Please do more Opeth reactions. I love hearing someone with a musical education react to and analyse their stuff. It helps me appreciate them on another level.
When this album was 10 years old on the day, I walked passed the Town Hall in Oslo, Norway. They play 49 church Bells every day from the morning. Mainly classical symphonies. That day they played this song, and I just stood outside in shock. Took me a minute to realize which song they were playing but that was an amazing experience. The Bells are also really loud so I guess a couple of hundred thousand people listened to a Opeth tune that day without their knowing. The day Lemmy died they played motorhead songs for 12 hours
What a wonderful experience ! Opeth has a great depth to their music, almost a classical feel. There is a bell tower in the shopping plaza where I bank , and grocery shop, but they don't have near the repertoire yours does. I'm in Houston, Texas , lucky to get a haphazard version of "I've been workin ' on the railroad" ,(The Eyes of Texas are Upon You). I still stop to listen, I have heard "fur Elise", Beethoven !
I appreciate this guy, I went to uni and I was in a faculty with lots of classical music students/profs. I felt alienated as it was clear a lot of them had a sort of complex about classical music being superior to metal and other genres This guy is nothing like that, hes happy to embrace new music. You dont need to hate other music to love classical music, and the opposite is true too!
Yup. Sadly a lotta people are like this in every genre of music. I'm mainly a metalhead but I enjoy a lotta different styles. Dare I say even some pop music
@@colinclark1981 Yeah with that mentality you'll end up missing out on some really impactful music. I'm also mainly a metal head and can't stand a lot of pop music but every once in a while I'll hear a song that I really enjoy. Tends to serve as a reminder not to get too stuck in my tropes as much as I enjoy them lol.
I am a lover of music of all sorts of genres. I love hearing these reactions and gaining insight into the technical aspects of the songs. Classical and metal actually have a lot in common, especially with more technical groups like Opeth, Metallica, etc. I encourage everyone to be open to exploring new music, really gaining a deeper insight into it.
On this particular album, the additional musicians are as follows: Nathalie Lorichs - female vocals (on "Coil") Lisa Almberg - English horn, oboe Christoffer Wadensten - flute Karin Svensson - violin Andreas Tengberg - cello
Yes, it shows just how great of a drummer he is. Nailing that part perfectly by increasing tempo over a steady instrumental part over a couple of bars and fitting it perfectly to the next bar, that's next level stuff.
@@sludgeon Oh, that is not an off-beat per se. He just switched over to triplets, so many of his accents fall where there is no note of the 2-based rhythm of the music.
@@scyphe He did not inrcease tempo (see my comment above). And the execution wasn't perfect, which contributed to some disjointed feel, which actually worked fine since the whole idea there was to create high tension and chaos leading into a catharsis for that part of the song.
Please, from the bottom of my heart, please do more Opeth; you don't know what it would mean. I just can't convey in text here how much this single video has helped me even further appreciate my favorite band of all time in ways I didn't even know were possible from a music theory standpoint. I've never been a musician really, but I'm now studying music theory heavily for the first time in my life because I love complex systems. Opeth has been my favorite band for 15 years because of the complexity I can hear in their music even though I have never been able to fully comprehend the totality of complexity and vibrancy in their compositions. I've never loved Porcelain Heart as much as I do now after coming to understand their composition through this video.
As far as I know Mikael seperated from his girlfriend and a few weeks later she commited suicide. Knowing this, this song is one of the most intense pieces I know. It gives me the creeps every time I hear it.
Yes, more Opeth. They've been so eclectic over their career that there are songs that sound like they're done by a different band in a different genre while still sounding like Opeth. Many many gems. I'll reiterate my wish/request to reacting to "Dignity" off their latest album "In Cauda Venenum" which is an amazing progressive piece. :) And you were pretty spot on about the meaning of the song and I loved your breakdown of it.
My fav track of ICV. Although, I suggest doing the original swedish version Sveket Prins instead of the english one Dignity, as the translation doesn't quite fit with the music in some parts as well as the swedish version.
React to the next song on this album which is Hessian Peel that actually includes a full orchestra! The entire Watershed album is a masterpiece from top to bottom!
@@Lucifurion no way! They're still brilliant but with a different sound they never lost their true identity which was to make great progressive music not like Metallica who became posers in the 90s!
@@kostashantzis6081 I agree. Metallica stopped writing good thrash metal to play pop-rock songs that are easy to perform live. I liked Metallica the thrash metal band, i dislike Metallica the pop-rock band. Where as Opeth also had a dramatic style change, it went from a prog rock/prog death metal band to a prog rock/prog acid rock band. Which i like Opeth in both styles. I will admit that i do wish they would make some more death metal or incorporate some growls back into the music if only for a few bars. They do plenty of growls in the live shows though.
I vote for Blackwater Park, Ghost of Perdition, and The Moor! And then after that... literally any other song they ever made, including Black Rose Immortal.
I could listen to you talk about my favorite bands all day. Nice work. Side note, you have a great recording setup there. With headphones, it sounded like you were in the room talking to me, nice lows.
