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Opeth - Why? WHY!?


Akron162
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Ive never listened to Opeth, not once, not even by accident, not one song. But i was reading how they are one of the biggest exponents of the progressive metal in the last 20 years or so.

 

So i said, "meeeh, why not..." and looked for one of their cited songs: "Advent".

 

It started playing and as soon as the music started i said "this is not bad at all", it continued for a moment and i said "this is actually pretty good", it kept going and i said "wow, this is really awesome"... and then the f***ing vocals started... those stupid annoying growls and shrieks and all that bullshit that i hate so much in black and death metal. My heart plummeted to my feet.

 

i kept listening for a while, and the music just kept getting better and better, but those hideous growls just continued to get in the way. I had to stop it.

 

I'm heartbroken right now. What a way to ruin some awesome music. If it wasn't for those stupid vocals i would be getting all their albums now.

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I can remember when I thought like that. My suggestions are to either get into death metal somehow (Amon Amarth did it for me) or listen to Opeth's non-metal stuff such as Damnation and Heritage. Hope that helps.

 

Oh and Opeth do have a few metal songs without growls such as A Fair Judgement, Face of Melinda, and Porcelain Heart.

Edited by adace1
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I couldn't stand the growling vocals on Opeth tracks for a very long time but the music was just so good I got drawn in. Blackwater Park is now my favourite album by them, followed by their latest, non growl, Heritage.

I can't listen to any other band with death metal vocals, one is enough for me.

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I used to feel the same way. The death growls kept me away from Opeth for a long time. But thanks to the persistence of TRF members sullysue and -Jane-, I finally decided to give them a whole hearted try. I bought Watershed and just listened to it, and kept listening to it. Not all of their songs have death growls, and even the ones that do, they aren't necessarily all death growls. Anyway, I was converted after that, and I've grown to really enjoy and appreciate the way Mikael growls, to the point of trying to imitate it, especially while driving. I don't sound anything like him, but it sure is fun to make the faces like I do.

 

:LOL:

 

Also, the albums Heritage and Damnation have no death growls on them, at all.

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I was also the same way with Opeth's use of death growls. At first I hated them, then I began to tolerate them, and now I enjoy them most of the time. While it's not my favorite vocal style I'm able to listen to and enjoy other bands with growling vocalists due to Opeth.

 

However, my two favorite Opeth albums happen to be Damnation and Heritage - the only ones without any growling.

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never understood the hatred for growls if they're done well...not every vocalist should sound like geoff tate

 

Fully agree!!! If they´re done well and fit the song, I think they´re great. I saw Opeth live in ´06 just after Ghost Reveries was released, and man, what a show!!! Akerfeldt effortlessly changes from growling to melodic vocals on the same sentence, and it sounds freaking evil when he goes back and forth.

 

I really like his growling vocals, but the band is so good that I didn´t mind when they left them behind for Heritage. I think Akron 162 should give them another shot, and start straight with Heritage!

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Opeth is awesome. I'm pretty much with everyone else, as it took me a bit to get into growls also. My first experience with them was a German gothic metal band called Darkseed and I slowly started to like growling more and more. From there, it was a bit easier for me because of how much I enjoyed the band. So, at least you like Opeth's music for now. I'm sure you can get used to the growls if you really like the music. But, they're not for everyone.

 

But if you can't stand the growls and still just love the music, then you have to get Damnation. A brilliant record with no growling vocals, as others have said. I love that album.

Edited by HemispheresserehpsimeH
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If this was the TS's first time with Opeth, he really needs to give them more of a go. Or perhaps he's just not ready for them. He's knows they are out there, and what their music sounds like. Maybe it just needs to sink in some, like it did for me.
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never understood the hatred for growls if they're done well...not every vocalist should sound like geoff tate

 

Actually i dont really like Geoff Tate either. I think he oversings.

 

But is good to know about the Heritage and Damnation albums. I will check them out.

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I usually dislike growls, too, but Opeth is so awesome that I don't mind them at all with them. It took a bit of time for me to really warm up to them, and some of them are still a bit much for me at times, but I can handle them. The music and the normal voices are more than great enough to make them hackable.
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I felt the same way at first. I got Ghost Reveries, listened to it for a bit, didn't like the growls, so put it away. Then a few months later I played it again and it suddenly clicked for me, and now they're one of my favourite bands, and my two least favourite of their albums are the ones where there are no growls :LOL:
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Akron, if you like the music - and what's there not to like? - you'll find a way to come to terms with the growls.

I suggest the song Bleak from Blackwater Park: it's probably the best song to find a sort of "meaning" to the growls in Opeth's music. The stark contrast between clean parts and growling parts is what makes the song. It wouldn't be the same if sung all clean. Come back and tell me I'm wrong. :D-13:

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Akron, if you like the music - and what's there not to like? - you'll find a way to come to terms with the growls.

I suggest the song Bleak from Blackwater Park: it's probably the best song to find a sort of "meaning" to the growls in Opeth's music. The stark contrast between clean parts and growling parts is what makes the song. It wouldn't be the same if sung all clean. Come back and tell me I'm wrong. :D-13:

I feel the same way about Hessian Peel from Watershed.

