'My arms, your hearse' is indeed a great title. But it was the title of a song by weird folk band Comus several years before it was an Opeth album title. (Mikael is a big fan of Comus, so its a bit of a tribute).
Actually the song is called Drip Drip, and it's a lyric from it: "As I carry you to your grave my arms your hearse". Comus is a phenomenal band and Mikael made a great effort throughout the years to preserve their memory.
I don't understand the "hate" for Morningrise at all, it baffles me. Some of the best melodies from Opeth and acoustic guitar harmonies come from it. To me it's a just a bit below Stll life and Blackwater Park.
I had this CD set as my alarm on my CD player, and I accidentally had it on during the weekend one time when I did not have to wake up early. I just kept it on while I was in bed and fell back asleep - until To Bid You Farewell. I vividly recall lying in bed, extremely comfortable, it was a beautiful autumn morning and I had nowhere to be. It was unusually quiet on my street, and I just shut my eyes and listened to the most beautiful song I had ever heard in my life, for the very first time, and was transported to another realm deep within my mind but also extremely far away. I have never been more at peace than during those 11 minutes. What a complete masterpiece.
@@robertgibson6194 I don't agree with still life, in my opinion my arms was their peak and although all the rest are great, nothing compares. But I do agree that pale is the best no growl album
Pale communion offered nothing new. It was kind of bland and boring. Not the let down of sorceress which I’ll never listen to again but pale communion never gets played either at this point. Blackwater park is peak Opeth but since orchid was my first album from them everything between those is great. By the time heritage came out it was clear they were treading water. They play well but nothing new.
I knew that one was gonna be controversial 😆 It's a beloved album for a reason. Just gonna reiterate I'd take any album on this list over most other bands A tier records. 🤘
Not to mention Still Life is the last concept album they did before Last Will and Testament. MAYH and Still Life are both S-tier for me despite the production of the later records being so much better. I remember when Ghost Reveries came out people kept saying they "sold out" and heavily criticized it for no good reason as it's also S-tier in my books since day 1.
Still Life first and Morningrise second for me, I know many old Opeth fans will say the period from Mornigrise until Blackwater Park is their best. All those who say otherwise are just noobs who started listening to Opeth much later :)
In order from left to right S: Ghost Reveries-Blackwater Park-Damnation-Watershed A: Deliverance B: Still Life - In Cauda Venenum C: Sorceress-Pale Communion-Heritage-My Arms Your Hearse D: Orchid-Morningrise
S - Still Life, Watershed, In Cauda, Blackwater Park A - Damnation, Ghost Reveries B - Deliverance, Pale communion, MAYH C - Sorceress, Morningrise D - Orchid, Heritage
Yeah it grown on me over the years. With ghost reveries tho, I haven't listened to it for a while and when I came back I found myself not as engaged as before so it dropped because I didn't want to put half of their discography in S tier lol, still love it though. Stocked for the new one coming!
Since I'm jealous of you already hearing the new record. I have to make you jealous: i was triumphantly at Opeths first ever! Concert in USA. Milwaukee Metal Fest. Which was right after they released Still Life. Mikael was blown away by the support of us Americans. Opeth headlined the 2nd stage while King Diamond was playing at the Sametime on the 1st stage. Opeth packed that room! And stole the show. Still the greatest moment of my life
Hey man I’ve seen footage of that concert here on TH-cam and have been quite curious about it ever since I heard of it on Michael’s Spotify podcast thing “metal talks”. This is the show that basically saved Opeth and it’s so satisfying to see people going crazy over them, specially when Michael was having second thoughts about continuing with the band and being on the verge of giving up. Their face of surprise as people were screaming and cheering is a sight to behold. So could you answer a couple of questions for me? 1. How many people were there for Opeth approximately 2. Was there a lot of excitement within the crowd for Opeth to play, like was it “the main” show for many of the people that were attending the festival?
@chilepeulla 1. It was shoulder to shoulder in that large room. Hard to guess the amount. But alot. In perspective, there was maybe 20 people watching King Diamond who was still playing after Opeth was done. 2. It was pandemonium when Opeth came on. My thoughts all day was that I would be the only one watching Opeth. I didn't know they had a big following. Neither did Mikael obviously as he was in shock on stage! It was awesome! I still remember to start the show Mikael said: " Hello we are Opeth" ( nervously) and a roar from the crowd. Then he said: "This first song is off Still Life. You guys probably don't have it". Another roar. I've never seen a band steal a show from King Diamond like that. So yes it was the main event.
@@chilepeulla also Martin Mendez ( their drummer at the time) approached me way earlier in the day. Only because I was wearing an Opeth shirt. Just to say hi. Shows you how surprised they were when they came on
1. Blackwater park 2. Ghost reveries 3. Watershed 4. Deliverance 5. Still life 6. My arms your hearse 7. Damnation 8. In cauda venenum 9. Morningrise 10. Pale communion 11. Orchid 12. Heritage 13. Sorceress
I’m surprised Morningrise got reviewed without any mention of Black rose immortal. It seems I’m not the only one praising that track. Less than a month ago they played it as an encore because people kept chanting a request for it for over a minute
Here's my tier list S - Ghost Reveries, Blackwater Park, Damnation A - Still Life, Deliverance, In Cauda Venenum B - Watershed, Pale Communion, MAYH C - Heritage, Sorceress D - Morningrise, Orchid Never was a fan of the black metal sound, but it's safe to say it sounded way better coming from Opeth than any other band Also Heir Apparent is a banger from Watershed Love the video my guy 🤘🏼
my list: S = ghost reveries, blackwater park, still life A = damnation, deliverance B = my arms your hearse, watershed C = pale communion, sorceress, in cauda venenum D = orchid, morningrise, heritage cheers!
S: Still Life, Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries A: My Arms Your Hearse, Deliverance, Damnation, Watershed B: Sorceress, In Cauda C: Orchid, Morningrise, Heritage, Pale Communion
youre soo lucky to listen the new opeth albumm, i have goosegumps for this one really!! my tier probably is: 1.Deliverance/Damnation (like you say this originally was a double album, top tier for me this both have all i love in opeth and i listen it a lot) 2.Watershed (teatrical and spooky vibes on this one, hessian peel another magnus song, burden that keyboard solo on fireee!!, the brutality of heir apperent and the outroo god!!) 3.Morningrise (come on, Black rose inmortal, one of the first magnum opus song, i love the elements of black, folk and death very atmospheric and depressive this one) 4.Blackwater park (what can i say of this one, i love the bromance with steven wilson JAJAJ ) 5.Pale Communion (i really love the vibes of this album soo folk and melow but a lot prog, voice for treason and faith in others great ending songs, the trippy moon above, sun below; and the 2nd part of elysian woes pfff) 6: Still life (SORROW) 7:Ghost reveries ( i really love this and Blackwater, is so hard to make thiss aaaaa) 8: In cauda venenum 9:Heritage 10.My Arms, your hearse 11.Sorceress 12. Orchid thx for read me n.n !! i based this in what i listen more often
I think that pale communion, is one of their best work. It's definitely not close to be heavy, but very deep, and emotional. In my opinion it's one of the greatest albums i heard in general. For me the top tier is black water park, and my arms your hearse, which actually was the ''birth'' of opeth as a band, with their unique sound and signature :)
I was a bit disappointed by "Pale Communion", when it was released. I mean, there are still great songs on that one, but it was a bit predictable and almost easy listening compared to its predecessor and in my opinion has a rather boring mid-section (namely "Moon Above, Sun Below" - their worst long track for me, "Elysian Woes" and "Goblin"). I have to admit the opener, "Cusp Of Eternity" and the last 3 tracks are great and especially the last 2 songs are better than all songs on "Sorceress", which I think is a record of more consistent quality in general, but is lacking outstanding highlights.
