Opeth - Still Life (1999)

It has been a while since we checked on the Opeth discography, and there are reasons for why that is so. First off, Manic Movie Month happened. Second off, Super Mario Odyssey happened. And third off, a bunch of new music happened. In short, my busy side took over a little too much of my life, but the time has come to go back to the progressive Swedes and take a look at their fourth studio release, entitled "Still Life".

Just like the last release, "Still Life" is a concept record, about a man that has been shunned from his village for not following along with their religious beliefs. He returns years after to get back together with his loved one, which leads to several problems along the way, both for our main character and the "council". It is an album that Michael himself has called "anti-christian", not satanic in anyway, and I think it is a very interesting way to give critique to religion as a whole, doing it in the poetic way that only Opeth can do.

The sound of the album is a lot like "My Arms, Your Hearse", a blend of the soft prog rock and the more guttural and dark death metal vibes. But with better funding from their new record company, Peaceville records, the band had an opportunity to take their music to the next level, which of course starts with the production that is a lot more clear cut than its predecessors. It can be seen as a positive or a negative thing, depending on who you ask, but to me, it gives the music a chance to stand out more, to reach out further to the listener. There is no question to me that the production helps elevate "Still Life".

This is the start of the Opeth 's golden age, the era where they find themselves as one of the great genre defying bands that changes metal as we know. While "My Arms, Your Hearse" did sort of show it, "Still Life" perfected the Opeth sound that we all know and love, the sweeping, haunting melodies that blends so well with the brutal aggressiveness of the drums and Michael's harsh vocals. They also put in some real slow moments too, like the acoustic "Benighted" that is just so beautiful and soothing.

But this album is not about the songs in my opinion, it is about the whole picture, how all of the songs match up to create a smooth flowing album that translates to an amazing experience. It also has a very long lasting effect too, for I have listened to "Still Life" about 15 times now, and I am still not tired enough to stop myself from another listen. It knows when to go soft, when to go heavy, and when it is time to shift momentum. It is a well oiled machine that runs smoothly without any hitches, and the band all helps out to keep it running perfectly.

"Still Life" has a lot of life to it, and it is a spiritual album that just feels right in every way. From the concept, to the performance, this album is fantastic for many, many reasons. The only real grief I have with it is that some songs do pad some of the run time (especially the ending song "White Cluster"), but it is not by much, it is something you can easily look past. All in all, go listen to it already, it is the start of the prime era of Opeth, and what a start it is.

Songs worthy of recognition: Godhead's Lament, Benighted, Moonlapse Vertigo, Serenity Painted Death

Rating: 9/10 White Clusters

www.opeth.com/
twitter.com/officialopeth

More reviews of Opeth
Orchid
Morningrise
My Arms, Your Hearse
Blackwater Park
Deliverance
Damnation
Ghost Reveries
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Sorceress

Amon Amarth - The Avenger (1999)

The road to perfecting Amon Amarth's sound continued on, only one year after the full length debut "Once Sent From The Golden Hall" was released, the Swedish vikings unleashed their sophomore effort, known as "The Avenger". Even if it has not been spoken much about it in recent years, it is still a milestone in the history of the band, because this record was the first one with the line-up that lasted all of 17 years (1998-2015). Drummer Martin Lopez and rhythm guitarist Anders Hansson was replaced by Fredrik Andersson and Johan Söderberg, completing a line-up that would last longer than most band would ever dream of being active.

And with the line-up ready and set, Amon Amarth would really begin their journey to create their own unique sound. "The Avenger" is much more like the Amon Amarth we know today than its predecessor. It has more melodies, it is catchier, and the Norse mythology theme is amped up here. The album still has a strain of the dirty, black metal esque sound that was prominent in "Once Sent From The Golden Hall", but it hides in the background and lurks. Really, the only thing that ties the two albums together is the dark production made by Peter Tägtgren (should be noted though that "The Avenger" does sound a lot clearer than its predecessor).

