Somewhere around 1998 I stopped keeping up with new heavy metal. I could not tell you precisely why, only that I gave up the ghost somewhere between Megadeth’s Cryptic Writings (June 1997) and Bruce Dickinson’s The Chemical Wedding (September 1998). It had nothing to do with those fine albums, just where I was with my widening life and shifting interests. And possibly, the rise of nü-metal (God I hate even typing those words, and the ridiculous umlaut, which those bands don't deserve).
No need for mourning, I had a good run. I fell in love with metal around 1987 and for a decade devoured everything I could: classic NWOBHM, thrash, progressive metal, power metal. Even though I very much preferred Maiden, Priest and Metallica I was a sponge, promiscuously consuming the new bands my friends recommended, or whatever caught my ear on Headbanger’s Ball or 107.3 WAAF.
Until suddenly, I stopped.
What does that mean? I have huge gaps that will likely never be filled. An undeveloped metal palette, unable to appreciate the full breadth and complexity of the genre (which to the uninitiated has massive variety, from top 40 bubblegum hair metal bands to incomprehensible wall of angry sound death metal).
Yeah, I’ve got holes. One of which is shaped like an “O.”
Anyone here an Opeth fan?
 |
| Queuing up for the unknown... |
I saw these guys last night at the Orpheum in Boston and started filling in some gaps.
Now I’m not a total Opeth rube; I’ve heard snippets of them here and there. I certainly knew of them. I can’t say the same for opening act Katatonia, the first bars of which I heard in my friend Dana’s car on the drive in.
In case you’re wondering both are Swedish metal acts that have been around since the early 1990s. But looking back it all makes sense; Opeth’s debut album Orchid was not released in the United States until June 1997, somewhere around the start of my new and (nü) metal absence.
 |
| Love that stylized "O" |
Did I enjoy the show? Yes. Interestingly both bands have death metal roots, a subgenre I don’t enjoy, but Opeth is now properly classified as progressive. They can get quite heavy and lead singer Mikael Åkerfeldt busted out the cookie monster growl on many songs. But the majority of their stuff was chill-ish, heavy and with a great groove but overlaid with clean, mellow, even soft-spoken vocals.
I’d classify Opeth as atmospheric and moody prog metal, creating a vibe akin to entering the vast pagan forests of pre-Christian Europe. I dug Katatonia too, which had a similar feel, and a damned cool backdrop of a deer with sentient eyes wreathed in ghostly flame.
I can’t give a proper review of course because I knew no songs and still don’t. Instead I chose to focus on the sound and the experience. It was nice seeing more (and more attractive) chicks than a typical metal show.
Am I going to become a raging Opeth fan? Will I track down their back catalog, binge Opeth YouTube videos, join an Opeth Reddit page?
No.
But maybe I’ll check out Ghost Reveries (2005), which Dana recommended after I inquired about his favorite album.
We’ll see. I do know it made for a fun and different and interesting night.
Dig around in your past, see the band of which you're unfamiliar, if the opportunity presents itself.
 |
| Dana (at right) and I. |
8 comments:
I never expected you to attend an Opeth concert! I don't care much for death metal either, but it's not for the vocals, which I don't mind. I just don't find the emphasis on brutality all that interesting.
Yeah I surprised myself! To be honest was not looking forward to it all that much, especially given the cold weather. But it was enjoyable.
One other funny story from last night's show... early 30-something Opeth fans behind us, pleasant and chatty and all pumped up. As we're waiting for the show Iron Maiden's "Fear of the Dark" comes on. One of them goes, "Maiden! Love those guys... can you imagine seeing them in a place like this?"
(The Orpheum is small, seats 2,700).
I turn around. "I have." Dumbstruck/awestruck faces. And proceed to tell them about the time I saw them there on the Ed Hunter tour, reunited with Bruce, in 1999.
I felt the wise old man energy.
I am about to turn 40 and got into metal right around the time you stopped listening to the newer bands of that period. Now, I find myself doing the same thing. I can probably only name a handful of new bands that have come out in the past few years and listen to none of them. Opeth and Katatonia are two of my favorites but I do prefer their older 90s and early 2000s stuff. Ghost Reveries is a great album btw.
Interesting... I suspect we have a certain period of our young lives where we're open to new discoveries, but then our preferences harden. I'm not as receptive to new music but I try to keep listening.
I mostly stopped seeking out new bands because of the rise of cookie monster/black metal screeching, and the next thing that came along was the accursed nu metal. I did start picking up on a few new-ish bands around the big metal revival later on.
I got really into Mastodon and High on Fire. I saw them both live on the Mastodon/Dethklok tour, which was fantastic (Neurosis also appeared, but they literally gave me a headache that cleared up the moment they stopped playing). The Sword was pretty good while they lasted and still played metal. They tried to switch to more hard rock on their later albums, to disastrous effect. This isn't a joke but I actually really like Babymetal, especially their first couple of albums. They lost me a bit when their style shifted from "cute little girls fronting a very heavy band" to basically just doing pop songs with guitars and drums, but their earlier work is impressive.
I recently caved in on Youtube's algorithm and clicked on a Castle Rat video and...they're actually quite good. Yes, the singer/guitarist is basically doing a Red Sonja cosplay, but aside from pulling it off handily she's also a gifted musician who really gets a classic Black Sabbath style without just aping them.
I'm ambivalent about their songs, but I did see Five Finger Death Punch live and they were very good. Gave the fans what they wanted. I also saw Disturbed live and they sucked. They sounded fine but they felt very far away from the fans thanks to the stage setup, and they gave the impression of just going through motions on everything.
Thanks for sharing man... I feel like I owe The Sword and Castle Rat proper listens. You aren't the first to recommend them. I have listened to a couple songs by The Sword, enjoyed them but not enough to make them stick... but that often comes with time.
Babymetal's debut was stellar, but you're right, my interest waned like a rock over a cliff as they became just another generic female-fronted metal band.
I missed the whole Babymetal thing... but then again I missed a whole lot circa 1998-2016...
Post a Comment