@@markusv.4094 when heritage released, i was so upset with opeths musical direction, that I stopped listening to them. Every album release , i was listening to the album just to be disappointed again. But after a few years I've started to listen to newpeth again, and the pale communion hit a soft spot for me for some reason, but i totally get your point :)
S: Pale Communion, Ghost Reveries, Still Life, Deliverance A: MAYH, Watershed, Blackwater Park B: Orchid, Morningrise, Heritage, Sorceress C: In Cauda Venenum, Damnation I'm still not over the fact that there is no other album that sounds like Pale, and that it's such an underrated masterpiece even by Opeth standards. If only they released the live album in Plovdiv where they played lots of PC songs with an orchestra. After scouring the internet for so long, I could only find a good audio for only a few of those songs... bummer. But Opeth is a gift that keeps giving, and there's plenty to hype for. Nice tierlist!
For me: S: Orchid, Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries A: Morningrise, Deliverance, Watershed B: Damnation, Still Life, Pale Communion C: My Arms; Your Hearse, Heritage, In Cauda Venenum D: Sorceress
@@heavymetalphilosophy Yes. For me it was a step back of their progression as a Prog act. Heritage was weak but you were able to understand the point, Pale Communion was the perfect follow up and my expectations grew with it. Sorceress totally blew those expectations away. Strange Brew is the only one I like.
Pretty great list man, would match mine pretty closely. A couple things though, I was really surprised by your Still Life ranking of "B". That album is easily an A Tier for me, and possibly even S Tier. Legendary. My list would swap Sorceress for In Cauda Venenum. Sorceress is the better album imo. Also, the bonus track on the deluxe version, Spring 1974, is an absolutely phenomenal song. They nailed the 70's Prog Rock sound with that one.
The first song(s) I heard from Opeth were “Death Whispered a Lullaby”, “The Baying of the Hounds” and “Ghost of Perdition” in that order… I have to say that my favorite song from Opeth is still Death Whispered, but I would be lying if I said I don’t listen to the album “Black Water Park” the most. It’s such a fucking beast album… insane! I return to it so often.
I love Opeth ranking videos because everyone's preferences are always so different between them. Some people LOVE Pale Communion, some people LOVE the first couple albums, some people rank Watershed super high, some rank it super low, basically every album can vary from list to list (with the exception of stuff like Ghost Reveries and Blackwater Park, those are usually high on everyone's). I know, for myself, I don't listen to any tracks off of Orchid or Pale Communion, but I listen to the first 3 tracks off Morningrise all the time and My Arms, Your Hearse is probably my second favorite album of theirs after Ghost Reveries. Likewise, with Deliverance, I tend to listen to that album alot more than Blackwater Park (which I like alot), but my I'd probably rank the title track 3rd or 4th in preference from Deliverance (personally, I think Master's Apprentices and A Fair Judgement are the best ones on that album, easily). From the post Watershed era, it tends to be 1-2 tracks from each album (except Pale Communion) that I actually put on rotation in my playlist, and my favorite is absolutely Spring MCMLXXIV from Sorceress (one of my favorite songs of theirs, overall), and people never talk about it haha. It's just so fun to see how different everyone's tastes are with their music!
Mine would probably look something like this: S: Ghost Reveries, Still Life, Blackwater Park A: Damnation, Orchid, Deliverance B: Watershed, Morningrise, My Arms Your Hearse, In Cauda Venenum C: Sorceress, Pale Communion, Heritage Only having Last Will & Testament's single to go off of I'm hoping for an A, maybe even an S. This one song is already the jump from ICV I hoped against hope that the band would make.
My list is *very* different. Your S'es are some of my least favourite. Good news is Opeth has a lot for everyone haha! S: Deliverance and Watershed A: My Arms Your Hearse, In Cauda Venenum, Pale Communion B: Still Life, Morningrise, Sorceress, Damnation C: Orchid, Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries D: Heritage
Very interesting! And I like seing In Cauda Venenum getting some love! Here's my list: S: Deliverance, Still Life, Blackwater Park A: Ghost Reveries, Watershed, Orchid, My Arms Your Hearse, In Cauda Venenum B: Damnation, Heritage C: Morningrise, Pale Communion D: Sorceress
Thanks, very honest approach indeed in ranking. However, morningrise consists of a black rose immortal alone, thats only can bring it to B if not higher. And there are also the night and the Silent water, very personal for Mickel. It is also shown how subjective this rankings are, but your is very close to mine. Thanks again )
What is amazing about this band is that EVERY album is somebody's favorite, regardless of era or year. I've seen Orchid and ICV as favorites, with everything in between as well. That is a testament ❤ to just how good Mikael is at composing, and how his band can translate his ideas to "tape". I love a LOT of metal - death, black, grindcore, thrash, etc - but my heart and mind objectively thinks that Opeth is the greatest of all time, pretty much because Mikael is truly a genius, a one-off. He hasn't even come close to running out of ideas, actually the contrary. His ideas are seemingly more interesting in some ways. Tim Smith from Cardiacs is another genius as well. They are rare but they exist. Zappa was absolutely another one.
Your black water park moment for me was watershed… to me it was accessible enough to get into and it got me to love growls. It’s got the death elements, folk and proggy elements to me it’s a no skip album as well
1. Still Life 2. Ghost Reveries 3. Blackwater Park 4. Deliverance 5. My Arms, Your Hearse 6. Morningrise 7. Damnation (a bit overrated IMO) 8. Watershed 9. In Cauda Venum 10. Pale Communion 11. Orchid 12. Sorceress 13. Heritage
Still haven’t seen a single of these Opeth ranknings being the same! Except for BWP and/or Ghost Reveries in S, almost everyone has different rankings on the rest of the albums which really signifies how good Opeths catalog is:) For me: S: BWP, Still Life, Damnation A: Watershed, Ghost R B: Deliverance, MAYH, Pale C C: Sorceress, In Cauda D: Morningrise, Orchid E: Heritage
Thanks for putting out your Opeth bracket. I always felt bad for Still Life for the same reason you mentioned, it’s so good, but it’s also in a huge shadow. You could’ve got in one more Iron Maiden reference. The opening riff of Funeral Portrait from Blackwater Park is so Maideny. I smile every time I hear it. Awesome list, and I always love a good Opeth discussion.
Opeth is my favorite band since 2008 when I discovered them through their Watershed record. Here is my personal classification of their discography : Ghost Reveries Blackwater Park In Cauda Venenum Morningrise Pale Communion Deliverance Still life Damnation Watershed Orchid My arms, your hearse Sorceress Heritage Let's see what they do with this Last Will and Testament. I can't wait and I have already pre order the limited box set❤️🤘🏻
I also got into them with BP. I read a review that said they have “the only Cookie Monster vocals that can be taken seriously,” so I jumped on iTunes…20 years later, here we are.
i still have my download festival shirt from 2004 , i LOVE this band. very excited for the new record, the prog community on facebook has an "anything after the first two records" approach to the catalogue, which i kind of agree with. after the first two records, i love it all, growling or not growling, and some standouts in particuar. some of the riffs on watershed whip everything else anyone has done ever, "the funeral portrait" is a never-skip, "reverie/harlequin forest" is a literal masterpiece and i will justify this stance to myself and anyone else by reminding you all that "orchid" means "testicle" in greek and you should adjust your opinions of the record accordingly. if you do a retrospective on that record, jon, i will comment the same there also. testicle. also, sorceress is spectacular and you said "organ work". he he hehe he hehe he he.
