OPETH — Still Life (review)

OPETH — Still Life album cover Album · 1999 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Conor Fynes
'Still Life' - Opeth (9/10)

This is the first Opeth album (their fourth chronological release) that can widely be considered to be a near-perfect masterpiece. While albums such as 'Morningrise' did show signs of brilliance, the overall execution was imperfect, and there was still room for improvement. 'Still Life' is a fine representation of what a dose of intelligence can do for the metal industry. The end result is a cohesive, beautiful and technical album that seamlessly blends metal, progressive, and jazz leanings into a rich musical tapestry. However, possibly more so than any other album in my collection; this album took a long time to truly sink in, but it was certainly worth it.

At first few listens, I found the album to be technically 'good' but lacking in structure, and void of the mind blowing quality I felt while first listening to 'Ghost Reveries' or 'Watershed.' It was only after my fifteenth or so listen of 'Still Life' that it suddenly clicked in... The truly profound enjoyment of the album first sprouted in listening to the album's closer 'White Cluster.' The jazz contrast with the metal riffage was interesting and beautiful all at the same time. This newfound appreciation quickly spread to the other songs, and before too long I was listening to the album start to finish and loving every immersive second of it.

Paired with the haunting music is an equally haunting storyline. I won't go into detail about the plot in fear of spoilers, but the album revolves around a man banished from his village, returning to find his lost love. As you might imagine, there are some unfortunate consequences and the lyrics (beautifully written, especially for a death metal record) help to heighten the sense of drama until the heartbreaking, tragic end.

It has been said that the only way to truly test the quality of an album is how well it ages over time. This album is only getting better with time, and although it was a bit hard to truly appreciate and get into, it was certainly worth it, and since then, 'Still Life' has since risen to become one of my favourite records of all time.

A must-have for fans of metal music.
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