible to fault.
Each song is excellent, with my absolute favourites being 'Godhead's
Lament', 'Moonlapse Vertigo', the haunting 'Face Of Melinda' and 'White
Cluster.' If you haven't checked this band out before, then now's the
time to do so.
Rating: 10 out of 10!
-Ricks
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