S: Damnation, Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries, In Cauda Venemum A: Still Life B: Pale Communion, Watershed C: Deliverance, Sorceress D: My Arms Your Hearse, Heritage F: Morningrise, Orchid Very different indeed, no?
Great stuff! I haven't yet listened properly to anything post Ghost Reveries, despite Opeth having been one of my all time favorite band for almost 13 years so my unfinished list will omit them out of necessity and respect. I have, of course, listened the shit out of the rest of their catalogue, and I love them all. The list probably changes from one hour to the next, but this is what I feel like right now. Looking forward to Watershed. S: Still Life, Blackwater Park, Orchid A: Morningrise, MAYH, Ghost Reveries B: Damnation, Deliverance I have to say that I am quite astounded by the lack of appreciation for Orchid and/or Morningrise. I watched another ranking from the Prog Report, and they pretty much glossed over them as anomalies unworthy of attention. I don't think the bonus (demo) tracks should factor in a ranking, since they are not actually part of the albums as released, but merely bonus tracks provided for the curious. I keep wondering why my least favorite track on Orchid (Under the Weeping Moon) is "everybody" else's favorite from that album. It's a fantastic song, but to me it has always been the "weaker" song on the album, despite that being a very unfortunate term to describe it that doesn't do it justice, but more importantly, the song that is the least representative of the album. The Twilight is My Robe is easily a 10/10 masterpiece (despite all the different parts, it flows perfectly between the transitions, the melodies are utterly godlike, beautiful acoustics, and it has one of the most underrated and sinister acoustic sections close to the end, where each guitar plays a small part in turn a few times, then suddenly converge in a haunting, dissonant climax; The Forest of October? So many ridiculously good melodies; the part after the droning intro (and that is reintroduced with acoustic guitars at the end) is one of my favorite moments in music ever. The Apostle...the first song I ever heard from Opeth (despite discovering them in 2011!), and still a favorite. The last few minutes of the song are so intense and emotional. In Mist..goodness, 6:30 to 7:30, again one of my favorite moments ever. Epic beginning and ending. So much evil, and so much beauty. People mention the twin-guitar harmony thing, but I feel few do it justice; the way it plays out on the albums isn't really like Thin Lizzy or Iron Maiden. The two guitars do not harmonize in the typical fashion, playing steady all thirds/sixths; instead, they play entirely separate, yet complementary melodies that dance around each other, creating an incredibly interesting and hypnotizing effect. They play these separate, intertwining lines almost all the time throughout the entire albums. Instead of a harmonized melody, it's more like two independent melodies that create a whole greater than its parts; each on their own, fascinating; together, mesmerizing. You can almost listen to these albums several times focusing on one guitar, then the other, then both to focus on how they blend together. And almost all melodies on the album are just soooooo evil and sinister, yet insanely beautiful and melodic at the same time - a truly rare combination, and I have never been able to find anything that sounds like- or provides the same emotional landscape as these two albums. Many bands give you evil, brutality, melancholy, despair, but one seldom finds this blend of beauty, atmosphere AND sinister. Despite all the melodies, they sound nothing like the melodeath scene from the same era, nor do they sound like anything from the black metal scene, despite some influence in the vocals and some tremolo-picked riffs. Death metal is also a completely inadequate description. The three albums that came after were more polished and refined, and arguably better from an objective point of view. But damn, I still get utterly spellbound whenever I listen to the first two records, and I just can't seem to get that particular fix from anything else in existence. I quite disagree with the notion that Opeth hadn't found their sound on the first two; they had found an utterly unique sound that has never been replicated before or since. They chose to deviate from this sound, probably for the best long term, but it was still a fully formed sound and style, that deserves way more credit than it gets. While the two albums must be considered almost as a pair, there are still differences. Morningrise is a bit less "evil" and a bit more melancholic. More clean parts and clean singing. Some parts sound almost "baroque", as in The Night and the Silent Water, and several sections of Black Rose Immortal. The latter may not be the perfect masterpiece some claim it to be - it has some rather rough, though far from grating, stops and starts, and it has been admitted that in the end they piled on the riffs to get it to 20 minutes - but it still has so many fucking outstanding moments, while the nearly six-minute run from 08:56-14:50 certainly is perfect, that it is hard not to consider it as such. In fact, I would probably have considered the song perfect if it had ended there, after he whispers the name of the track. To Bid You Farewell is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I have ever heard, while Advent and Nectar are, once more, chock full of fantastic, mindblowing stuff. I don't quite know what it is about the production on this album, but I find the sound to be rather straining on the ears after a while. Which is damned unfortunate, because it has nothing to do with the music itself. Doesn't stop me from listening to it. I guess there is something about the style of the albums that limits the extent of its audience more than what came after, independent of how "objectively" good they would be in comparison. For the "prog crowd", it sounds too extreme and too "black", and doesn't have the obvious "prog" elements, despite certainly being progressive. The unrefined production is probably also a problem, though the albums are fully and wholly listenable (especially Orchid), and cannot at all be compared to the typical early black metal release in that regard. For fans of thrash or death metal, it isn't "brutal" or fast enough, and probably too melodic with too few "riffs". For most fans of less "brutality" and more melody, the songs are too long and have too little repetition (once a section is over, it is usually over; there are no repeating verses or refrains), as well as no "sing-along" moments. Some people, even those who appreciate long and/or "progressive" songs, hear only random sections one after another, the counter-melodies that so thoroughly captivate my mind that I forget everything but the music seemingly having no special effect on them, passing by unnoticed while I look on in excruciating bewilderment. Hard for me to understand. But still interesting. Most of these "issues" are reduced in the style-transition that followed. I consider Blackwater Park, Still Life, perhaps Ghost Reveries and MAYH to be "better" albums, but I still hold the first two almost on par with the former two and on par with the latter two. I suppose we all have our own special elements in music that move us the most, and I guess Orchid and Morningrise happen to contain an especially high concentration of the ingredients that strike a chord with me.
Easy for you to say. J/k, read all that, we'll said, you have convinced me to revisit Orchid sooner rather than later. I've really liked Morningrise from first listen.
S - MAYH, Deliverance/Damnation A - Still Life, Blackwater Park, Morningrise B - Watershed, Orchid, Heritage C - In Cauda Venenum, Pale Communion, Ghost Reveries D - Sorceress
@@jarlwhiterun7478 GR has great moments, but it's the first album with full-time keyboard and it sounds too symphonic for my liking. Previous albums didn't sound like this. Watershed certainly includes mellotron and keys but nothing like GR and instead more psychedelic and ambitious imo. Just my opinion :)
S - Still Life, Ghost Reveries, In Cauda Venenum A - Blackwater Park, Watershed, Pale Communion B - My Arms Your Hearse, Damnation, Orchid C - Heritage, Morningrise D - Deliverance, Sorceress
@@heavymetalphilosophy The Deliverance in D tier usually raises an eyebrow, but to me it's the least impressive Opeth record for the same reason as Sorceress. It was written under time pressure, and it shows - hence why on both records the compositions are less ambitious and more simplistic than the majority of their other albums. Still incredible records obviously, but bottom of the pile when it comes to the brilliance of Opeth for me.
Pale Communion is my favorite album of theirs thus far. All the pure clean vocal albums rank above the distorted vocal albums, but I do like Blackwater Park the most of the distorted.
I heard Ghost Reveries and Blackwater Park before Still Life, but Still Life and its concept with its overall atmosphere hit me so hard. I love that album, its the one I go back to the most.