Despite being a more melodic record, "The Avenger" does not quite have the same number of memorable songs as OSFTGH. The album definitely has some show stoppers in it, but they do not deliver as much force as I would have wanted. It is the riffing that really lifts the material in this album. Mikkonen and his new partner Söderberg delivers both heavy assaults and melodic complexity, but it is when they create these long, swooping rows of notes that gives me the chills. A classic Amon Amarth tactic that the band still uses to this date.

The album is fairly short in length, only filling around 36 minutes of material, so it is very east for one to feel that the band could have put in more. However, since this album came only 1 year after the predecessor, I feel like the band does not have any real valid reason to fill in more than what they did. Sure, another song or two would have been better, but the risk of those songs being pure fillers would have been very high, which would have hurt the album more than it would help. The material in this record is still fairly decent, but it does not blow you away from your chair. If you against all odds would still fall off your chair, it would probably be because of Hegg's mighty vocals, mixing between black metal screams and pure growling.

"The Avenger" is a fine album and a worthy follow up to "Once Sent From The Golden Hall", but there is not much for me to really grasp for here. None of the songs are strong enough for me to really remember them, making them pretty weak in their lone state. However, put those songs together, and you get a good, enjoyable melodic death metal album. The components are there, so all that is left is for the band to come back swinging with a mind blowing record.

Songs worthy of recognition: "God, His Son And Holy Whore", Bleed For Ancient Gods, The Last With Pagan Blood

Rating: 7/10 Metalwraths

https://www.amonamarth.com/
https://twitter.com/amonamarthband

More reviews of Amon Amarth
Once Sent From The Golden Hall
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Versus The World
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Jomsviking

Berserker

Megadeth - Risk (1999)

This is such a fitting title, because this album single handedly put Megadeth's dignity and credibility at great risk. This album has become so infamous, so notorious and so hated that fans around the world would not wish their mortal enemies to hear this album. It is a album that no one dares to speak off, little less want to hear off. This album is called "Risk", and was released in 1999 as Megadeth's 8th studio album and it was another obvious evidence of the band's blind quest on finding mainstream success.

So what it is with this album that has made it so hated? Well, besides the obvious and douchey "this is not thrash metal" answer, the music in "Risk" reeks of weird decision making and it leaves a confused feeling over the whole product. From the grunge vibes in "Prince of Darkness" to the soft country rock in "Breadline", this album is a complete gumbo of music styles that does not add up. Only a few genres has been left out and thrash is unfortunately one of those, sealing the break up between thrash and Megadeth that has gone on for more than half a decade. Probably a big reason to why Nick Menza left the band before the release of "Risk" (he was replaced by Jimmy DeGrasso).

The positives are extremely few in this records and none of those does not exactly make you jump up and down with joy. The scary groove in "Insomnia" is pretty decent and it is the song that has the hardest sound and best guitar solo, making it an instant winner among tons of losers. And despite its grunge vibes, the second track "Prince of Darkness" is still a decent, dark track with simple, effective riffing and a nice flowing chorus. After that, all hell literally breaks lose, and not in a good way.

The first single of the album, "Crush 'Em" is an obvious choice for that goal, but it is just such a bland song that you do not care for it one bit. It does have a stellar opening intro for it though called "Enter The Arena", but the cut off between the tracks is just stupid and does not fit at all. Another thing I do not fully understand is why Megadeth is trying to sound like a cover band for various bands, like in "Wanderlust", which is more or less a bad copy of "Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Bon Jovi, and in "I'll Be There", which could might as well have been a Dream Theater ballad. The weirdest part however is that they sing about all these dangerous things, like the seven deadly sins and ecstasy, with songs that are as harmful as a kitten. It is so mind boggling that I cannot comprehend it all, or rather do not want to comprehend it all. I just want to leave "Risk" be and let it rot somewhere far away.

Megadeth certainly took a lot of risks with this record, but none of those really paid off. This face palm of a record was supposed to further build the main stream success that the band had gotten, but the reaction became the opposite because of one, very simple reason. The music sucks! The band wanted to create something that would make everyone think "why didn't we think of this", but instead, the other bands think "thank god we did not think of this". This is the ultimate low point of Megadeth, and I just pray to god that this is the start of a turning point for the band, so that they can start making music that actually matters again. I am not talking about a full regression to the band's early days, just hoping that the band puts a stop to their urge to reach main stream success. No wonder why people believed that the world would end before the strike of the new millennium.

