Opeth unveils a new song from their next album Heritage

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by thurman merman

This is awful. Opeth fans are so jaded by their obsession with the band that they can't admit it, but this seriously sucks. If you have to listen to it 6 or 7 times to decide whether you like it or not, that usually means it's not good.

Haha, I am unsure about that, a good portion of fans on the Opethforum are quite alienated by the release. However, I am excited that the band is at least attempting to go in this new direction, as much as many of their fans would have loved a re-hash of Still Life, they are experimenting with a style that they have always wanted create, and I believe there is something to be admired in that.

[Mama Hip Rockets]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

Haha, I am unsure about that, a good portion of fans on the Opethforum are quite alienated by the release. However, I am excited that the band is at least attempting to go in this new direction, as much as many of their fans would have loved a re-hash of Still Life, they are experimenting with a style that they have always wanted create, and I believe there is something to be admired in that.

90% of the comments on facebook are like "OMG THIS IS SO ****ING INCREDIBLE!!!!"

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by thurman merman

90% of the comments on facebook are like "OMG THIS IS SO ****ING INCREDIBLE!!!!"

The people that comment on official Facebook fan pages, of anything, are never the most discerning, objective individuals. I mean, it wouldn't be pretty if all Chiefs fans were generalized out of the behavior of the people who comment on the Chiefs official FB page.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

The people that comment on official Facebook fan pages, of anything, are never the most discerning, objective individuals. I mean, it wouldn't be pretty if all Chiefs fans were generalized out of the behavior of the people who comment on the Chiefs official FB page.

Totally, I cannot tell you how many CASSEL IS THE BEST comments I have seen on the chiefs official page.

[Molitoth]

While I hold Opeth in high respect, my opinion comes not from Homerism.
Opeth's - Damnation was my favorite album of theirs, so this album will very well appeal to me.

As a singer myself, I am attracted to a beautiful, crisp, and clear voice coming from the mic... and with death metal growls, I cannot acheive this sense. They do not take much skill, they do not take a lot of melody to use, and you can barely understand the lyrics... which is another issue I am critical of.

Music is all just subjective to the listener, and for one I am glad a greatly talented band such as Opeth are going to put out something that caters to someone with a more experienced ear for clean vocals. Which is something the metal genre's need more of imo.

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by Molitoth

Music is all just subjective to the listener, and for one I am glad a greatly talented band such as Opeth are going to put out something that caters to someone with a more experienced ear for clean vocals. Which is something the metal genre's need more of imo.

"experienced ear for clean vocals" that's about the most self-interested way to phrase a preference I've seen in a long time.

Seriously though, metal needs more clean vocals? There are plenty of bands that do great clean vocals. Plenty. Unless you're insisting that the subgenres that utilize harsh vocals begin to produce bands that use clean vocals. To that end, I'd ask 'why?' There's a bit more room in black metal for clean vocals, but those bands have to be heavily influenced by folk or post-rock or etc. to make it work (basically, then need to be Agalloch worshippers). Clean vocals in pure or Technical death metal would be awful; the harsh vocals are utilized in DM because the vocals are a rhythm instrument in that subgenre.

[KCUnited]

Nothing like a clean vocal verse to really hammer home a song about botched surgeries, shark attacks, nuclear holocaust, and corpse fornication.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

"experienced ear for clean vocals" that's about the most self-interested way to phrase a preference I've seen in a long time.

Seriously though, metal needs more clean vocals? There are plenty of bands that do great clean vocals. Plenty. Unless you're insisting that the subgenres that utilize harsh vocals begin to produce bands that use clean vocals. To that end, I'd ask 'why?' There's a bit more room in black metal for clean vocals, but those bands have to be heavily influenced by folk or post-rock or etc. to make it work (basically, then need to be Agalloch worshippers). Clean vocals in pure or Technical death metal would be awful; the harsh vocals are utilized in DM because the vocals are a rhythm instrument in that subgenre.

On the subject of clean vocals in Black Metal, have you ever heard of the band Ulver?

[Ace Gunner]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

"experienced ear for clean vocals" that's about the most self-interested way to phrase a preference I've seen in a long time.

Seriously though, metal needs more clean vocals? There are plenty of bands that do great clean vocals. Plenty. Unless you're insisting that the subgenres that utilize harsh vocals begin to produce bands that use clean vocals. To that end, I'd ask 'why?' There's a bit more room in black metal for clean vocals, but those bands have to be heavily influenced by folk or post-rock or etc. to make it work (basically, then need to be Agalloch worshippers). Clean vocals in pure or Technical death metal would be awful; the harsh vocals are utilized in DM because the vocals are a rhythm instrument in that subgenre.

I didn't see your post before I wrote the comments above. Good explanation - I especially appreciate the view you have on "harsh vocals as a rhythm" as opposed to carrying out melody.

[Molitoth]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

"experienced ear for clean vocals" that's about the most self-interested way to phrase a preference I've seen in a long time.

I realize I may have sounded like an ass with that comment, but how that meant to come across was that I have an experienced ear for clean vocals. By experienced I mean that I've listened to a ton of different music over the last 10 years, and in depth... I'm by far not your average radio listener. I do admit that I've listened to very little metal sub-genre bands with consistant growls, because to me it is an instant turn-off. I do understand the reasoning behind growling in certain metal genre's and I respect that some people find beauty in it, I'm just saying that I do not.

Seriously though, metal needs more clean vocals? There are plenty of bands that do great clean vocals. Plenty.

What I mean is that I am glad that opeth is doing something that a lot of metal bands don't do... which is make something suited for a different type of listener.

But yes please Reaper, fill me in with some talented metal bands with a cleaner style vocal for me to give a try. I'm always open for good tunes I haven't heard.

And sorry for coming across an ass. I had a much more subtle response originally and my webpage crashed, so I was annoyed when I posted the second time around.

[Ace Gunner]

Originally Posted by Molitoth

While I hold Opeth in high respect, my opinion comes not from Homerism.
Opeth's - Damnation was my favorite album of theirs, so this album will very well appeal to me.

As a singer myself, I am attracted to a beautiful, crisp, and clear voice coming from the mic... and with death metal growls, I cannot acheive this sense. They do not take much skill, they do not take a lot of melody to use, and you can barely understand the lyrics... which is another issue I am critical of.

Music is all just subjective to the listener, and for one I am glad a greatly talented band such as Opeth are going to put out something that caters to someone with a more experienced ear for clean vocals. Which is something the metal genre's need more of imo.

how can death metal play out the way you explain it should? I don't think you can have that edge, that sloth, the sound of disaster without the growls & screams, shrieks etc.

Dio style stuff is what you want, maybe. Or, something else, but death metal genre is all about the sound of satanic overtaking and the wicked. It must sound brutal and there is nothing more brutal than the sound of evil.

It would be like taking the swirling flanger effects off 'darth vader' and just hearing JE Jones normally. It would be okay, perhaps, but it wouldn't have near the effect it had in the film. Evil sounds unworldly.