Interesting list, with which I can partly agree. But "Morningrise" on the lowest rank gives me sort of a headache... ;D I think, here they managed much better to blend their different musical influences into one quite coherent piece of music than on their debut, which was already really interesting, but seems like a patchwork to me. And I find it strange, that you mentioned the cd bonus tracks on the first three albums as if they were intended to be part of the albums from the beginning! Nonetheless, great that you also think, "Heritage" and "In Cauda Venenum" are their best albums between 2011 and 2019, I definitely agree with that! And "Blackwater Park" is also their best album in my opinion (and "Ghost Reveries" close to that).
Great list, and comments, really enjoyed watching the video. Now, I consider myself black/death/growl novice, only started listening to these styles few years back. That being said, Pale Communion was my entry point for Opeth and I instantly was hooked. I'm a sucker for 1970's music, especially hard rock, prog and jazz fusion, therefore Sorceress is my personal favorite album. It took great deal of time for me to get used to their death metal albums, but man was my perseverance rewarded. Opeth are one of my favorite bands today. Here's my top 5 list: 1. Sorceress 2. Ghost Reveries 3. Still Life 4. Blackwater Park 5. Pale Communion Most of the remaining albums are competing for #6 😀 My ranking changes quite often, but these 5 are utouchable, at least for now. Sorry for lengthy comment 😀 Cheers! \m/
Opeth is my #1 favorite band, and I actually disliked them for _years_ before I finally got into them heavily. S tier - Damnation, Blackwater Park, Watershed A tier - Deliverance, Morningrise, Pale Communion, Ghost Reveries B tier - Still Life, Sorceress, Heritage, Orchid C tier - My Arms Your Hearse, In Cauda Venenum In that order.
I couldn’t tier any Opeth albums cuz I couldn’t stand the last 4 albums. I missed the growls that much. Besides we already have a Jethro Tull and a Camel. So glad the growls came back and I’m still jealous you get to hear the new one 2 months early. And even happier that it’s good.👍 But good tier list.
Good video as usual! 🤘 It’s tough to rank Opeth, my 2 personal favorites are Still Life & Damnation. If I had to rank them all (& count Damnation/Deliverance as 1 album) I’d tentatively go with… 1. Still Life 2. Damnation/Deliverance 3. My Arms Your Hearse 4. Blackwater Park 5. Ghost Reveries 6. Morningrise 7. Watershed 8. In Cauda Venenum 9. Sorceress 10. Pale Communion 11. Orchid 12. Heritage
Still Life was my first Opeth album. I had heard of the band but was introduced to concept albums through In Flames Whoracle....looked up best concept albums and Still Life popped up and the story blew me away....then i listened to the album.....HO-LY SHIT!!!!! Im still trying to get up from being blown away 16+ years ago.
I really think whichever Opeth album you hear first is always gonna be special to you. They're all so good. Blackwater is that album for me. But I bet if I heard MAYH or Deliverance first those would be the ones. Opeth is mind blowing on first listen. 🤘🤘
As you said, Jon, it is personal, so, while I second you for "Blackwater Park" on top, I strongly disagree about "Morning Rise" which I also put on top ! Besides, I can't really rate every album after Watershed as I haven't listened to them enough times to rank them, except that I'd say the "Neo-70s Prog" second style of Opeth is not for me, I can't get behind it...I'm ranking "My arms, your Hearse" same as you do, and "Damnation/Deliverance" probably the same or close to...
Deliverance and Still Life are my favourites, but "Hjärtat vet vad handen gör", "Svekets prins", "Charlatan" and "The Devil's Orchard" are some of the best songs they've made. One thing that bothers me is the organ..
Watershed at B is a shame - if it (somehow, for e.g.) came after Heritage, then it would probably be seen as an S tier album in a list like this. It's got so much going for it, but coming directly after Ghost Reveries was it's biggest downfall. I remember the sound quality being jarring compared to GR, and the proginess having developed really quickly which was also a little jarring. But many years or decades later relistening to it is just pure bliss
opeth is my favorite band, but i have only listened to in cauda venenum once, so i can't rank it. 4 - 7 is REALLY splitting hairs and could shuffle on any given day. 1. still life 2. watershed 3. ghost reveries 4. sorceress 5. deliverance 6. morningrise 7. blackwater park TIER BREAK 8. damnation 9. my arms, your hearse TIER BREAK 10. heritage 11. orchid 12. pale communion
Why only one listen to In Cauda Venenum? I listened to the Swedish version for a month before English because I was simply overwhelmed by the music I didn't want to be distracted by thinking about the lyrical content.
@@RickMacDonald19 i haven't bought any albums since i left pennsylvania in 2018. i listened to it on youtube once but i'm a cd guy, so i never listened to it again.
I’d swap Pale Communion with Heritage - and I have a real soft spot for Watershed - but otherwise this is spot on for my ranking as well. And a reminder I’m overdue for a Ghost Reveries spin! Great video man 😎
Ok this will be intriguing, my first album I heard from them I had to pre-order to be shipped from Europe. It was my arms your hearse (I heard demon of the fall and said holy fooook I need more on a independent radio like a high school radio station I believe). Now, I always see my arms shit on by my favorite TH-camrs as a lesser album than I believe. So... Let's see where you put one of the most important albums of my life, my arms your hearse
I really think the record you hear first will always be special to you. For me it was Blackwater.. but many people like Ghost Reveries more. Even Still Life. I have sentimental value for Blackwater because I heard it first.
Favorite song will probably be April Ethereal from My Arms your hearse, having been the first song of Opeth song I ever heard, it still draws me in to that otherworld experience place of mind that originally blew me away with Opeth, however on another note in the same vein, Damnation is probably my favorite Opeth album of all time, for as much heavy music as I adore Id figure it would be Blackwater park or even Still Life they come close though, but what catches me with Damnation isnt just that its a super chill album and no heavy songs, but the space it occupies disarmed my expectations in a way that is extremely rare for me, a sort of musical life epiphany if you will, much in the same way Sleep Token much more recently disarmed my expectations utterly, thats the only other time I experienced anything like what Damnation did for me even though ST is a completely different sound, it crushed my pre-conceived notions and was the music I never knew I needed in my life. Ok long rant over :)
A little shocking to see a list where Still Life and Watershed are under In Cauda but we can't argue about taste!! Some would say the same thing about Heritage but it is not that surprising because it always was a strong album. The combined subtraction of the growls and high gain guitars was too much to take in for most fans at the time but the quality has always been there for the people that got over it and for the prog fans. Maybe pause the completes tiers frame for future lists....(13:36)
The music nerd in me loves the proggier jazzier records. The metalhead in me loves Deliverance. Good advice. If I ever do another tier list I'll keep that in mind. Thank you. 🙏🤘
The Best of the Best (at least for me) is "My arms, your hearse". My least favorites are the ones without the growling (I know the music still amazing but there's something missing) I'm that weird guy who needs the screaming/growling.
Disagreement about Pale Communion and Sorceress (The second one have muddy sound and production , not clean), and to me Pale Communion is The best clean album of the band.
@@heavymetalphilosophy ❤️❤️❤️ man!.. Thank you so much !.. your opinion about Still Life is different then mine, but it deserves all the due respect, since you also explained and motivated very well your rating in this tier list and everyone has the right of defending their own thoughts opinions, and personal tastes; is pretty clear since the start of this video that you consider every Opeth record an A+ in comparison to other bands. So keep going forward With The great work my friend. Greetings from Italy by an Opeth addicted fan. 🤝
My top 3 are Still Life, Orchid, and Morningrise. Definitely not the fan favorites. Weirdly, I rate BWP super low which is a thing I've never seen any other Opeth fan do. I really only love 2 songs from it, and I don't even enjoy those songs more than anything on other albums. Of that period of BWP through Watershed, I think BWP is easily the least interesting of those albums.
