Artist: Opeth
Label: Peaceville
Release Date: 10/18/99
Average Rating: 4.11
Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album
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Title: Still Life Artist: Opeth Label: Peaceville Release Date: 10/18/99 |
There are currently 9 Reader Reviews of this album.
Average Rating: 4.11 Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album |
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Submitted by Wargazm (8/6/02):
I remember how I was introduced to this album. I was on my university's message board, and this girl told me about them. She had four of their albums, all of them except for Blackwater Park, which hadn't been released. By pure chance, I picked Still Life to download first. Lucky me.When the first track "The Moor" opens up with the slowly fading in guitar, I was unimpressed. Sure, it was cool sounding, but nothing too special. Then the distortion kicked in, and I started to enjoy it a bit more. The growls came in, and I thought, "hey, cool, death vocals with such melody. I like this." And then, a small rising scale, and Mikael busts through with the clean vocals. I was FLOORED. I literally got goosebumps. It wa the first time I had heard clean vocals mixed with the growls. I was amazed that it worked so well. Not since Metallica's "Orion" had I been so impressed by a band.
As the album progressed, I was shocked at how well Opeth blended agression, sorrow, anger, sadness, and beauty. This CD is an emotional journey; no other songs have ever come so close to making me cry. Beautiful, beautiful music.
The length of the songs may turn off some, but I honestly did not notice them. It is as if every song is an epic journey. Soft sections intertwine with heavy sections to create a wonderful sonic texture. Opeth is not a technically amazing band, but they are the ultimate proof that one does not need to be technically proficient to make great music. I recommend this to anyone wanting to venture into the realm of Death metal or any death fan wanting to venture into more accessible music.
Submitted by Jason Hazucha (7/9/01):
This was my first introduction to Opeth. I had read and heard a lot about the band, and when I found Still Life in the used CD bin at a local record store, I decided to check it out. I was not disappointed.This is an extremely talented band who shows proficiency at many musical styles. There is a lot going on here, and it takes repeated listens to get a grasp of everything the band is doing. From death metal to surprisingly good clean vocal passages, this music defies categorization. I hear influences ranging from Cannibal Corpse to Pink Floyd, and it blends together better than you'd think. Overall I really like this, enough so that I now own all of Opeth's catalogue.
If I had one complaint, it would be that there are a few too many clean/acoustic passages. Just when a good metal groove gets going, the music often abruptly shifts to a quiet, almost Cat Stevens sounding acoustic/clean vocal passage. Every once in awhile that's kind of cool, but it happens just a little too often for my taste. I'd like them to stick with the more aggressive passages a bit longer. I'm not a huge fan of "Benighted" either. That's about the only reason I'm not giving this 5 skulls.
Overall, this CD is definitely worth having. Once you get used to the abrupt style changes, this really gets inside your head. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys quality music of many different styles.
Submitted by Metal Mike (8/21/00):
Holy Shit!!!!Go buy this now, put that Soulfly CD down and get this. This is, to these ears, the best album of 1999. Every release this band puts out is amazing and this is no exception. Many fans were disappointed with the heavier, less folky nature of My Arms, Your Hearse. This is a perfect combination of My Arms and Morningrise. The songs are long with many folky acoustic parts and clean vocals. The heavy crushing production of My Arms is present but distributed more evenly. I have no favorite songs. One of the few albums I can put on and listen to all the way through with no skipping around. Check it Out!!
Submitted by Rob W. (8/19/00):
Ok. Opeth. I pretty much knew what to expect when I picked this up, but I wasn't sure how it would compare to Morningrise or MAYH. After listening to this cd many times (you need to do this with Opeth albums... it takes a while to absorb everything that's going on due to the length of the songs and the multiple styles of music combined within every song) I have to say I don't like this cd. There is less than 5 minutes of good music on here. The fist 1:45 seconds of track 4, and the last minute of the 5th track and a few very short parts somewhere within the 20 minutes of the first 2 songs could be considered truly prime Opeth material. I'm not all that dissapointed, since there are 2 other Opeth cds in my collection that are masterpieces that I can enjoy anytime, but this one just doesn't compare.To describe the sound... it's like they took the worst parts of Morningrise and My Arms Your Hearse and tried to throw them together in a short period of time. This is too bad because I know that Mikael is very creative with songwriting and, if they took more time, I'm sure they could have produced another epic release. Maybe there was too much pressure to make something that could follow their last 2 albums, I don't know... The lyrics also seem boring and thrown together as if they were just trying to finish the album.
