Opeth - Still Life (1999)

Opeth - Still Life album review by Pritham 'Metal Farmer' D'Souza


Track Listing:

1. The Moor
2. Godheads Lament
3. Benighted
4. Moonlapse Vertigo
5. Face of Melinda
6. Serenity Painted Death
7. White Cluster

Lineup:

• Mikael Åkerfeldt
• Peter Lindgren
• Martin Mendez
• Martin Lopez

To simply call OPETH a death metal band is a total understatement. Not that Death Metal bands do not have any talent, something which i vehemently disagree, as it requires the highest degree of musical versatility but OPETH are a lot more than a simple death metal band.

The reason why i love this album is because of the amazing musical variations in almost every song, from bone crushing brutality to lullabies that will put a baby to sleep, this album has it all.

Mikael Åkerfeldt has one of the best vocals in the extreme metal industry and one listen to his vocal range on The Moor and Serenity Painted Death will convince even the most die hard metal fans. He effortlessly shifts from sounding like a man possessed by several demons to a soulful clean voice that can calm a terrorist. For a progressive metal buff, OPETH offers a lot more in their intricate guitar work again , from crushing riffs to beautiful acoustic guitar passages

Godheads Lament is a perfect example of a song with amazing acoustic guitar structures. and the soulful clean vocals of Mikael Åkerfeldt just compliments it perfectly.

The songs are very long, and Godheads Lament is the shortest at just over 5 minutes!

Bands like OPETH must be heard with a open mind, coz many times the music wont be easily digested. If there ever was a category in music called 'strange beautiful music' , OPETH would sit there comfortably.

Like someone told me the other day, OPETH's music is like giving music to a PICASSO painting.
In other words, you either like OPETH or you dont. If you dont, its your loss..

my rating
9/10

Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane (1995)

Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane (1995) - Review by Pritham 'Metal Farmer' D'Souza

Track Listing:

1. At the Fathomless Depths
2. Night's Blood
3. Unhallowed
4. Where Dead Angels Lie
5. Retribution -Storm of the Light's Bane
6. Thorns of Crimson Death
7. Soulreaper
8. No Dreams Breed in Breathless Sleep

Lineup:

• Jon Nödtveidt
• Johan Norman
• Peter Palmdahl
• Ole Öhman

Dissection's 1995 masterpiece Storm Of The Light's Bane is a classic for several reasons, but i want to list the first two that immediately come to mind. First, for the sheer sonic intensity which is a musical equivalent of getting ones skin peeled off using a screw driver and second, for inspiring several dissection clones along the way.

Dissection was the brain child of Jon Nödtveidt, a musical genius and guitar extraordinaire who formed the band way back in 1989.

The album starts with a Black Atmospheric instrumental track At the Fathomless Depths which keeps the listener spell bound with the amazing twin guitar harmonies and the build up finally explodes with the drum roll thunder of the second track Night's Blood. From there, its a constant hell ride which will take you to the icy cold regions of Sweden courtesy the Grim Reaper himself acting as a tour guide.

Musically Dissection sound like Iron Maiden on speed with lots of Slayer, Morbid Angel riffage and complex technical passages that are bound to make most cynics nod in appreciation. Night's Blood, a perfect track in every sense, sounds like 3 tracks in one. it borderlines with thrash and death metal yet has the icy cold atmospherics of Black metal. Wait, there's even a ultra cool acoustic classical guitar part right in the middle of the song! and this is just the second track in an album of 8 superb songs.

Every track seems to tell a different tale and there are no short songs here except the first and last tracks which can be treated as an 'intro' and 'outro'. The remaining 6 tracks are pretty long in Metal standards, just showcasing the musical brilliance of Dissection particularly Jon Nödtveidt. His acoustic guitar parts blend perfectly with the heavy parts , and his vocal shrieks just spew venom. The last track No Dreams Breed in Breathless Sleep has one of the most grim sounding piano pieces i have heard in extreme metal

Even though every track is a flawless, my favorites are Night's Blood, Unhallowed and Where Dead Angels Lie

Sadly all good things must come to an end, and this was Dissections last full length release before Jon Nödtveidt was convicted in 1997 of being an accessory to murder in the killing a 38 year old Homosexual man of Algerian descent. And even sadder news of his ritualistic suicide shocked all his fans on August 16, 2006 where his bloody body was found in his apartment with a self inflicted gun shot wound inside a circle of lit candles.

This album has to easily be one of the most influential metal albums in the extreme music scene and one has to be really ignorant to not buy this album. Heavy, Fast, Brutal and melodic without sounding like sellouts. That's Dissection for you.

My Rating
10/10

Rapidshare Download here

Listen to Sample Track "Night's Blood" here