Actually, the whole album "Watershed" is a concept around this topic/experience. When you listen to it, it is like one gigantic song with almost all songs flowing into one another. To me, it is the pinnacle of Opeth combining their original Death Metal and (newer) Prog roots. Highly recommended! Also, it was the last one featuring this "Metal" soundscape. Currently (which means, on the last 4 studio albums already), Opeth make their albums sound more organic, "retro", which is another kind of cool. A band constantly evolving - and I wouldn't consider myself anyway near a hardcore fanboy of theirs ;-)
Nice work as usual Doug. Keep analyzing! Plain reaction videos are boring, but watching an expert geek out and get technical about things they are passionate about (and learning things in the process!) is worthwhile and what brings me back to the channel. Cheers!
I love your analysis of music, particularly Maiden. I have to suggest the song 'Alexander the Great' by Maiden because I think you'll really appreciate the musicianship and various changes within the song. I'm a guitar and bass player and this song is one of the toughest challenges I've ever faced learning. Excellent content, Doug. Keep it up!
Yeah dude, you gotta do more Opeth.. Like other people have commented, it's really refreshing to hear someone classically trained to break down the tracks. Great stuff! Greetings from Norway!
Awesome reaction! I’ll keep repeating my earlier recommendation of Opeth - The drapery falls. Lovely dynamic song with interesting melodies 👍 Another band/song I’d really recommend is Katatonia - Lethean. Katatonia is sort of a sibling band to Opeth and they used to tour together quite a bit. Lethean has just clean vocals (like most Katatonia except earliest albums), interesting patterns and very well produced. Has to be experienced 🙂
All things will pass is probably my favorite Opeth song (so far). Worth a listen/review if you've not heard it yet. It's off the latest recording. Nice videos btw, really enjoying them
Hey man, really loving your reaction. It’s great to see someone with an understanding on musical theory to breakdown the track!! Glad to see you’re on the Opeth train!! Would love to see you react to Ne Obliviscaris - Of Plague flowers the Kaleidoscope (studio version). Some people refer to them as Opeth on steroids!! Would be great to hear you break it down. Cheers
SO enjoying your analysis! You're becoming one of my top TH-cam reactors! This is also probably my favourite Opeth album - extremely dynamic and diverse! 😊
Just found your channel and love the Opeth analysis from your obviously deep musical understanding mind. Interesting to hear a classical composer’s thoughts for us less theory centered musicians! Always nice to learn. Opeth’s my fav metal band. Please keep doing these. If you enjoy this band you could consider analyzing Steven Wilson’s solo records (specially the earlier ones...). After all, he helped produce some of Opeth’s stuff so definitely another great musician. (Sorry about my crap english) Peace!
Your reactions are very enjoyable! A perfect blend between offering theoretical insights and simply enjoying the music. Hope you're doing well, friend.
Great stuff! If you are looking for more Opeth songs to break down I would be especially interested in your analysis of one of the beasts from the Blackwater Park album (which was produced and in a few cases co-written with Steven Wilson). One of The Leper Affinity, The Drapery Falls or the title track Blackwater Park would do nicely. Each of those makes use of some fantastically creative and badass atonal/dissonant phrases and layerings, and I'd love to hear your thoughts or comparisons on that side of Opeth's music.
Very cool hearing your perspective real-time on Opeth! they've got an amazing catalogue over a long period of time! I would LOVE to hear you do another TOOL breakdown as well, Invincible off their latest album; I'd love to hear a composer's thoughts. Cheers!
This song is the sole reason I bought a nylon string guitar. Mikael is my favorite guitar player of all time. So much tension and release in his writing.
Great show there! I never link this song to the last you did, wow! THANKS to taught technical details better ways to explain this amazing music! If you put all Opeth's songs in the order they appear on every album, this one is the last song you'll ear Mickael growls. All songs that came after are only clean singing. listen to « To bid you farewell... » react if you find it interesting =D P.S. oups* it's the next song on the album « Hessian Peel » the last song he growls
Great take on a great band! So many roads to travel here. One of my favorite Opeth tracks is "Deliverance" , off album of same name. If you want something different, try Porcupine Tree, "Anesthetize", off Fear of a Blank Planet.
I'd love to see you discuss how Opeth have changed since songs like The Moor or Blackwater Park to the most recent album with songs like Dignity which are completely different in tone and style.
Hey Doug, huge fan. I strongly suggest for you to check out the latest albums by Opeth, namely: "Heritage"; "Pale Communion"; "Sorceress"; and the last one they recorded "In Cauda Venenum". They're proggy as hell. There are notes, passages, chord progressions changing in every turn. It's a hell of a ride. And, there are no growls. Which turns to be a more of a pleasent journey for the most common audience. Nonetheless, great musical pieces. I can't suggest any song in particular, because I like them all, I leave that to you. My best regards and keep doing these videos, it sure enlightened me to what I am hearing. 😁
Thanks again for detailed breakdown. Really loving these. It's nice to hear how professional breaksdown a Song how it is constructed. And again I'd like to suggest Nightwish - The Greatest Show on Earth (studio). That Will surely serve some breakdowning.
You have to do more Opeth reactions, this guys are a genius in music(expecially Mikael). They comes out with this level of music on their first record "Orchid" and then sustains it to say the least for record after record its insane! Next suggetions: Opeth - Burden Opeth - The Twilight is my Robe (from Orchid) Opeth - To Bid You Farewell Opeth - Blackwater Park , this is just a few of their masterpieces.
great job man, so good. The song writer Mikael doesnt know any theory so he writes all of his music by ear and feel, so someone who knows what is happening theory wise is really interesting.