I'm not sure if Opeth's "golden days" (or whatever you want to call it) are over. I guess we'll have to wait until this winter when they release their next album to find out if this was just the ugly duckling of Opeth's first 4 albums, or if it marks the beginning of their downhill path to making a series of mediocre albums.
Submitted by Colin W. (6/14/00):
Not much time has passed since the last release from Opeth. What has been created within that time? A masterpiece of metal musical genious. Although Still Life is still not released in the U.S. domestically it may be worth spending the extra money instead of waiting for it to be released which seems to be for eternity. Still Life is my favorite release from Opeth. After a few listens this album becomes very addictive. This album contains 5 metal tracks and 2 that are acoustic. The acoustic passages on this album are a little longer for the most part and are done very well. Some of the acoustic parts are used for the anticipation of the heavy part to come next. All the songs are written very well with catchy riffs through out. The tracks are very long usually, around 10 minutes per track. Every song goes through different passages with different atmosphere. Mikael's voice is ussually deep growling with raspy screams here and there, and the clean vocals which are used more often on this album than before are better than ever. Still Life is a must have for metal fans. Opeth offer a different approach to metal than no one else can match. Opeth is one of the best metal bands out there and they deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments. We'll just have to wait for the next Opeth to once again get totally amazed and addicted.
Submitted by Auggs (6/9/00):
From Orchid, to Morningrise, to My Arms... and now Still Life, Opeth has nothing but amazed me time and time again! They make good music. Complex, full, thick and memorable. They supply a totally unforgettable metal experience! The guitar riffs are amazing, the vocals sound great and the music is flawless. Donīt know if this is my favorite Opeth release, but a damn close call.
Submitted by >>>EQUIMANTHORN<<< (5/18/00):
Get a grip on things, people! Why is everybody giving Opeth's fourth release such high rates!? Their debut, Orchid, is still one of my favourite albums of all time (it's actually the only CD by Opeth that I really enjoy listening to), but this sucks! That little touch of Black Metal they once had, and made their debut so good, is gone. Now, it's nothing but GAY and COMMERCIAL, in the popular Death Metal vein! The only good thing about this is the grim vocals that are extremely brutal all the time and never seem to fade in brutality. Otherwise, A CRAP ALBUM!!! (Pardon my screaming, but I'm serious...)
Submitted by victor oscar hernandez gil (4/12/00):
es una obra maestra, un metal de excelencia con partes muy vanguardistas y progresivas apoyadonse por la voz limpia y brutal del vocalista mikael akerfelt, todo esto acompaņado de una buena dosis de guitarras acusticas, riffs, y una seccion ritmica del baterista martin mendez, y el bajo de martin lopez, un disco que sera transcendental en el aņo.
Submitted by Jason P Sorens (3/1/00):
Opeth is one of those bands that has one or two totally awesome albums at the beginning of their career, both of which consist mostly of material they had done for years live, followed by a disappointing effort in which for the first time they have to write a bunch of songs under a time constraint. That disappointing album for Opeth was My Arms Your Hearse. Disappointment is a relative term, though, for MAYH was a strong release, just not the majestic grandeur I was expecting after the masterpieces Orchid and Morningrise. Still Life represents Opeth's effort to climb back up the ladder, and a very good one. There are more acoustic passages, reminiscent of Morningrise, and the longer, epic songs have returned full force. This is a thoughtful, intelligent, yet simultaneously extremely engaging release. One of the year's top five for any thinking metalhead.
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