There’s no way Heritage, ICV and MAYH should be higher than Still Life and Watershed… Also flip Sorceress and Pale Communion and flip Morningrise and Orchid and there you have it…😄
Still life is not good for being heavy. Heavyness is the least thing I care when I remember this album, is heavy of course, but the best part is how memorable and extremely well written it is, the concept story is perfect and fits the music in the way they never could repeat, this album deserves the S tier.
I knew the Still Life one was gonna be controversial. A beloved album. And I love it too. I just gravitate to BWP or GR first when deciding which one I want to listen to.
Question about it, when you say it's still ultra proggy and no death, the single has some hardcore moments. Does the single represent the entire album well?
Yes and no.. Yes in that.... you notice when there's death growls on the single, the riff underneath isn't a death riff. It's still a prog riff. That happens a lot on the record. No in that the other songs have a lot of different sounds and moves.
This is gonna seem like a copout but honestly §1-§7. The reason being is it's a story and each song leads into the other and goes with each other. Only §3 doesn't have growling in it somewhere. The closer "A Story Never Told" is my least favorite because it's soft but.... I have a feeling once I can read the lyrics and know the story better I might change my mind on the closer.
new subsriber here, I really love your content! My list is a bit different but there isnt a bad list because their catalog is superb. S- Still Life + Damnation+ Blackwater Park A- Ghost Reveries + In Cauda + Watershed B - Pale Communion + Deliverance + My Arms Your hearse C - Heritage + Morningrise + Orchid D- Sorceress...terrible muddy production and outside of the song Sorceress seems like a mess of riffs and passages.
S - Morningrise, Blackwater Park, Deliverance A - Ghost Reveries, My Arms, Watershed B - Still-Life, Damnation, In Cauda C - Heritage, Orchid D - Pale Communion, Sorceress
I knew that one would be controversial 😆 Still Life is beloved because of how heavy it is. For me I like Deliverance a bit better which is an A. Kinda forces me to give Still Life a B. I must reiterate though... A B tier Opeth album is an all timer for lesser bands. 🤘
Still Life easily S Tier...Tough putting Morning rise at D; considering Black Rose Immortal is on it...but I understand, compared to other bands...All Opeth is S Tier for me.
'My arms, your hearse' is indeed a great title. But it was the title of a song by weird folk band Comus several years before it was an Opeth album title. (Mikael is a big fan of Comus, so its a bit of a tribute).
Whoa! 🤯 Now I need to hear that song! Thank you.
@@heavymetalphilosophydude chill I will gladly take the power of the full opeth discography also bro I don't know
@@heavymetalphilosophyI am sad every opeth album is the best ever also you basically told us to shuve all our opeth albums up our ass
I never said such a thing.
Actually the song is called Drip Drip, and it's a lyric from it: "As I carry you to your grave my arms your hearse". Comus is a phenomenal band and Mikael made a great effort throughout the years to preserve their memory.
I don't understand the "hate" for Morningrise at all, it baffles me. Some of the best melodies from Opeth and acoustic guitar harmonies come from it. To me it's a just a bit below Stll life and Blackwater Park.
It’s my 4th favorite of theirs.
I had this CD set as my alarm on my CD player, and I accidentally had it on during the weekend one time when I did not have to wake up early. I just kept it on while I was in bed and fell back asleep - until To Bid You Farewell. I vividly recall lying in bed, extremely comfortable, it was a beautiful autumn morning and I had nowhere to be. It was unusually quiet on my street, and I just shut my eyes and listened to the most beautiful song I had ever heard in my life, for the very first time, and was transported to another realm deep within my mind but also extremely far away. I have never been more at peace than during those 11 minutes. What a complete masterpiece.
Agree! And the bass playing partly really stands out on this one, truly one step forward to a more progressive style!
i have 7 tier 1 opeth albums, and morningrise is #6 for me. i love it!
Probably my 2nd favorite Opeth album, Morningrise is a masterpiece.
I find Pale Communion the best of new era Opeth. It is A level for me. And like many others, Still Life is S tier. Love seeing Opeth get love.
They are the greatest! 🤘🤘
i fully agree.
@@robertgibson6194 I don't agree with still life, in my opinion my arms was their peak and although all the rest are great, nothing compares. But I do agree that pale is the best no growl album
100% agree
Pale communion offered nothing new. It was kind of bland and boring. Not the let down of sorceress which I’ll never listen to again but pale communion never gets played either at this point. Blackwater park is peak Opeth but since orchid was my first album from them everything between those is great. By the time heritage came out it was clear they were treading water. They play well but nothing new.
You stabbed my heart with Still Life at B
But thats fair tbh, it would be a nightmare for me ranking all Opeth’s records.
I knew that one was gonna be controversial 😆
It's a beloved album for a reason. Just gonna reiterate I'd take any album on this list over most other bands A tier records. 🤘
@@heavymetalphilosophy The story is what really opened my eyes for it🥹 Now it’s a clear S for me :)
Still Life is S tier for me. For sure.
Not to mention Still Life is the last concept album they did before Last Will and Testament. MAYH and Still Life are both S-tier for me despite the production of the later records being so much better. I remember when Ghost Reveries came out people kept saying they "sold out" and heavily criticized it for no good reason as it's also S-tier in my books since day 1.
Still Life first and Morningrise second for me, I know many old Opeth fans will say the period from Mornigrise until Blackwater Park is their best. All those who say otherwise are just noobs who started listening to Opeth much later :)
In order from left to right
S: Ghost Reveries-Blackwater Park-Damnation-Watershed
A: Deliverance
B: Still Life - In Cauda Venenum
C: Sorceress-Pale Communion-Heritage-My Arms Your Hearse
D: Orchid-Morningrise
Damn we really disagree on rankings but that's what's great about Opeth. Everything they do is amazing.
Indeed! 🤘🤘
S - Still Life, Watershed, In Cauda, Blackwater Park
A - Damnation, Ghost Reveries
B - Deliverance, Pale communion, MAYH
C - Sorceress, Morningrise
D - Orchid, Heritage
In Cauda over Ghost Reveries 🤔
Respect. 🤘
Yeah it grown on me over the years. With ghost reveries tho, I haven't listened to it for a while and when I came back I found myself not as engaged as before so it dropped because I didn't want to put half of their discography in S tier lol, still love it though. Stocked for the new one coming!
@@krata420Well said, I think In Cauda Venenum will eventually rise to top 50 prog all-time.
Pale communion is better than sorceress imho
Everyone seems to dislike Sorceress 😆
@@heavymetalphilosophy I love them all 😁
@@fabienvalmor1568 Me too! 🤘🤘
Since I'm jealous of you already hearing the new record. I have to make you jealous: i was triumphantly at Opeths first ever! Concert in USA. Milwaukee Metal Fest. Which was right after they released Still Life. Mikael was blown away by the support of us Americans. Opeth headlined the 2nd stage while King Diamond was playing at the Sametime on the 1st stage. Opeth packed that room! And stole the show. Still the greatest moment of my life
Whoa!! 🤯🤘🤘
Hey man I’ve seen footage of that concert here on TH-cam and have been quite curious about it ever since I heard of it on Michael’s Spotify podcast thing “metal talks”. This is the show that basically saved Opeth and it’s so satisfying to see people going crazy over them, specially when Michael was having second thoughts about continuing with the band and being on the verge of giving up. Their face of surprise as people were screaming and cheering is a sight to behold. So could you answer a couple of questions for me?
1. How many people were there for Opeth approximately
2. Was there a lot of excitement within the crowd for Opeth to play, like was it “the main” show for many of the people that were attending the festival?
@chilepeulla
1. It was shoulder to shoulder in that large room. Hard to guess the amount. But alot. In perspective, there was maybe 20 people watching King Diamond who was still playing after Opeth was done.