@@Doug.Helvering , it sounds like Opeth has their guitars tuned down to D, rather than the standard E to get that heavy sound, but I only surmise that because I play guitar, you nailed it regardless of tuning. Plus, I think you are open minded about music and that makes it watchable too, nice job man.
@@guslakis Most of their songs are actually in E-standard, with the odd drop D (and one in drop A) here and there, except in the album Ghost reveries, there most songs are in Dmadd9
@@guslakis Indeed! it's tuned to DADFAe, it becomes apparent when listening to the harmonics played around the 7:47 mark in the previous Opeth video. This song is in drop-D though I believe.
I love this song so much. Watershed is the album I return to the most. It marks the transition from their dark heavy beginnings to the more prog classic sound they have nowadays. Captures the best of both worlds, and songs like this still surprise me when I hear them.
Gorguts "Oceans of Wisdom" --- Arnold Schoenberg reincarnated in a metal guise Spastic Ink. "A Wild Hair" --- onomatopeic serialism = mind blowing (then go to "Words for Nerds") Jason Becker "Altitudes" --- the Mozart of our time flying his heart into the sky for the last dance, just before an aweful illness crippled his body rendering him quadriplegic... This music and story will make you cry Animals As Leaders "Tempting Time" --- the sound of a newly born artifical intelligence awakening and getting torn by emotions... angst, confusion, anger, hate and ultimately love for the first time.
Doug will have to see the Documentary; "Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet". Btw ("A Wild Hair") some "Blotted Science" would be good, or tracks from Ron's 1st band "Watchtower" to get Doug into some Tech-Prog Metal/"Math Metal" . . . and maybe into the band "Spiral Architect" :).
@@mvunit3 Bro, it took me a decade after discovering Spiral Architect to accept that they will never release another album :( One of the greatest single album bands ever.
I'm really enjoying this insider look into music that I have found emotive but not realised why, thank you for the analysis! Around 6 minutes you mention lament in various cultures of music and I wondered does the emotive association vary differently in other musical traditions? For example would music generally understood as "sad" by an American listener have the same emotional connotation for a listener from South Africa? Or Japan?
Hey Doug, seeing that you like Opeth, you should give Pain of Salvation a shot. I would recommend The Perfect element pt.1 (song) or Beyond the pale. Those are really good songs and I think you will enjoy them.
Another great analysis. I know it's probably standard among true musicians, but perfect pitch has always been fascinating to me. I can tell that you're a true expert. I've always wondered - what do you listen to for pure enjoyment? I think someone who's immersed in music as a profession might have a different answer to that. I would love to hear your thoughts on Opeth's latest album. There's been a schism in the Opeth fandom over their gradual shift away from metal. It's been a long time since Michael used his growls. They still sound like Opeth to me! Charlatan, All Things Will Pass, and Next of Kin are all good tracks.
Perfect pitch is very rare. I'm not sure if Doug has it as I'm new to this channel, but he most likely has great relative pitch. Difference being perfect pitch is when you can reproduce or identify a note without any reference note, while relative pitch is being able to deduce notes given a reference note. That said, with practice one can become very quick at being able to deduce notes from reference notes so that it appears as if you have perfect pitch, even though you technically don't. For me I have a few songs in different keys that I use for reference notes whenever I hear a new song in order to figure out the key it's in. Doug may be doing something similar.
For me it seems like the absence of instrumental at the fourth verse just before the first "breakdown" part signals the moment of suicide and the person has left this world. What awaits was those heavenly melody (high guitar passages) along with the burden (heavy instrumental) she carried with her to the afterlife.
Nice video. Opeth are really something else. It’s really nice to see how they have evolved over time as well. You should really do something from the latest album “In Cauda Veneum”. Also while in the Swedish progressive music realm I would recommend you to listen to the band Kaipa - Sattyg.
The Lepper Affinity is also great. Idk if he likes progressive rock but there is some interesting stuff in that direction on the Heritage album, I would love to see a reaction to one of those too
You've got a fan for life if you keep reacting to Opeth songs! Check out River, Faith in Others, The Wilde Flowers, The Devil's Orchard, I Feel the Dark, The Throat of Winter, Ghost of Perdition
I started watching your reactions to metal bands, and just went on a binge watching :) If you are new to metal, as you say you are, get to listen to Devin Townsend. His music, composition, emotion, prowess is unmatched. Try to listen to his album Empath and son Singularity, or try song Deadhead. Keep up great work, really happy to have someone know what he is talking about!
The first time I saw them I remember thinking that was interesting and bloody brilliant. And you should check out Fates Warning, the guitar work in Through Different Eyes is magnificent.
Check out "Hessian Peel" by Opeth off this the same album, or "Baying Of The Hounds" off of Ghost Reveries the same album as "Harlequin Forrest" is also good.
Pretty cool watching your approach on the opeth catalogue. To continue with the prog path, i think you´ll be amazed with these songs: -3 libras - by A perfect Circle (Tool´s vocalist side project) -Deadman - Karnivool -Demon of the Fall - Opeth (heavy stuff) Cheers and keep going!
I love how you break everything down, you seriously have got to do a reaction to Nighwish - Ghost Love Score, I'd really like to hear your reaction to that song, you won't be disappointed!