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Can't that that Mikael's death growls (well death growls in general) turned me off of Opeth when I first started out, but the growls at the time was more of a thing that I needed to warm up to because I wasn't of a death metal listener at the time. It took some time and effort, but eventually they clicked with me. It's because of Opeth that I could pretty much listen to anything with death growls, screaming, etc. in it and enjoy it.
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Can't that that Mikael's death growls (well death growls in general) turned me off of Opeth when I first started out, but the growls at the time was more of a thing that I needed to warm up to because I wasn't of a death metal listener at the time. It took some time and effort, but eventually they clicked with me. It's because of Opeth that I could pretty much listen to anything with death growls, screaming, etc. in it and enjoy it.

 

You are not a natural english speaker, are you? No offense, me neither.

 

Anyway, maybe i would give it another try, but it's gonna be hard, i really dislike that style of singing.

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You lot love the death growls and the black screamos, you're just trying to preserve your trendy image for your latest girlfriend, so she doesn't call you an old fart rocker again...

 

:joker: :nya nya: :blaze:

 

Great minds think alike lol

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I know where tht O/P is coming from. I can listen to Damnation again and again, there are some beautifully arranged songs on there and not a growlin sight !
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Can't that that Mikael's death growls (well death growls in general) turned me off of Opeth when I first started out, but the growls at the time was more of a thing that I needed to warm up to because I wasn't of a death metal listener at the time. It took some time and effort, but eventually they clicked with me. It's because of Opeth that I could pretty much listen to anything with death growls, screaming, etc. in it and enjoy it.

 

You are not a natural english speaker, are you? No offense, me neither.

 

Anyway, maybe i would give it another try, but it's gonna be hard, i really dislike that style of singing.

To be honest, English is my native language. Do I come across as someone that's not a native speaker of English? Eh whatever...I admit that even as a native speaker of the language, my English can confuse some.

 

Clarifying what I said about tolerating death growls, screams, etc, it's true that I can tolerate most of them, and enjoy it. But I admit I'm incredibly picky about the ones that I really enjoy. I guess I used poor choice of words when I said "I could pretty much listen to anything with death growls, screaming, etc. in it and enjoy it." What I really meant was, I wouldn't rule out liking a band, or genre because they death growl, scream, etc. I can tolerate or enjoy the screams and growls as if they're done well IMO, and/or the music's good. There are some vocalist who death growl or scream that I've grown to be a fan of, and then of course there are those that I'm not a fan of, some are even laughable to me.

 

Going back to Opeth now, if the growls are still turn you off, as most people suggested, Damnation and Heritage are good Opeth albums to start off with. No death growls on either one of the two. Although for some odd reason most Opeth fans hold Damnation really high in regard, while Heritage was mostly lukewarm with fans. That's not to say every other Opeth album has some sort of death growl in them in every song, because there's some great songs outside of Damnation and Heritage which have only clean vocals. One song that comes to my mind is a song called Harvest from Blackwater Park, which has excellent musicianship with clean vocals.

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Can't that that Mikael's death growls (well death growls in general) turned me off of Opeth when I first started out, but the growls at the time was more of a thing that I needed to warm up to because I wasn't of a death metal listener at the time. It took some time and effort, but eventually they clicked with me. It's because of Opeth that I could pretty much listen to anything with death growls, screaming, etc. in it and enjoy it.

 

You are not a natural english speaker, are you? No offense, me neither.

 

Anyway, maybe i would give it another try, but it's gonna be hard, i really dislike that style of singing.

To be honest, English is my native language. Do I come across as someone that's not a native speaker of English? Eh whatever...I admit that even as a native speaker of the language, my English can confuse some.

 

Clarifying what I said about tolerating death growls, screams, etc, it's true that I can tolerate most of them, and enjoy it. But I admit I'm incredibly picky about the ones that I really enjoy. I guess I used poor choice of words when I said "I could pretty much listen to anything with death growls, screaming, etc. in it and enjoy it." What I really meant was, I wouldn't rule out liking a band, or genre because they death growl, scream, etc. I can tolerate or enjoy the screams and growls as if they're done well IMO, and/or the music's good. There are some vocalist who death growl or scream that I've grown to be a fan of, and then of course there are those that I'm not a fan of, some are even laughable to me.

 

Going back to Opeth now, if the growls are still turn you off, as most people suggested, Damnation and Heritage are good Opeth albums to start off with. No death growls on either one of the two. Although for some odd reason most Opeth fans hold Damnation really high in regard, while Heritage was mostly lukewarm with fans. That's not to say every other Opeth album has some sort of death growl in them in every song, because there's some great songs outside of Damnation and Heritage which have only clean vocals. One song that comes to my mind is a song called Harvest from Blackwater Park, which has excellent musicianship with clean vocals.

 

Ok. Thanks for clarifying, but really, no offence. It just your writing seemed a little weird when i read it.

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I'm heartbroken right now. What a way to ruin some awesome music. If it wasn't for those stupid vocals i would be getting all their albums now.

 

This sounds like it belongs on the Dream Theater thread. I like James' voice but it's the same argument a lot of people have with them too.

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