Playlist – FFO Opeth (or, A Dirge for November)

Prologue:

As we enter winter once again, the writers of The Progressive Subway have come together in conjuring a playlist in recognition of the legendary heritage of Opeth. Make no mistake, this playlist is not a requiem, or a funeral portrait (the band is still going strong, thank you very much). But it’s a fair judgment that Opeth has been incredibly influential to music fans and musicians alike, forming a large part of the windowpane into heavy progressive metal for many and it is this deliverance that we examine today. 

In the late nineties/early noughties, Opeth bottled lightning with a distinctive blend of melodic death metal, prog rock, inspired writing and excellent musicianship to create some incredibly compelling, atmospheric albums which led them to becoming nigh on iconic in alternative music circles. Despite this, constant debate has surrounded Opeth‘s later musical direction towards a distinctively lighter sound: For some this has been an eternal soul torture, but nectar to the ears of others, allowing Opeth to reach a wider audience with differing musical sensibilities.

“Opeth-worship” bands quickly followed as a whole generation of music lovers and bedroom-shredders strangled the necks of their guitars attempting to produce the bar chords from ‘The Drapery Falls’. We on this blog have sometimes been somewhat critical of bands that lean too heavily on their Opeth influences as opposed to producing their own musical ideas. But for this playlist, we’ll let that all go. It’s officially open Opeth-worship season on the site.

We are focusing our celebration of Opeth on smaller bands, the many heirs apparent to Opeth‘s legacy: the master’s apprentices, if you will. Writers Christopher, Doug and Zach have collected sounds from the prog underground that show their Opeth influences like a face in the snow. that carry the Opeth torch onto the next generation and into the frost of winter.

As always, you can scroll down to read our writers’ rationale for their choices and check out links for bands that the Blog has reviewed in the past.

Christopher

Selections: Anciients, Obsidian Tide, Luna’s Call, Vinsta, The Reticent, Wilderun

Anciients have just announced that they’re going into the studio to record album number three, thank god. They’re one of the most promising Opeth-inspired bands out there, fusing the inimitable Blackwater Park era sound with a sludgier vibe reminiscent of Mastodon and The Ocean. Y’know who else needs to get back in the studio? Obsidian Tide. Their debut album Pillars of Creation demonstrated a more circuitous take on the Opeth sound, with the Phrygian elements of their native Israel, and a quiet eye towards experimentation that bodes well for future releases.

There are two questions that lurk around our minds in those quiet moments when little else occupies us: as sleep takes over our bodies, as our loved ones turn away, as the tide pulls away from the shore… The first is: what if Opeth had continued on the prog death path? The answer is Luna’s Call, an incredible evocation of Opeth’s classic sound with something more energetic driving it. And the second question is: what if Opeth were Bavarian and they yodled? The answer to that question is Vinsta. 

The Reticent made the best album I will never listen to again. The Oubliette is an emotional nightmare of a concept album about dementia painted on an Opethian canvas that hits all the high points: incredible melodies, brutal death metal, impeccable storytelling. This is the only album to have ever made me truly weep and want to scream, and it did both at the same time at one point. And yet there are even better bands out there. Imagine if Opeth accompanied themselves with epic orchestration and leaned into a more dynamic sound. That’s Wilderun, and at the risk of being controversial, Wilderun are even better than the most iconic band in progressive metal. Come and flame me. 

Doug

Selections: Sisare, Hillward, Echoes and Signals

As the Subway’s latest resident prog rocker, it apparently falls to me to cover Opeth’s late-period heavy progressive rock output. Deep, deep down beneath the upper strata of artists often likened to Opeth’s post-Watershed style – your Anathemas, your Porcupine Trees, your Soens – lies an even deeper well of hidden gems who likewise ply their uncrunchy guitars and their melancholy, introspective, atmospheric lyrics in obeisance to the dark god Opeth.

Sisare bring a mostly uncomplicated style to the table, though their composition still bespeaks a wealth of depth and complexity. Featuring healthy layers of Soen-esque lightly distorted guitars, lively bass, mournful vocals, and unassuming but tightly plotted percussion, Sisare’s second and far more noteworthy album Leaving the Land triumphs in its simple yet effective execution.