Song worthy of recognition: Insomnia

Rating: 2/10 Breadlines

Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory (1999)

After the failing success of "Falling Into Infinity" the record company finally let the band be themselves and stopped pushing them to write more commercial material. So what would Dream Theater do with this opportunity? The band decided to go back and give the track "Metropolis - Part I "The Miracle And The Sleeper"" from "Images And Words" its awaited conclusion (even though there was no initial plans on having a second part. The Pt. 1 was actually more for jokes then a hint of what to come.).

"Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory" is set up like a movie or a play, in acts and scenes. Act 1 is the tracks 1-7 and Act 2 is track 8-12 and the scenes are the tracks themselves (note that scene 2, 3 and 7 contains two songs instead of one). I do not really know why they did divide the album in acts and scenes but I could not care less. It is the songs that matters. So let us get cracking shall we?

The album opens with a spoken word part that is probably trying to hypnotize you. Did not work on me but I still got tired from the first track "Regression". After the slow opener the tempo is raised in the second scene which contains the songs "Overture 1928" and "Strange Deja Vu". The first part is acting like some long intro to the second part which got me to think "Why did they not bake them together to one song". I mean, together they measures up to around 9 minutes which is nothing for a band like Dream Theater. Anyhow, scene two is groovy and melodic and when James LaBrie steps in the scene takes a more serious turn. A good start for the album if you ask me. The next scene is also divided into two songs which leads to a darker and sadder part of the album. At first I did not care for this particular scene but after a couple of listening sessions I have found myself enjoying this scene, especially the second half of "Fatal Tragedy" which is fast and challenging.

Next song is the first out of three that is over 10 minutes. "Beyond This Life" is great since it does not loose you during the long drive with its exciting riffs and astounding musicality. It has everything a good mastodon song should have. Some tempo shifting here and there, a edgy main riff and, of course, an irregular and unpredictable pattern. But "Beyond This Life" is not the best among the mastodon's. That throne goes to the oriental sounding song called "Home". It feels more epic and is one of the most intriguing songs Dream Theater has ever made. How about the third mastodon then? The last mastodon on this album is also the last song which is "Finally Free", a song that feels grand straight through the 12 minutes of playing time. A great epic and a perfect song to end this album and its concept. But the last 2 minutes felt a little weird for some reason (maybe cause the music stopped I don't know).

We also find two instrumentals on "Metropolis Pt. 2". I have already mentioned the first one ("Overture 1928") but it is the second one that is just fantastic. "The Dance of Eternity" is for me one of the best instrumentals ever made with its challenging rhythms and blistering usage of the instruments. There is not a dull moment on the entire song. And also ad that it is pretty unpredictable as well (for instance, in the middle there is some sort of western piano bar style music). A great recipe to make a world class instrumental. Also have to mention the emotional and spiritual "The Spirit Carries On". One of the best ballads the band have ever made.

There is so much to take in when you listen to this album but it is easy to see that this is a conceptual masterpiece. The story is interesting and the band does a great job telling it. And do not forget about the musicianship, which is some of the bands finest throughout their career. This is almost a perfect album but the problem is not that it lack something, it is that it almost contains to much of the good stuff. This album could have easily cut off some useless parts in some songs where they are taking their music a little too far. But who cares, this is a sweet album that every progressive metal fan should have on its shelf.

Songs worthy of recognition: Home, The Dance of Eternity, Strange Deja Vu, Finally Free

Rating: 9,5/10 Fatal Tragedies

dreamtheater.net/
twitter.com/dreamtheaternet

More reviews of Dream Theater
When Dream And Day Unite
Images And Words
Awake
Falling Into Infinity
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
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Systematic Chaos
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A Dramatic Turn of Events
S/T
The Astonishing

Distance Over Time