“Feels like its based on a diminished chord “ Other songs in the Watershed album have melody lines whose descending character follows diminished scales. It is also true that metal tends towards using the diminished fifth chordal and melodic movement because of the added tension. It’s a feature, not a bug
Hi Doug. Gorguts - from Canada - made an EP called Pleiades' Dust in 2016. According to something I think I heard when I was at a concert with them when I was rather drunk, it is supposed to be a salute to the first hungarian dance by Johannes brahms from Germany. Maybe you can tell me how drunk I was. :-)
Hey. Love your channel. Now, for the solo electric guitar part, it seems to me if you continue the previous musical section over the solo guitar, it fits. I think that's what he has in mind when he's chosing his notes and phrasing for the solo guitar part. That's what I would do as a guitarist.
ne obliviscaris - and plague flowers the kaleidoscope. haggard - of a might divine. gotta do those... (see my comment on the other opeth reaction. great reactions, btw...)
@@johnnylemon9610 ya.. It is, just nice to see others reacted to.. Eyrie is a more beautiful one imo. Portal of i is a flawless album tho. And ya.. Sybreed.lol
That A-Ab-G thing is an old blues thing - it's playing with the natural and flat 5th as a "blue note". That's what he's playing with there, I am 99% certain. 5-b5-4-b3-R is sort of a classic blues melody thing, which is what's going on here.
@@TheApsodist It's a blues thing, because it's used in exactly the same way one would use it in a blues context. Opeth is much more influenced by classic prog and so on than classical.
Great assessment. I would love to hear your take on Canadian death metal legends, Gorguts, particularly anything from Colored Sands, Pleiades Dust or Obscura, as their band leader, Luc Lemay is also a classical composer who incorporates that into his metal music. Its more intense and avantgarde but fascinating listens.
Just discovered your channel, pretty cool to hear an educated ear's analysis of songs I've loved for years. Interested to hear your break down of Lunatic Soul - Summoning Dance
Please do more Opeth reactions. I love hearing someone with a musical education react to and analyse their stuff. It helps me appreciate them on another level.
This!
@ Crazed Automaton - I couldn’t agree with you more! Well said because that’s exactly how I feel.
I second that.
I would definitely love more Opeth reactions.
Exactly brother
When this album was 10 years old on the day, I walked passed the Town Hall in Oslo, Norway. They play 49 church Bells every day from the morning. Mainly classical symphonies. That day they played this song, and I just stood outside in shock. Took me a minute to realize which song they were playing but that was an amazing experience. The Bells are also really loud so I guess a couple of hundred thousand people listened to a Opeth tune that day without their knowing. The day Lemmy died they played motorhead songs for 12 hours
What a wonderful experience ! Opeth has a great depth to their music, almost a classical feel. There is a bell tower in the shopping plaza where I bank , and grocery shop, but they don't have near the repertoire yours does. I'm in Houston, Texas , lucky to get a haphazard version of "I've been workin ' on the railroad" ,(The Eyes of Texas are Upon You). I still stop to listen, I have heard "fur Elise", Beethoven !
wow, that is pretty cool!
What a great story. Thank you for sharing.
Det er kult!
That would be so cool, and so unreal to experience.
Your brother makes damn good suggestions.
I appreciate this guy, I went to uni and I was in a faculty with lots of classical music students/profs. I felt alienated as it was clear a lot of them had a sort of complex about classical music being superior to metal and other genres
This guy is nothing like that, hes happy to embrace new music. You dont need to hate other music to love classical music, and the opposite is true too!
Yup. Sadly a lotta people are like this in every genre of music. I'm mainly a metalhead but I enjoy a lotta different styles. Dare I say even some pop music
@@colinclark1981 Yeah with that mentality you'll end up missing out on some really impactful music. I'm also mainly a metal head and can't stand a lot of pop music but every once in a while I'll hear a song that I really enjoy. Tends to serve as a reminder not to get too stuck in my tropes as much as I enjoy them lol.
I am a lover of music of all sorts of genres. I love hearing these reactions and gaining insight into the technical aspects of the songs. Classical and metal actually have a lot in common, especially with more technical groups like Opeth, Metallica, etc. I encourage everyone to be open to exploring new music, really gaining a deeper insight into it.
On this particular album, the additional musicians are as follows:
Nathalie Lorichs - female vocals (on "Coil")
Lisa Almberg - English horn, oboe
Christoffer Wadensten - flute
Karin Svensson - violin
Andreas Tengberg - cello
And Nathalie is Axe's long-term partner!
That off-beat pattern that Axenrot throws in in the middle of the song gets me everytime, such a mastery
Time reference please :)
4:37 - 4:53 :)
Yes, it shows just how great of a drummer he is. Nailing that part perfectly by increasing tempo over a steady instrumental part over a couple of bars and fitting it perfectly to the next bar, that's next level stuff.
@@sludgeon Oh, that is not an off-beat per se. He just switched over to triplets, so many of his accents fall where there is no note of the 2-based rhythm of the music.
@@scyphe He did not inrcease tempo (see my comment above). And the execution wasn't perfect, which contributed to some disjointed feel, which actually worked fine since the whole idea there was to create high tension and chaos leading into a catharsis for that part of the song.