2. It was pandemonium when Opeth came on. My thoughts all day was that I would be the only one watching Opeth. I didn't know they had a big following. Neither did Mikael obviously as he was in shock on stage! It was awesome! I still remember to start the show Mikael said: " Hello we are Opeth" ( nervously) and a roar from the crowd. Then he said: "This first song is off Still Life. You guys probably don't have it". Another roar.
I've never seen a band steal a show from King Diamond like that. So yes it was the main event.
@@chilepeulla also Martin Mendez ( their drummer at the time) approached me way earlier in the day. Only because I was wearing an Opeth shirt. Just to say hi. Shows you how surprised they were when they came on
Lopez* not Mendez. I always mix those two up lol
1. Blackwater park
2. Ghost reveries
3. Watershed
4. Deliverance
5. Still life
6. My arms your hearse
7. Damnation
8. In cauda venenum
9. Morningrise
10. Pale communion
11. Orchid
12. Heritage
13. Sorceress
I’m surprised Morningrise got reviewed without any mention of Black rose immortal. It seems I’m not the only one praising that track. Less than a month ago they played it as an encore because people kept chanting a request for it for over a minute
Imagine saying TBYF is the only good song on Morningrise. My head exploded.
Totally agree with you about Blackwater Park. But Still Life is even better in my opinion. Great video!
Thank you! 🙏🤘
Yes sirrrrr. Keep preachin that Heritage praise. Super underrated! I like their old stuff and new and Heritage is an amazing album.
Indeed! 🤘🤘
Still Life and Blackwater Park are my two favorite albums period, alternating 1 & 2, depending on the day.
Here's my tier list
S - Ghost Reveries, Blackwater Park, Damnation
A - Still Life, Deliverance, In Cauda Venenum
B - Watershed, Pale Communion, MAYH
C - Heritage, Sorceress
D - Morningrise, Orchid
Never was a fan of the black metal sound, but it's safe to say it sounded way better coming from Opeth than any other band
Also Heir Apparent is a banger from Watershed
Love the video my guy 🤘🏼
Thank you! 🙏🤘
You want to give it an S???? Oh wow now I'm ultra excited!!
my list:
S = ghost reveries, blackwater park, still life
A = damnation, deliverance
B = my arms your hearse, watershed
C = pale communion, sorceress, in cauda venenum
D = orchid, morningrise, heritage
cheers!
Cheers! 🤘
S: Still Life, Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries
A: My Arms Your Hearse, Deliverance, Damnation, Watershed
B: Sorceress, In Cauda
C: Orchid, Morningrise, Heritage, Pale Communion
Respect. 🤘
youre soo lucky to listen the new opeth albumm, i have goosegumps for this one really!!
my tier probably is:
1.Deliverance/Damnation (like you say this originally was a double album, top tier for me this both have all i love in opeth and i listen it a lot)
2.Watershed (teatrical and spooky vibes on this one, hessian peel another magnus song, burden that keyboard solo on fireee!!, the brutality of heir apperent and the outroo god!!)
3.Morningrise (come on, Black rose inmortal, one of the first magnum opus song, i love the elements of black, folk and death very atmospheric and depressive this one)
4.Blackwater park (what can i say of this one, i love the bromance with steven wilson JAJAJ )
5.Pale Communion (i really love the vibes of this album soo folk and melow but a lot prog, voice for treason and faith in others great ending songs, the trippy moon above, sun below; and the 2nd part of elysian woes pfff)
6: Still life (SORROW)
7:Ghost reveries ( i really love this and Blackwater, is so hard to make thiss aaaaa)
8: In cauda venenum
9:Heritage
10.My Arms, your hearse
11.Sorceress
12. Orchid
thx for read me n.n !!
i based this in what i listen more often
Same. I based mine on if I have the stack of CDs there which one do I pick up.
I think that pale communion, is one of their best work. It's definitely not close to be heavy, but very deep, and emotional. In my opinion it's one of the greatest albums i heard in general. For me the top tier is black water park, and my arms your hearse, which actually was the ''birth'' of opeth as a band, with their unique sound and signature :)
Can't argue with that. Blackwater forever! And even the lesser Opeth albums are leagues beyond other bands. 🤘🤘
I was a bit disappointed by "Pale Communion", when it was released. I mean, there are still great songs on that one, but it was a bit predictable and almost easy listening compared to its predecessor and in my opinion has a rather boring mid-section (namely "Moon Above, Sun Below" - their worst long track for me, "Elysian Woes" and "Goblin"). I have to admit the opener, "Cusp Of Eternity" and the last 3 tracks are great and especially the last 2 songs are better than all songs on "Sorceress", which I think is a record of more consistent quality in general, but is lacking outstanding highlights.
@@markusv.4094 when heritage released, i was so upset with opeths musical direction, that I stopped listening to them. Every album release , i was listening to the album just to be disappointed again. But after a few years I've started to listen to newpeth again, and the pale communion hit a soft spot for me for some reason, but i totally get your point :)
Of all the Opeth albums, Ghost Reveries is the one album I can play at any time, no matter what the situation, mood, weather, season etc
Indeed! Opeth is my deserted island band for sure. 🤘
S: Pale Communion, Ghost Reveries, Still Life, Deliverance
A: MAYH, Watershed, Blackwater Park
B: Orchid, Morningrise, Heritage, Sorceress
C: In Cauda Venenum, Damnation
I'm still not over the fact that there is no other album that sounds like Pale, and that it's such an underrated masterpiece even by Opeth standards.
If only they released the live album in Plovdiv where they played lots of PC songs with an orchestra. After scouring the internet for so long, I could only find a good audio for only a few of those songs... bummer.
But Opeth is a gift that keeps giving, and there's plenty to hype for. Nice tierlist!
Oh man a live album with an orchestra like Metallica or Septicflesh did would be so epic! 🤘🤘
For me:
S: Orchid, Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries
A: Morningrise, Deliverance, Watershed
B: Damnation, Still Life, Pale Communion
C: My Arms; Your Hearse, Heritage, In Cauda Venenum
D: Sorceress
People don't like Sorceress 😆
I get it tho. 🤘🤘
@@heavymetalphilosophy Yes. For me it was a step back of their progression as a Prog act. Heritage was weak but you were able to understand the point, Pale Communion was the perfect follow up and my expectations grew with it. Sorceress totally blew those expectations away. Strange Brew is the only one I like.
Pretty great list man, would match mine pretty closely. A couple things though, I was really surprised by your Still Life ranking of "B". That album is easily an A Tier for me, and possibly even S Tier. Legendary. My list would swap Sorceress for In Cauda Venenum. Sorceress is the better album imo. Also, the bonus track on the deluxe version, Spring 1974, is an absolutely phenomenal song. They nailed the 70's Prog Rock sound with that one.
No arguments from me on that. I know there's a lot of love for Still Life. It's so heavy! 🤘🤘
🥹
The first song(s) I heard from Opeth were “Death Whispered a Lullaby”, “The Baying of the Hounds” and “Ghost of Perdition” in that order… I have to say that my favorite song from Opeth is still Death Whispered, but I would be lying if I said I don’t listen to the album “Black Water Park” the most. It’s such a fucking beast album… insane! I return to it so often.
Such a stacked catalog. Absolutely incredible! 🤘🤘
I love Opeth ranking videos because everyone's preferences are always so different between them. Some people LOVE Pale Communion, some people LOVE the first couple albums, some people rank Watershed super high, some rank it super low, basically every album can vary from list to list (with the exception of stuff like Ghost Reveries and Blackwater Park, those are usually high on everyone's).