Hillward opt for a more cinematic approach, featuring greater presence of keyboards and acoustic guitar, somewhat reminiscent of Riverside. Layering these elements on top of the shared foundation of heavy prog rock, the band have refined this formula across their three releases, culminating in 2021’s Alternate Timelines.
The latest addition to this list, Echoes and Signals, have only more recently settled into their Opethian style after a gradual metamorphosis of sorts through a few varieties of alternative rock and metal. Their 2021 album Mercurial further incorporates a light, ethereal haze that raises the sense of melancholy to its limits. “Broken Machine” is the keystone of this album, an emotional and moving lament concerning the frailty of the human condition.

Will

Selections: Hands of Despair, Piah Mater, Athela,

True story: Opeth was my gateway into heavier music with harsher vocals. Coming from a background in classic rock, early metal bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple with a sprinkling of 90’s and 00’s indie, bands that made use of screams and growls felt somewhat inaccessible to me. I wanted to enjoy it but felt like I just couldn’t get a good handhold on it. “The Drapery Falls” changed that for me. The writing on that track, starting with an acoustic driven, deeply atmospheric melody before building into heavier sounds and feeding in Åkerfeldt’s death growls with such subtlety gave me an in. Everything clicked in my teenage mind and the rest is history. In honour of this, I chose “Amendment” from Athela‘s three track EP, this track does a good job of mimicking this progression from piano to forte, from haunting atmosphere to growling melo-death.

Piah Mater, once described on this site as being the perfect band for people who want to live an alternate reality where Åkerfeldt never stopped growling, is straight up pure black-tar Opeth-worship. From pacing, guitar tones, solos, vocals, even the way finger movement on a guitar strings during a chord transition gets picked up on the recordings in acoustic sections are all deeply reminiscent of Opeth‘s style. No playlist worshipping the Swedish giants would be complete without including them.

Hand of Despair, like many progressive death metal bands, is clearly saturated in Opeth influence. But, unlike Piah Mater, the Quebeqois band make it their own, assimilating it into a sound all their own. 12-minute epic “Doppelganger” manages to feel fresh while still clearly having one food in their metal heritage.

Zach

Selections: Disillusion, Ne Obliviscaris, Dessiderium

What’s the secret to my dashing good looks and extra strong muscles despite the fact I’m actually over 10,000 years old? Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s simple really. I go to the gym 36 times a day, do my rigorous skincare routine thrice and I listen to Opeth every day. That last part probably isn’t a joke. Blackwater Park, in my humble opinion, is the best thing to happen to music since the invention of prog, and I consider the ‘peth in their prime to be the greatest band to ever walk this earth. No other band has the riffs and vocal prowess that Mikey Anklefeet brings to the table. So, why so little picks? Well, one, I wanted to let all the other proglings have their say. Two, I literally pick an FFO for Opeth every playlist. 

We start off with Ne Obliviscaris. If you’re a self-professed Opeth fan and you haven’t heard them, there are bigger problems in your life that I need you to sort out pronto. They resemble the Morningrise-era if they’d kept that jazzy bass and added a violinist to the lineup. Seriously, these guys are stupid talented and one of the best torchbearers of the progressive death metal sound. This was a hard choice, but I decided to choose ‘Forget Not’, probably one of the best metal songs ever written, for its insane use of the 12 minutes it has you captive. Seriously, this song feels like it’s 5 minutes long. 

Then we have our newly uncovered Lost in Time pick, Disillusion. A band with one of the strongest debuts in existence, who combine Opethian songwriting strategies with a mid 2000s melodeath aggressive edge. ‘Back to Times of Splendor’ the titular track of their debut, is the best example of their sound. The violin-driven riff in the beginning and that triumphant chorus get my blood pumping every single time. 

Lastly, we have the Zach-approved darling of the blog, Dessiderium. You could pick a good chunk of the playlists I’ve participated in, and chance is you’ll find a writeup about Alex Haddad’s one man masterclass of progressive death metal. But I’ll remind you again. Aria is one of the greatest albums ever made and ‘Pale’ has one of the coolest riffs you’ll ever find in a prog-death song. A swirling, dreamlike masterpiece that’s sure to enamour those who want lengthy, dynamic compositions. 

• Hands of Despair (included in 2018’s AOTY posts)
• Piah Mater
• Dessiderium
• Disillusion (Coming soon!)