Please, from the bottom of my heart, please do more Opeth; you don't know what it would mean. I just can't convey in text here how much this single video has helped me even further appreciate my favorite band of all time in ways I didn't even know were possible from a music theory standpoint.
I've never been a musician really, but I'm now studying music theory heavily for the first time in my life because I love complex systems. Opeth has been my favorite band for 15 years because of the complexity I can hear in their music even though I have never been able to fully comprehend the totality of complexity and vibrancy in their compositions.
I've never loved Porcelain Heart as much as I do now after coming to understand their composition through this video.
As far as I know Mikael seperated from his girlfriend and a few weeks later she commited suicide. Knowing this, this song is one of the most intense pieces I know. It gives me the creeps every time I hear it.
Love the way you do it Doug. As I watch you, I enjoy the fact that you enjoy the music. And I am learning so much. Thanks and keep doing this.
Yes, more Opeth. They've been so eclectic over their career that there are songs that sound like they're done by a different band in a different genre while still sounding like Opeth. Many many gems. I'll reiterate my wish/request to reacting to "Dignity" off their latest album "In Cauda Venenum" which is an amazing progressive piece. :) And you were pretty spot on about the meaning of the song and I loved your breakdown of it.
Agreed on Dignity. That track may have their best sounding solo.
My fav track of ICV. Although, I suggest doing the original swedish version Sveket Prins instead of the english one Dignity, as the translation doesn't quite fit with the music in some parts as well as the swedish version.
That is a mellotron.
Fun fact: this particular song has an all-mellotron version called Mellotron Heart.
My brother alerted me to Mellotron Heart...very interesting!
React to the next song on this album which is Hessian Peel that actually includes a full orchestra! The entire Watershed album is a masterpiece from top to bottom!
@@RickyMyGoat34 One of their best!
Second this about Hessian Peel and also the entire album!
And their last truly brilliant album. Now they're like Metallica in their Load period.
@@Lucifurion no way! They're still brilliant but with a different sound they never lost their true identity which was to make great progressive music not like Metallica who became posers in the 90s!
@@kostashantzis6081 I agree. Metallica stopped writing good thrash metal to play pop-rock songs that are easy to perform live.
I liked Metallica the thrash metal band, i dislike Metallica the pop-rock band.
Where as Opeth also had a dramatic style change, it went from a prog rock/prog death metal band to a prog rock/prog acid rock band.
Which i like Opeth in both styles. I will admit that i do wish they would make some more death metal or incorporate some growls back into the music if only for a few bars.
They do plenty of growls in the live shows though.
I'm half way through (bout 7min in) and I can't wait to see your reaction to the rest of this song, it hits me like a ton a bricks. Every time.
Best music reactions I've seen...you're educated review is unbelievably awesome. Thank you
"powerful and sad" best words to define this song and also Opeth song is majority with that elements "brutal and beauty" or brutiful lol
Yours are one of the best musical and compositional reactions youtube have, congrats and enjoy the music you discover on your road
I vote for Blackwater Park, Ghost of Perdition, and The Moor! And then after that... literally any other song they ever made, including Black Rose Immortal.
I could listen to you talk about my favorite bands all day. Nice work.
Side note, you have a great recording setup there. With headphones, it sounded like you were in the room talking to me, nice lows.
In love with your Opeth reactions. Opeth really is a band for musiciand so it's great to share with one
"I lost all I had .. that April day." family grief
This song is about Michael dealing with his ex girlfriend's suicide.
Wow! The song is a powerful testament, I think.
Wow I didn't know that :( it's really so much sader now on touching me way more because I understand the metaphors
Hessian peel too (the best song on the album IMO)
Actually, the whole album "Watershed" is a concept around this topic/experience. When you listen to it, it is like one gigantic song with almost all songs flowing into one another. To me, it is the pinnacle of Opeth combining their original Death Metal and (newer) Prog roots. Highly recommended! Also, it was the last one featuring this "Metal" soundscape. Currently (which means, on the last 4 studio albums already), Opeth make their albums sound more organic, "retro", which is another kind of cool. A band constantly evolving - and I wouldn't consider myself anyway near a hardcore fanboy of theirs ;-)
That was specifically "Burden", actually. The rest of the record has to do with family but Mikael intentionally obfuscated the lyrics on this record.
Nice work as usual Doug. Keep analyzing! Plain reaction videos are boring, but watching an expert geek out and get technical about things they are passionate about (and learning things in the process!) is worthwhile and what brings me back to the channel. Cheers!
I love your analysis of music, particularly Maiden. I have to suggest the song 'Alexander the Great' by Maiden because I think you'll really appreciate the musicianship and various changes within the song. I'm a guitar and bass player and this song is one of the toughest challenges I've ever faced learning. Excellent content, Doug. Keep it up!
I really appreciate your musical analysis, Doug!
I would love your reaction to Opeth - Faith in Others
Thanks for the video. I would love to see your thoughts on Mastodon. Particularly something from the Crack the Skye album.
I just asked the exact same thing on another Opeth video. That would be rad.
Yeah dude, you gotta do more Opeth.. Like other people have commented, it's really refreshing to hear someone classically trained to break down the tracks. Great stuff! Greetings from Norway!