I know, for myself, I don't listen to any tracks off of Orchid or Pale Communion, but I listen to the first 3 tracks off Morningrise all the time and My Arms, Your Hearse is probably my second favorite album of theirs after Ghost Reveries. Likewise, with Deliverance, I tend to listen to that album alot more than Blackwater Park (which I like alot), but my I'd probably rank the title track 3rd or 4th in preference from Deliverance (personally, I think Master's Apprentices and A Fair Judgement are the best ones on that album, easily). From the post Watershed era, it tends to be 1-2 tracks from each album (except Pale Communion) that I actually put on rotation in my playlist, and my favorite is absolutely Spring MCMLXXIV from Sorceress (one of my favorite songs of theirs, overall), and people never talk about it haha. It's just so fun to see how different everyone's tastes are with their music!
Absolutely! Speaks to the strength of their catalog. 🤘🤘
Love the variance in Opeth tier lists!!
S Ghost, Venenum, Blackwater, Still
A Water, D & D, Pale, Morningrise
B Sorceress, Heritage, MAYH
C Orchid
Mine would probably look something like this:
S: Ghost Reveries, Still Life, Blackwater Park
A: Damnation, Orchid, Deliverance
B: Watershed, Morningrise, My Arms Your Hearse, In Cauda Venenum
C: Sorceress, Pale Communion, Heritage
Only having Last Will & Testament's single to go off of I'm hoping for an A, maybe even an S. This one song is already the jump from ICV I hoped against hope that the band would make.
No D's at all. I respect that. 🤘🤘
My list is *very* different. Your S'es are some of my least favourite. Good news is Opeth has a lot for everyone haha!
S: Deliverance and Watershed
A: My Arms Your Hearse, In Cauda Venenum, Pale Communion
B: Still Life, Morningrise, Sorceress, Damnation
C: Orchid, Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries
D: Heritage
Indeed! They are my deserted island band for that very reason. 🤘
Oh yikes. Definitely not on board with that list lol.
Very interesting! And I like seing In Cauda Venenum getting some love!
Here's my list:
S: Deliverance, Still Life, Blackwater Park
A: Ghost Reveries, Watershed, Orchid, My Arms Your Hearse, In Cauda Venenum
B: Damnation, Heritage
C: Morningrise, Pale Communion
D: Sorceress
Thanks, very honest approach indeed in ranking. However, morningrise consists of a black rose immortal alone, thats only can bring it to B if not higher. And there are also the night and the Silent water, very personal for Mickel. It is also shown how subjective this rankings are, but your is very close to mine. Thanks again )
Thank you! 🙏🤘
What is amazing about this band is that EVERY album is somebody's favorite, regardless of era or year. I've seen Orchid and ICV as favorites, with everything in between as well. That is a testament ❤ to just how good Mikael is at composing, and how his band can translate his ideas to "tape".
I love a LOT of metal - death, black, grindcore, thrash, etc - but my heart and mind objectively thinks that Opeth is the greatest of all time, pretty much because Mikael is truly a genius, a one-off. He hasn't even come close to running out of ideas, actually the contrary. His ideas are seemingly more interesting in some ways. Tim Smith from Cardiacs is another genius as well. They are rare but they exist. Zappa was absolutely another one.
💯 well said! 🤘🤘
Good list, glad you heard us out and made it, Jon. Love you❤ I do prefer Sorceress to In Cauda Venenum personally tho
Love you too 😁🤘
Your black water park moment for me was watershed… to me it was accessible enough to get into and it got me to love growls. It’s got the death elements, folk and proggy elements to me it’s a no skip album as well
No bad place to get into Opeth! 🤘🤘
Still life/black water/deliverance/damnation.
Watershed/ghost reverie/orchid/morning rise/my arms
Heritage/pale communion/in cauda
Sorceress
Seeing Sorceress getting put at the bottom alot 😆🤘
1. Still Life
2. Ghost Reveries
3. Blackwater Park
4. Deliverance
5. My Arms, Your Hearse
6. Morningrise
7. Damnation (a bit overrated IMO)
8. Watershed
9. In Cauda Venum
10. Pale Communion
11. Orchid
12. Sorceress
13. Heritage
Can't argue with this one 🤘🤘. Seeing a lot of Heritage at the bottom. I love that record. 😆
I can't believe your favorite band is Opeth and you grade Morningrise a D. Black rose immortal hits hard.
Still haven’t seen a single of these Opeth ranknings being the same! Except for BWP and/or Ghost Reveries in S, almost everyone has different rankings on the rest of the albums which really signifies how good Opeths catalog is:)
For me:
S: BWP, Still Life, Damnation
A: Watershed, Ghost R
B: Deliverance, MAYH, Pale C
C: Sorceress, In Cauda
D: Morningrise, Orchid
E: Heritage
💯 that's how you know they have one of the greatest catalogs! 🤘🤘
Heritage above watershed is actually fucking nuts to me lol.
I get it. I really do love that evil flute tho 😆
Thanks for putting out your Opeth bracket. I always felt bad for Still Life for the same reason you mentioned, it’s so good, but it’s also in a huge shadow.
You could’ve got in one more Iron Maiden reference. The opening riff of Funeral Portrait from Blackwater Park is so Maideny. I smile every time I hear it.
Awesome list, and I always love a good Opeth discussion.
Thank you! 🙏🤘
Morningrise is a masterpiece, brah.
Love videos like this. I don't listen to much Opeth (heresy, I know), so this was extremely insightful. Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you! 🙏🤘
Opeth is my favorite band since 2008 when I discovered them through their Watershed record. Here is my personal classification of their discography :
Ghost Reveries
Blackwater Park
In Cauda Venenum
Morningrise
Pale Communion
Deliverance
Still life
Damnation
Watershed
Orchid
My arms, your hearse
Sorceress
Heritage
Let's see what they do with this Last Will and Testament. I can't wait and I have already pre order the limited box set❤️🤘🏻
Glad you got the box. It was already sold out when I tried to get mine 😫
I also got into them with BP. I read a review that said they have “the only Cookie Monster vocals that can be taken seriously,” so I jumped on iTunes…20 years later, here we are.
Yep. I wasn't into death growls until then. Then I got it. Now I'm hooked! 🤘🤘
i still have my download festival shirt from 2004 , i LOVE this band. very excited for the new record, the prog community on facebook has an "anything after the first two records" approach to the catalogue, which i kind of agree with. after the first two records, i love it all, growling or not growling, and some standouts in particuar. some of the riffs on watershed whip everything else anyone has done ever, "the funeral portrait" is a never-skip, "reverie/harlequin forest" is a literal masterpiece and i will justify this stance to myself and anyone else by reminding you all that "orchid" means "testicle" in greek and you should adjust your opinions of the record accordingly.
if you do a retrospective on that record, jon, i will comment the same there also.
testicle.
also, sorceress is spectacular and you said "organ work". he he hehe he hehe he he.
Hahaha. This comment 🤌🤌
S: Damnation, Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries, In Cauda Venemum
A: Still Life
B: Pale Communion, Watershed
C: Deliverance, Sorceress
D: My Arms Your Hearse, Heritage
F: Morningrise, Orchid
Very different indeed, no?
Indeed. The beauty of Opeth's catalog! 🤌🤌
Still Life is opeths best album. Thats a hill I am willing to die on.
🤘🤘
you can't do that to morningrise
😫
Great stuff! I haven't yet listened properly to anything post Ghost Reveries, despite Opeth having been one of my all time favorite band for almost 13 years so my unfinished list will omit them out of necessity and respect. I have, of course, listened the shit out of the rest of their catalogue, and I love them all. The list probably changes from one hour to the next, but this is what I feel like right now. Looking forward to Watershed.
