Mayh Reviews

Opeth are an enigma. They manage to sculpt an oppressively dark and sinister sounding black metal album without relying (too heavily) on the cliches of the genre. They weave progressive and classical interludes into a fabric of harsh metal. The symbiotic relationship between their moments of peaceful contemplation and explosive noise is quite unique, even in a scene swamped by bands attempting to do the same thing. Each song sort of flows into the next giving the whole album a unified feel. Probably the most endearing aspect of Opeth is that they are complex and multi-faceted but remain true to the crushing metal sounds I love.

Review by Jeb

Having never been exposed to Opeth, I had them pegged as a typical black metal bands that sings about love and relationships and crap like that. I really didn1t expect to get blown out of the water when 2April ethereal2 kicked in, from this point I am converted! And while the album has some mellow parts and some folk-ish characteristics, it1s still a very intense album from a band who seems to have not forgotten how the fuck they got their current plateau in life.

Review by Jeff

It´s no surprise that Opeth can only better themselves with each album they release, and It´s no surprise that this is easily their most stunning achievement. My arms your hearse is a concept album that evolves around some sort of ghost story, maintaining the bands dark, desolate themes of despair and discovery. The songs are weaved together like one whole story, and the music blends itself nicely within. The songs are stronger, heavier, more cohesive, with a stronger sound courtesy of Studio Fredman, and the textures and song movements are some of the best executed structures to be heard in metal. The juxtapositioning of the metallic passages with the acoustic passages is always a treat as well as the duel between harsh vocal screams and the clean voice. Opeth, like Katatonia, are one of the standout bands coming out of Sweden as My arms your hearse is a milestone in 901s extreme metal. They are a band that decide to push the envelope to further extremes, not afraid treading whatever musical path they come across, which leads to a splendid brand creativity. Divine to say the least.

Reviewed by Chris Bruni

Anyone who1s heard Katatonia´s "Brave murder day" or "Sounds of decay" releases will know what I mean when I say that some people are just born to roar. When Mikael Åkerfeldt opens his mouth to moan and howl, the microphone responds. Somehow, where hundreds of others try to induce that spine-tingling feeling of impending terror with their measly voices alone, and fail, Åkerfeldt succeeds. Somewhere between the recodring of Opeth´s secong album "Morningrise" and this, the third installment in the Stockholmers oddyssey through the unexplored reaches of Progressive death metal, Mikael´s singing has clicked and gelled, and gone on to the next level. Whether it was working with his sometime flatmates and friends in Katatonia, or it was a development that would occured naturally, seems unfair to speculate. The clean vocals that break up the harshness every so often indicate that we´d have a fine album in our hands, even had Opeth opted for the more fashionable approach, but it´s just one sign of how good this record is that the fact that they haven1t, only makes me love this more. For around fifty percent of the time, harsh is pretty much the operative word to describe "My arms your hearse". If "Morningrise" had a tendency to occasionally float off into the nether reaches of the early seventies and into Camel territory, then 2My arms..2 has reined this noodling tendency back in. Not by shortening the songs, not by ditching Opeth1s tendency towards exploration and lenghtiness, but by weaving the separate pieces together into a near-seemless song cycle. The Voivod influenced discordancies seem to flow entierly naturally into acoustic passages with Buffalo Springfield-style harmonies, modulated by the occasional Rush riff, the pastoral into the wigged-out and bombastic. This is not an album from which you can in all honesty pich out standout tracks: it just hasn´t been written that way. Three albums in, it1s by now beyond obvious that Opeth are just, well, different. Well on the way to be acknowledged for thgeir talent, too. Should the melodic death metal overload get any worse, and a cull be needed, then please remember to exempt this four-piece from any sneering, sweeping condemnation. And remember to play "My arms, your hearse" at the Swedish scene1 s funeral. 4/5

Reviewed by Harry Cleaver

You are in for a treat, easily described as the black metal version of "Darkside of the moon" in all it1s pride and glory. In fact, if Gilmour joined Emperor, or if Cradle took sides with Yes, can "My arms your hearse" be truly described. A touch of black, a touch of unharnessed space-drawn energy, a touch of acoustic ambience, but mostly a touch of class hurling forward without notice. We all know the golden qualities of Opeth weaving their sonic tapestries into long and enduring epics, but this was unexpected. "My arms.." comprises nine tracks, masked with death yet unmasked with the power of song, the record carrying you away with strong, guiding arms, to a land full of sorrow, but utter complacency and intrigue. From the simplistic, but effective artwork, to the journey contained within, Opeth´s youthful innocence has frightening potential. So far, this will be nestled beside Slayer and Helloween for best of year honours.

Reviewed by Tim Henderson

Opeth plus-now even more evil! No spiked clubs, no corpsepaint, but Opeth have succeded in creating an album that beats the crap out of the collected racoon troops of Norway without any problems whatsoever. Without being a Black metal band. When you hear this, there are no doubts that this is Opeth. The Stockholm quartet has developed a sound, so distinct that a second worth of listening reveals them. In Studio Fredman they have succeded in creating a top-notch production that brings forth all the numerous elements of the band, preferably enjoyed in the dark with headphones. Opeth have three advantages that makes them one of the best and innovative orchestras in the world: Mike Åkerfeldts unique and brutal vocals, which he combines with his beautiful clean voice, their great and complex songwriting skills, as well as they succeed in showing-off with their instruments without being out of hand or exaggerated. This one will dissapoint no-one!

Reviewed by Åsa Swanö