Awesome reaction! I’ll keep repeating my earlier recommendation of Opeth - The drapery falls. Lovely dynamic song with interesting melodies 👍 Another band/song I’d really recommend is Katatonia - Lethean. Katatonia is sort of a sibling band to Opeth and they used to tour together quite a bit. Lethean has just clean vocals (like most Katatonia except earliest albums), interesting patterns and very well produced. Has to be experienced 🙂
"I love hearing real guitar playing" \m/
The end part when the arpeggios come in again is a callback to an older song of theirs called The Grand Conjuration. Love when they do that stuff.
All things will pass is probably my favorite Opeth song (so far). Worth a listen/review if you've not heard it yet. It's off the latest recording. Nice videos btw, really enjoying them
I love your feedback to all the parts. The immediate recognition of key changes and chord progressions. Subscribed!
Wow! You are so spot in, I am hooked to your reaction videos. Thank you.
Love the technical aspects you bring to these reactions! I look forward to many more I hope!
Hey man, really loving your reaction. It’s great to see someone with an understanding on musical theory to breakdown the track!! Glad to see you’re on the Opeth train!! Would love to see you react to Ne Obliviscaris - Of Plague flowers the Kaleidoscope (studio version). Some people refer to them as Opeth on steroids!! Would be great to hear you break it down. Cheers
SO enjoying your analysis! You're becoming one of my top TH-cam reactors! This is also probably my favourite Opeth album - extremely dynamic and diverse! 😊
Fascinating reaction, think you're becoming my favourite music channel. Try Burden from this album, it's a beautiful ballad.
Just found your channel and love the Opeth analysis from your obviously deep musical understanding mind. Interesting to hear a classical composer’s thoughts for us less theory centered musicians! Always nice to learn.
Opeth’s my fav metal band.
Please keep doing these. If you enjoy this band you could consider analyzing Steven Wilson’s solo records (specially the earlier ones...). After all, he helped produce some of Opeth’s stuff so definitely another great musician.
(Sorry about my crap english)
Peace!
Your reactions are very enjoyable! A perfect blend between offering theoretical insights and simply enjoying the music. Hope you're doing well, friend.
Thanks for your Opeth reactions.
They're in my top 3 bands.
Love your channel. Keep it up 👍
I love the heavy part when you let out a "whooo"
Love these reactions! Please do them sitting behind the piano and more Opeth please !
Great stuff! If you are looking for more Opeth songs to break down I would be especially interested in your analysis of one of the beasts from the Blackwater Park album (which was produced and in a few cases co-written with Steven Wilson). One of The Leper Affinity, The Drapery Falls or the title track Blackwater Park would do nicely. Each of those makes use of some fantastically creative and badass atonal/dissonant phrases and layerings, and I'd love to hear your thoughts or comparisons on that side of Opeth's music.
Spot on analysis, brilliant choice in a Opeth song.
Hey doug, just found you. I love listening to your takes on music! Keep it up, man!
Very cool hearing your perspective real-time on Opeth! they've got an amazing catalogue over a long period of time! I would LOVE to hear you do another TOOL breakdown as well, Invincible off their latest album; I'd love to hear a composer's thoughts. Cheers!
Great choice. Nice analysis. 🤘🏻
Nice soothing, relaxing start and then POW!... So Opeth
You HAVE to listen to Bleak by opeth as well. The mid part is just insanely good
This song is the sole reason I bought a nylon string guitar. Mikael is my favorite guitar player of all time. So much tension and release in his writing.
Great show there! I never link this song to the last you did, wow! THANKS to taught technical details better ways to explain this amazing music! If you put all Opeth's songs in the order they appear on every album, this one is the last song you'll ear Mickael growls. All songs that came after are only clean singing.
listen to « To bid you farewell... » react if you find it interesting =D
P.S. oups* it's the next song on the album « Hessian Peel » the last song he growls
Watershed is probably their progiest metal album, every song has something different about them, Burden being my favorite ballad of the album
That riff in Heir Apparent.... You know which one I mean.
Their most varied album yes. Proggiest? I dont know about that.
waiting for The Lotus Eater reaction :)
@@amjan Depends on the definition of "proggy" of course. I settle with it beeing the most dynamic and diverse 😁
@@progperljungman8218 I would also think it's their most diverse album.
Please react to more Opeth! Very insightful comments and critics! You've earned a new subscriber!!!
Great take on a great band! So many roads to travel here. One of my favorite Opeth tracks is "Deliverance" , off album of same name.
If you want something different, try Porcupine Tree, "Anesthetize", off Fear of a Blank Planet.
I'd love to see you discuss how Opeth have changed since songs like The Moor or Blackwater Park to the most recent album with songs like Dignity which are completely different in tone and style.
Hey Doug, huge fan. I strongly suggest for you to check out the latest albums by Opeth, namely: "Heritage"; "Pale Communion"; "Sorceress"; and the last one they recorded "In Cauda Venenum". They're proggy as hell. There are notes, passages, chord progressions changing in every turn. It's a hell of a ride. And, there are no growls. Which turns to be a more of a pleasent journey for the most common audience. Nonetheless, great musical pieces. I can't suggest any song in particular, because I like them all, I leave that to you. My best regards and keep doing these videos, it sure enlightened me to what I am hearing. 😁
Thanks again for detailed breakdown. Really loving these. It's nice to hear how professional breaksdown a Song how it is constructed.
