Opeth

 

Another Friday with writer’s block, but my Opeth hoodie provided the inspiration – plus I checked my records and verified that I have not yet blogged about this band…per se.  So I can take a break waxing poetic yet again about the PONTIAC FIREBIRD FORMULA 350 and bore everyone about this band from Stockholm, Sweden.

They started out as somewhat of a thrash band with “Cookie Monster” vocals, until singer/guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt either discovered prog bands or finally decided to blend those elements into Opeth’s repertoire.  In fact, they have a full-blown prog album, Damnation, which is still my favorite, though Watershed was the first album I bought.   Live, Akerfeldt is highly humorous and entertaining.  An interview with him turned me on to British 70s prog band Camel, and he is also a big fan of Deep Purple.  The artwork for their show at the Royal Albert Hall in London was done up like DP’s Concerto, and I have a Come Taste the Band (DP Mark IV with Tommy Bolin) tribute shirt. 

Studio Discography:  Orchid (1995); Morningrise (1996); My Arms, Your Hearse (1998); Still Life (1999); Blackwater Park (2001); Deliverance (2002); Damnation (2003); Ghost Reveries (2005); Watershed (2008); Heritage (2011); Pale Communion (2014); Sorceress (2016); In Cauda Venenum (2019).  Still Life is the earliest album I have – never got around to getting the first three.  They are long overdue for a covers album.

As the years progress they get more like a prog band and less of a Cookie Monster band, which is fine by me.  Maybe I’m getting older, but my tolerance for the same old thrash, especially with unintelligible, “Cookie Monster” vocals which winds up being just a bunch of angry noise, gets less and less.  Here’s a band which mixes in prog elements to change things up, and they have a singer who can actually sing. Of the big 4 thrash bands, Joey Belladonna (Anthrax) has the best voice, followed by Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), James Hetfield (Metallica), and finally Tom Araya (Slayer), but even he is singing and you can understand the vocals.  Anyone less intelligible than Araya I zone out about, and unfortunately that does include some of Opeth, particularly the earlier material.  Anyhow.     

I’ve seen them live, five times between 2008 and 2020 (yes, this year).  The band consistently plays well, and Akerfeldt’s humor, as previously noted, is much appreciated.   Be prepared to hear earlier material with about one song from Damnation.      

And if you love buying band merchandise, you’ll love Opeth.  The US webstore doesn’t have a whole lot, but the UK/Europe store – which will ship to MAGA-Land, though the shipping costs are a little higher and you may wait a little longer to receive your stuff – has a MUCH larger selection.   Whoever does their merch is highly imaginative.  Their variant on Sweden’s national team soccer jersey (yellow and blue, of course) is excellent, though as yet I’ve resisted the urge to spend $100 on it. 

Storm Corrosion.  Steven Wilson, the main guy from Porcupine Tree and a producer for prog bands, did a joint project with Akerfeldt – if you like Opeth, you’ll probably enjoy this as well.

Camel

No, not the animal, nor the cigarettes (though that does come in briefly), but the English progressive rock band from the early 70s.  Founding member Andrew Latimer (guitar) has continued the band to the present day, as the only remaining original member, but the “classic” era covers 4 albums.

Classic Lineup.   Andrew Latimer (guitar & vocals), Peter Bardens (keyboards & vocals) (those two look almost identical!), Doug Ferguson (bass), Andy Ward (drums).

Camel.  The self-titled first album.  Mostly it's similar to Mirage.  To the extent I can possibly distinguish it from the later material, it's a bit more jazzy and improvisational rather than proggy.   An extra track is "Homage to the God of Light", a live 19 minute jam session of Bardens' prior solo material.   In that regard, Camel share something in common with King Crimson: a prog band that's also a jam band, because neither the Grateful Dead nor Phish (top jam bands) can really be considered prog, and many prog bands - e.g. The Moody Blues or Pink Floyd - really aren't jam bands.  

Mirage.  The second album, so overtly copied from the cigarettes – “CAMEL” spelt out in the same font – it may as well be a cig pack smashed into a square.  In fact, the tobacco company sued them, but the band reached an arrangement – including distributing free cigarettes at the shows.  Of course, originally this was on vinyl, so it was a large square.  It actually sounds a bit like King Crimson.  Flute addition does more for a Lizard comparison than anything sounding like Jethro Tull.  KC sax player Mel Collins actually joined the band much later.

Music Inspired by the Snow Goose.   This is their most famous album.  The author of Snow Goose, Paul Gallico, wasn’t a fan of smoking, so he objected to this band making a concept album based on his novel.  It’s still a good album, but kind of boring in some parts.

Moonmadness.  After Snow Goose they went back to a regular “group of unrelated songs” album, no concept except perhaps the moon.  The top two songs on here are “Another Night” and “Lunar Seas”, but the overall consistency is much higher than Snow Goose.

After Moonmadness, Doug Ferguson left the band.  Two albums later, Peter Bardens left.  As mentioned earlier, Andrew Latimer is the only original member left.  Two from Caravan (Richard and David Sinclair) later joined the band.

The sound on the first four albums is proggy – Mikael Akerfeldt, the singer/guitarist of Opeth, mentions Camel as a major influence.  I can’t comment on the later albums, on which Latimer may have strayed on and off into commercial vs. prog territory.   The guitar and keyboards, of course, are the meat and potatoes.  Like Crimson and ELP, they have to be heard to be understood.

Camel - Snow Goose Excerpts

Apparently from the Old Grey Whistle Test. Excellent quality!