Death Metal and Middle Age; does this work?
Opeth are a loud band and as heavy as they come. Death growls are part of the act and you have to expect them if listening to the early discography of this frantic extreme sounding outfit.
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I will admit to being a fan and more so of the early material but am a little embarrassed to admit it. Why, because possibly I’m of the wrong age bracket to be conceived as a fan of extreme music, and the other reason is I like listening to music very LOUD.
Most of the time I listen to this loud music in my car when @dismayedworld and @bingbabe are not present.
I do get some funny looks when playing the likes of ‘Blackwater Park’ driving through villages at 120dB from passing pedestrians.
With the windows up and fastened, there’s still a decent amount of noise that escapes the car that can be heard outside. I’m not one to keep them open to attract attention; I simply like my music loud.
To put this into perspective I always think of the scene in the 1987 movie, The Hidden where the middle aged guy grabs the ghetto blaster and jacks the music up while riding the stolen Ferrari. It looks funny, out of place and.... maybe I do too.
When I was a teenager I constantly received complaints from my parents downstairs, ‘Turn that bloody noise down’. Quite normal wouldn’t you say?
Fast forward to now, and I’m still getting the moans and groans but now it’s from my teenage daughter. Not normal at all, but I'm not really a normal dad.
I think on the sly she is a closet Opeth fan but just won’t admit it.
Imagine drinking whisky for the first time, you must remember this moment or one like it that is alcohol related. Ugh, yeauch… is the usual response.
This is what listening to Opeth is like for the first time. It’s noisy abrasive and rough sounding. Persevere and you will start hearing the subtleties.
This is some of the loudest music I have ever heard, but the harmonies are there and what’s more are strong and very divisive.
Many of their songs are long, and I mean greater than TEN minutes in length yet they change and change a lot.
What I mean by this is it’s not a case of verse and chorus, rinse and repeat. This is progressive music even though it’s extreme and the songs are complex with many different sections.
Opeth – The Moor (Still Life – 1999)
For the last two days while driving to work and back I have been listening to one song, ‘The Moor’. It’s around 11 and a half minutes long and it’s been on repeat as I want it to sink in to my brain and this is the only way I can make it happen.
There are insanely heavy sections, death growls, some lovely acoustic sections, and regular vocals. The song is very diverse and a varied collage of sound.
Today I was satisfied that it had sunk in, and moved on to the next song, ‘Ghost of Perdition’.
As I have come to expect, it’s abrasive as hell on first play but I’m already hearing sections that are sounding pleasing to my ears.
Opeth – Ghost of Perdition (Ghost Reveries – 2005)
This is my approach when trying to listen to longer pieces of music. It’s strange, unconventional and weird but it works.
If you have tried listening to these two songs and are horrified by the sound entering your eardrums, then try this one.
Opeth – Burden (Watershed – 2008)
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I defy anyone to not like this beautiful ballad song, and no there are none of those 'horrible' death growls. ‘Burden’ is as epic as they come.
If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, resteem, engage me or all of these things.
Very nice post, really enjoyed listening to Opeth, which is closer to Symphonic Rock than Death Metal.
I see you using the nobidbots hashtag and not using bidbots makes good business sense, but the 98 votes on this posts do not make for meaningful engagement. Some or most of those votes came from entities that did not read your post, nor did they listen to the YT pictures (sorry, can't call them videos because they are not). This is not a personal criticism addressed to you, but rather a comment on the state of the platform.
Since my Voting Power is low at the moment I'll have to make up for that at a later date. I look forward to seeing more of these posts. Kind regards.
I'm happy for any votes I receive, most of these are tiny ones from curation trails and don't add up to anything meaningful. That's the way Steemit is going.
I admit that I've never heard Opeth before, but I'm not so sure, because my daughter was a fan of death metal some years ago (now she's 30 years old) and so she used to "teached" me something about it. I have to say that I was with her during some shows of death metal bands (italian, almost unknowed bands ^_^) and I liked to be there! I have to remember this content when we'll be in Krakow with my daughter ;)
I'm sure we will have lots to talk about, and as we are in the same hotel at SF3 too.. plenty of time to do it.
It does sound a bit like Symphony X, whithout doing anyone short. I know the "loud music in the car" it is great to fully flow into the music, and for me also it has to be loud....
@slobberchops, I think you're the one who turned me on to Porcupine Tree. I liked them, too. As I read your article, I thought about what is "normal" for middle aged guys to listen to.
I listen to pretty much everything, from Taylor Swift to Black Sabbath. I like to try new music often to keep the noodle going.
So whatever you want to listen to, it doesn't matter if it's "normal", not to me, not to anyone else. Play on. :)
Yeah I pretty do listen to to what I like, my taste is extremely wide from the Sex Pistols to Glen Cambell and the Carpenters, and then Opeth of course. Its all good stuff.
The title made me chuckle - I thought death metal and middle age were synonymous? Your poor daughter. No wonder she is trying to distract you with sixties music.
Haha, I know she likes all those grunts really.. I cant turn it up when shes around or she goes nuts though.
I listened to the best one first...LOL! I've never heard Opeth before and may not again but it was pretty cool. Thanks for sharing this headbanging view of you..LOL!!! Love it.
They are not for all ears, it really is like drinking whisky for the first time for some haha!
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One of the best bands in the world. I started with Ghost Reveries
They are an interesting band, and one I may well see live at some point. The only full album I really have gotten to grips with is Blackwater Park, due to the link with Steven Wilson.
I'm trying to get into the other stuff such as Ghost Reveries.
I guess it´s a matter of taste. But you can get really lost in their songs. And yes, it´s a great live band too. Try not to see them first on a festival though, it´s not the right atmosphere I think. I experienced Mikael as a very funny guy and a great entertainer.
I used to have a friend that was really into them. She played it for me and I was like what the ... is this. I can appreciate it now though. It probably isn't something I would put on my daily listening list, but I can appreciate them. :)
LOL, they are not for all ears.