And again I'd like to suggest Nightwish - The Greatest Show on Earth (studio). That Will surely serve some breakdowning.
This song touch me really deeply, so I am happy to see you feel it too!
You always point stuff out in songs that I never noticed before. I never noticed that oboe and English horn before.
You have to do more Opeth reactions, this guys are a genius in music(expecially Mikael). They comes out with this level of music on their first record "Orchid" and then sustains it to say the least for record after record its insane! Next suggetions:
Opeth - Burden
Opeth - The Twilight is my Robe (from Orchid)
Opeth - To Bid You Farewell
Opeth - Blackwater Park , this is just a few of their masterpieces.
great job man, so good. The song writer Mikael doesnt know any theory so he writes all of his music by ear and feel, so someone who knows what is happening theory wise is really interesting.
As before, your “technical” analysis of the chords and movements is fun and good mental exercise, you do it by ear more quickly than I could!
It’s taken years of practice to get that quick at it. I usually “tune up” right before I do these vids, so I have a fresh tonal reference.
@@Doug.Helvering , it sounds like Opeth has their guitars tuned down to D, rather than the standard E to get that heavy sound, but I only surmise that because I play guitar, you nailed it regardless of tuning. Plus, I think you are open minded about music and that makes it watchable too, nice job man.
@@guslakis Most of their songs are actually in E-standard, with the odd drop D (and one in drop A) here and there, except in the album Ghost reveries, there most songs are in Dmadd9
@@Henriktranoy , they have tuned their guitars to Dmadd9? The prior Opeth video Doug reviewed seemed to be tuned to D.
@@guslakis Indeed! it's tuned to DADFAe, it becomes apparent when listening to the harmonics played around the 7:47 mark in the previous Opeth video. This song is in drop-D though I believe.
I love this song so much. Watershed is the album I return to the most. It marks the transition from their dark heavy beginnings to the more prog classic sound they have nowadays. Captures the best of both worlds, and songs like this still surprise me when I hear them.
Gorguts "Oceans of Wisdom" --- Arnold Schoenberg reincarnated in a metal guise
Spastic Ink. "A Wild Hair" --- onomatopeic serialism = mind blowing (then go to "Words for Nerds")
Jason Becker "Altitudes" --- the Mozart of our time flying his heart into the sky for the last dance, just before an aweful illness crippled his body rendering him quadriplegic... This music and story will make you cry
Animals As Leaders "Tempting Time" --- the sound of a newly born artifical intelligence awakening and getting torn by emotions... angst, confusion, anger, hate and ultimately love for the first time.
Doug will have to see the Documentary; "Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet".
Btw ("A Wild Hair") some "Blotted Science" would be good, or tracks from Ron's 1st band "Watchtower" to get Doug into some Tech-Prog Metal/"Math Metal" . . . and maybe into the band "Spiral Architect" :).
@@mvunit3 Bro, it took me a decade after discovering Spiral Architect to accept that they will never release another album :( One of the greatest single album bands ever.
@@amjan - I hear ya'! The closest we'll get is "Twisted Into Form", and try (a instrumental band) "Continuo Renacer" and from Italy "Memento Waltz".
Good choice! Loved it! Keep 'em coming!
This song was my first contact with Opeth. One of my favorites with Burden and Hessian Peel.
The first Opeth song I ever heard. They’ve been my favorite band for over a decade now.
Hey, thanks for what you do!
Opeth is an old favourite, they have a broad sound and just won't quit making good music hahah
I'm really enjoying this insider look into music that I have found emotive but not realised why, thank you for the analysis! Around 6 minutes you mention lament in various cultures of music and I wondered does the emotive association vary differently in other musical traditions? For example would music generally understood as "sad" by an American listener have the same emotional connotation for a listener from South Africa? Or Japan?
Thanks for that information amd great reaction. The Grand Conjuration would be amazing ro hear a breakdown of
Doug, if you end up doing more Opeth reactions, I'd love to see what you think of their song "To bid you farewell."
Great band I've been listen to them over 20 years.
I've haven't seen those kinds of headphones since like 03 lol, respect.
No matter what song you pick, it will be awesome. Keep Opething your mind.
Hey Doug, seeing that you like Opeth, you should give Pain of Salvation a shot. I would recommend The Perfect element pt.1 (song) or Beyond the pale. Those are really good songs and I think you will enjoy them.
Binge watching all his reactions!
Another great analysis. I know it's probably standard among true musicians, but perfect pitch has always been fascinating to me. I can tell that you're a true expert. I've always wondered - what do you listen to for pure enjoyment? I think someone who's immersed in music as a profession might have a different answer to that.
I would love to hear your thoughts on Opeth's latest album. There's been a schism in the Opeth fandom over their gradual shift away from metal. It's been a long time since Michael used his growls. They still sound like Opeth to me! Charlatan, All Things Will Pass, and Next of Kin are all good tracks.
Perfect pitch is very rare. I'm not sure if Doug has it as I'm new to this channel, but he most likely has great relative pitch. Difference being perfect pitch is when you can reproduce or identify a note without any reference note, while relative pitch is being able to deduce notes given a reference note. That said, with practice one can become very quick at being able to deduce notes from reference notes so that it appears as if you have perfect pitch, even though you technically don't. For me I have a few songs in different keys that I use for reference notes whenever I hear a new song in order to figure out the key it's in. Doug may be doing something similar.
