Opeth - My Experience

As one delves deeper into music in general, the ear becomes more critical, observing not only melodic hooks and rhythmic flourishes but also song and album structures and other various nuances. Throughout my musical experience, my opinion of one of my favorite artists, Opeth, has been constantly subject to change as a result of this growth. The reason that my view of the "progressive" metallers has been subject to change is because, unlike the majority of bands that either understand all of the above musical elements or none of them, Opeth takes an advanced approach to melody and dynamics but displays a warped view of songwriting. 


This is most apparent in their earliest material, where songwriting ability is at an all-time low. Make no mistake, these awkward transitions and fills are not the progressive genius that fans often make them out to be, constantly drawing comparisons to Pink Floyd, Camel, and the like. The song-writing on albums like Orchid or Morningrise is genuinely abysmal, and, while the transitions are somewhat more subtle on later albums, Opeth never quite become great songwriters by any means. 


So why, you are surely asking yourselves, is Opeth amongst my favorite artists, if their song structures are seemingly non-sensical to the trained ear? To answer that question, it is, first of all, because Opeth truly excels in their melodies and riffcraft, the first things the ear notices. Secondly, when such elements make a deep impression on an impressionable listener, there is, as is the case with myself, an element of nostalgia present in each listen. As a result, each time I listen to Opeth, while I have become aware of their lacking song-writing abilities, I simply get lost in each individual movement, looking past the poorly structured whole. 


A perfect example is "The Twilight Is My Robe" off of Orchid ("black metal nonsense" indeed, to quote Mikael Akerfeldt); between the first lengthy acoustic passage of the song and the following melodic metal riff is the most out-of-place bass fill these ears have ever heard. At first listen, it can completely kill the mood set by the preceding acoustic passage. However, as one's ears adjust to Opeth's structural style (or, arguably, lack thereof), one can look past the awkward transition and see the two passages for what they are: separate movements with little to no connection that are, on their own, intensely emotional and powerful pieces of music.