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How did I miss...Opeth?
- Thread starter M.R. Ogle
- Start date
I have checked some of the songs. I like them but the second the grunting begins I am out. What are the non-grunting album?
IIRC, Heritage, from 2011, was the first with no growling at all but the few albums leading up to it had clean vocal songs or songs where the vocal styles were mixed. I'm not going to try and convince anyone that doesn't like growls to keep at it because it took me a while, and to be honest, I only like it in Opeth. The music is that good and his growling is pretty understandable.
How so with Steven Wilson? While I don't care as much for his last two solo albums and Raven is 70s prog inspired, Grace for Drowning and Hand Cannot Erase aren't infused with vintage prog.
Damnation, Heritage, Pale Communion, Sorceress, and In Cauda Venenum.
As promised I tried Opeth. Didn't care for the vocal style, but the music is great. I find it frustrating that so much great music cops this vocal style.
I'm not dissing them or anyone who's into them. I just grew up on Iron Maiden so I prefer THAT lol
I'm not dissing them or anyone who's into them. I just grew up on Iron Maiden so I prefer THAT lol
For me, one of the great things about Opeth's earlier works what that Mikal has a very decent singing voice and a great growl. He mixes them both to create a full emotional picture. The swings back and forth between pretty and ugly is what sold me on the band.
As a enjoyer of most things growled I will only has that there are some things that just don't work with clean vocals. Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath is great for what they are, but aren't as aggressive as some of the parts Opeth has. Music like Suffocation is a musical beat down. Clean vocals just don't work there.
Anyway, if you like the clean vocals, I made some suggestions on their "clean" albums. I find them intolerably boring, but I like melting faces.
thanks. I have checked these. I like it a lot more than the metal albums with the grunting. These are more proggy and spherical. I especially like Damnation and Heritage.
Intronaut, Opeth, Unexpect...there are a lot of bands that have mixed growling and clean vocals to great effect, IMO. It's an adjustment, but they don't bother me at all.
I still find it strange that on some albums they do the grunting and on others they don’t. What’s the idea behind that?
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They changed over time. Started pretty much always growling, then worked in clean vocals, then phased out the growl.
ok thanks. That makes sense. Although I think it divides the Opeth fans in two camps. The ones that like grunting and the metal riffs and the ones that hate the grunting and like their more proggy stuff (I fall in this camp).
There are more like three camps. Growl, no growl, both. Like I said earlier, I only like growls in Opeth, so I fall into the "both". Also, Akerfeldt wasn't the original singer. David Isberg was. The history is too long and convoluted to cover but Akerfeldt was playing bass for a few albums before playing guitar and singing and really just taking over and making it his band.
I have listened some more. Now my favorite album by far is Heritage. In fact that's the only Opeth album I like as a whole. I have listened to that for the whole week. I think it's their most original and progressive record.
But I might have to check out some other albums longer. Only listened to them shortly because I didn't like them at first. What album(s) is closest in style to Heritage (without the grunting)?
But I might have to check out some other albums longer. Only listened to them shortly because I didn't like them at first. What album(s) is closest in style to Heritage (without the grunting)?
Shoutouts to Johan De Farfalla, who played some sick fretless bass on Orchid and Morningrise.
For the folks who aren't into growls, here's an early gem from the band with all clean vocals and gorgeous instrumental work:
For the folks who aren't into growls, here's an early gem from the band with all clean vocals and gorgeous instrumental work:
I am glad I am not the only one. Took me until age 46 to really listen to these guys and they are amazing.
They are a sleeper band for most people. As long as they've been around, they've had a devoted following, but never really became "huge".
All amazingly talented musicians. The changes in their musical direction over the years have divided their fanbase, but they are one of my favorites. I'm a big fan of proggy music with clean and harsh vocals. They are one of the best at that.
A little unrelated, but I got to do a meet and greet with the band Jinjer, earlier on in their career. I told Tati, the lead vocalist that the way she switches up, and is so good at both clean and harsh vocals, reminded me of Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. She gave me a huge hug and told me that was one of the best compliments that anyone could give her, because he is one of her influences.