For me it seems like the absence of instrumental at the fourth verse just before the first "breakdown" part signals the moment of suicide and the person has left this world. What awaits was those heavenly melody (high guitar passages) along with the burden (heavy instrumental) she carried with her to the afterlife.
Nice video. Opeth are really something else. It’s really nice to see how they have evolved over time as well. You should really do something from the latest album “In Cauda Veneum”. Also while in the Swedish progressive music realm I would recommend you to listen to the band Kaipa - Sattyg.
To continue with the Opeth journey try The Baying Of The Hounds or A Fair Judgement please :)
Yes. One of those or maybe The Lotus Eater
A Fair Judgement +1 for sure
The Lepper Affinity is also great. Idk if he likes progressive rock but there is some interesting stuff in that direction on the Heritage album, I would love to see a reaction to one of those too
+1 to Fair Judgement
@@bitchain + 2 for A Fair Judgement
You've got a fan for life if you keep reacting to Opeth songs! Check out River, Faith in Others, The Wilde Flowers, The Devil's Orchard, I Feel the Dark, The Throat of Winter, Ghost of Perdition
You should definitely react to ''Face of Melinda''. Cheers from Athens, Greece.
This song is one of my favourites, the beginning is ideal, it is so emotional and dramatic, Hessian Peel also has that level of hefty dark drama
I suggest sticking to Watershed for the time being. The Lotus Eater and especially Hessian Peel are magnificent.
I started watching your reactions to metal bands, and just went on a binge watching :) If you are new to metal, as you say you are, get to listen to Devin Townsend. His music, composition, emotion, prowess is unmatched. Try to listen to his album Empath and son Singularity, or try song Deadhead. Keep up great work, really happy to have someone know what he is talking about!
Listen to Hessian Peel, gonna love it, it's my fav
The first time I saw them I remember thinking that was interesting and bloody brilliant. And you should check out Fates Warning, the guitar work in Through Different Eyes is magnificent.
Check out "Hessian Peel" by Opeth off this the same album, or "Baying Of The Hounds" off of Ghost Reveries the same album as "Harlequin Forrest" is also good.
Pretty cool watching your approach on the opeth catalogue. To continue with the prog path, i think you´ll be amazed with these songs:
-3 libras - by A perfect Circle (Tool´s vocalist side project)
-Deadman - Karnivool
-Demon of the Fall - Opeth (heavy stuff)
Cheers and keep going!
KARNIVOOL !!!!!!!!
I love how you break everything down, you seriously have got to do a reaction to Nighwish - Ghost Love Score, I'd really like to hear your reaction to that song, you won't be disappointed!
“Feels like its based on a diminished chord “
Other songs in the Watershed album have melody lines whose descending character follows diminished scales. It is also true that metal tends towards using the diminished fifth chordal and melodic movement because of the added tension. It’s a feature, not a bug
Hi Doug. Gorguts - from Canada - made an EP called Pleiades' Dust in 2016. According to something I think I heard when I was at a concert with them when I was rather drunk, it is supposed to be a salute to the first hungarian dance by Johannes brahms from Germany. Maybe you can tell me how drunk I was. :-)
Hey. Love your channel. Now, for the solo electric guitar part, it seems to me if you continue the previous musical section over the solo guitar, it fits. I think that's what he has in mind when he's chosing his notes and phrasing for the solo guitar part. That's what I would do as a guitarist.
ne obliviscaris - and plague flowers the kaleidoscope. haggard - of a might divine. gotta do those... (see my comment on the other opeth reaction. great reactions, btw...)
"Eyrie " would be a nice one for him to react to by Neo.. All anyone ever does is apftk
@@sybreedergn1551 well, for good reason, its an amazing song... ;) but any NeO would be good.
or some sybreed...
@@johnnylemon9610 ya.. It is, just nice to see others reacted to.. Eyrie is a more beautiful one imo. Portal of i is a flawless album tho.
And ya.. Sybreed.lol
That A-Ab-G thing is an old blues thing - it's playing with the natural and flat 5th as a "blue note". That's what he's playing with there, I am 99% certain. 5-b5-4-b3-R is sort of a classic blues melody thing, which is what's going on here.
Well, but in classical-influenced metal like Opeth, the b5 sounds as if it is intentional, sinister dissonance and not the blues b5.
@@TheApsodist It's a blues thing, because it's used in exactly the same way one would use it in a blues context.
Opeth is much more influenced by classic prog and so on than classical.
Great assessment. I would love to hear your take on Canadian death metal legends, Gorguts, particularly anything from Colored Sands, Pleiades Dust or Obscura, as their band leader, Luc Lemay is also a classical composer who incorporates that into his metal music. Its more intense and avantgarde but fascinating listens.
Just discovered your channel, pretty cool to hear an educated ear's analysis of songs I've loved for years. Interested to hear your break down of Lunatic Soul - Summoning Dance
"Demon Of The Fall."
"The Lotus Eater."
The things you said at 2:45, if you hear more songs from opeth you will see it is something he allways does, it is one of opeth signs
Moon Above, Sun Below is a masterpiece and I think you'd enjoy breaking it down.