S: Still Life, Blackwater Park, Orchid
A: Morningrise, MAYH, Ghost Reveries
B: Damnation, Deliverance
I have to say that I am quite astounded by the lack of appreciation for Orchid and/or Morningrise. I watched another ranking from the Prog Report, and they pretty much glossed over them as anomalies unworthy of attention. I don't think the bonus (demo) tracks should factor in a ranking, since they are not actually part of the albums as released, but merely bonus tracks provided for the curious.
I keep wondering why my least favorite track on Orchid (Under the Weeping Moon) is "everybody" else's favorite from that album. It's a fantastic song, but to me it has always been the "weaker" song on the album, despite that being a very unfortunate term to describe it that doesn't do it justice, but more importantly, the song that is the least representative of the album. The Twilight is My Robe is easily a 10/10 masterpiece (despite all the different parts, it flows perfectly between the transitions, the melodies are utterly godlike, beautiful acoustics, and it has one of the most underrated and sinister acoustic sections close to the end, where each guitar plays a small part in turn a few times, then suddenly converge in a haunting, dissonant climax; The Forest of October? So many ridiculously good melodies; the part after the droning intro (and that is reintroduced with acoustic guitars at the end) is one of my favorite moments in music ever. The Apostle...the first song I ever heard from Opeth (despite discovering them in 2011!), and still a favorite. The last few minutes of the song are so intense and emotional. In Mist..goodness, 6:30 to 7:30, again one of my favorite moments ever. Epic beginning and ending. So much evil, and so much beauty.
People mention the twin-guitar harmony thing, but I feel few do it justice; the way it plays out on the albums isn't really like Thin Lizzy or Iron Maiden. The two guitars do not harmonize in the typical fashion, playing steady all thirds/sixths; instead, they play entirely separate, yet complementary melodies that dance around each other, creating an incredibly interesting and hypnotizing effect. They play these separate, intertwining lines almost all the time throughout the entire albums. Instead of a harmonized melody, it's more like two independent melodies that create a whole greater than its parts; each on their own, fascinating; together, mesmerizing. You can almost listen to these albums several times focusing on one guitar, then the other, then both to focus on how they blend together. And almost all melodies on the album are just soooooo evil and sinister, yet insanely beautiful and melodic at the same time - a truly rare combination, and I have never been able to find anything that sounds like- or provides the same emotional landscape as these two albums. Many bands give you evil, brutality, melancholy, despair, but one seldom finds this blend of beauty, atmosphere AND sinister.
Despite all the melodies, they sound nothing like the melodeath scene from the same era, nor do they sound like anything from the black metal scene, despite some influence in the vocals and some tremolo-picked riffs. Death metal is also a completely inadequate description. The three albums that came after were more polished and refined, and arguably better from an objective point of view. But damn, I still get utterly spellbound whenever I listen to the first two records, and I just can't seem to get that particular fix from anything else in existence. I quite disagree with the notion that Opeth hadn't found their sound on the first two; they had found an utterly unique sound that has never been replicated before or since. They chose to deviate from this sound, probably for the best long term, but it was still a fully formed sound and style, that deserves way more credit than it gets.
While the two albums must be considered almost as a pair, there are still differences. Morningrise is a bit less "evil" and a bit more melancholic. More clean parts and clean singing. Some parts sound almost "baroque", as in The Night and the Silent Water, and several sections of Black Rose Immortal. The latter may not be the perfect masterpiece some claim it to be - it has some rather rough, though far from grating, stops and starts, and it has been admitted that in the end they piled on the riffs to get it to 20 minutes - but it still has so many fucking outstanding moments, while the nearly six-minute run from 08:56-14:50 certainly is perfect, that it is hard not to consider it as such. In fact, I would probably have considered the song perfect if it had ended there, after he whispers the name of the track. To Bid You Farewell is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I have ever heard, while Advent and Nectar are, once more, chock full of fantastic, mindblowing stuff. I don't quite know what it is about the production on this album, but I find the sound to be rather straining on the ears after a while. Which is damned unfortunate, because it has nothing to do with the music itself. Doesn't stop me from listening to it.
I guess there is something about the style of the albums that limits the extent of its audience more than what came after, independent of how "objectively" good they would be in comparison. For the "prog crowd", it sounds too extreme and too "black", and doesn't have the obvious "prog" elements, despite certainly being progressive. The unrefined production is probably also a problem, though the albums are fully and wholly listenable (especially Orchid), and cannot at all be compared to the typical early black metal release in that regard. For fans of thrash or death metal, it isn't "brutal" or fast enough, and probably too melodic with too few "riffs". For most fans of less "brutality" and more melody, the songs are too long and have too little repetition (once a section is over, it is usually over; there are no repeating verses or refrains), as well as no "sing-along" moments. Some people, even those who appreciate long and/or "progressive" songs, hear only random sections one after another, the counter-melodies that so thoroughly captivate my mind that I forget everything but the music seemingly having no special effect on them, passing by unnoticed while I look on in excruciating bewilderment. Hard for me to understand. But still interesting. Most of these "issues" are reduced in the style-transition that followed. I consider Blackwater Park, Still Life, perhaps Ghost Reveries and MAYH to be "better" albums, but I still hold the first two almost on par with the former two and on par with the latter two. I suppose we all have our own special elements in music that move us the most, and I guess Orchid and Morningrise happen to contain an especially high concentration of the ingredients that strike a chord with me.
Very detailed analysis. 🤘🤘
Easy for you to say.
J/k, read all that, we'll said, you have convinced me to revisit Orchid sooner rather than later.
I've really liked Morningrise from first listen.
Never knew Keanu Reeves was into Opeth.
😆
Pale Communion is such a JAM. like you can tell the entire band is just having a blast and vibing
S - MAYH, Deliverance/Damnation
A - Still Life, Blackwater Park, Morningrise
B - Watershed, Orchid, Heritage
C - In Cauda Venenum, Pale Communion, Ghost Reveries
D - Sorceress
Whoa Ghost Reveries in C?! Other than that I can get down with this ranking. I can see you value the heavy ones 😁🤘🤘
I've never heard anyone have Blackwater and Ghost Reveries so far away from each other in their rankings. I'd have both in S+
@@jarlwhiterun7478 GR has great moments, but it's the first album with full-time keyboard and it sounds too symphonic for my liking. Previous albums didn't sound like this. Watershed certainly includes mellotron and keys but nothing like GR and instead more psychedelic and ambitious imo. Just my opinion :)
Credit to Comus for the title My Arms, Your Hearse.
I need to hear this song. I didn't know that until someone commented about it.
S - Still Life, Ghost Reveries, In Cauda Venenum
A - Blackwater Park, Watershed, Pale Communion
B - My Arms Your Hearse, Damnation, Orchid
C - Heritage, Morningrise
D - Deliverance, Sorceress
Whoa 🤯
@@heavymetalphilosophy The Deliverance in D tier usually raises an eyebrow, but to me it's the least impressive Opeth record for the same reason as Sorceress. It was written under time pressure, and it shows - hence why on both records the compositions are less ambitious and more simplistic than the majority of their other albums. Still incredible records obviously, but bottom of the pile when it comes to the brilliance of Opeth for me.
PS Brilliant video and detail my friend I appreciate your insight and sharing details about TLWAT 🤘🏻🖤
Thank you! 🙏🤘
A few weeks ago my son and I were talking Opeth and I asked him what his favorite album was, and he said "whichever one I'm listening to."
Perfect answer! 🤘
Pale Communion is my favorite album of theirs thus far. All the pure clean vocal albums rank above the distorted vocal albums, but I do like Blackwater Park the most of the distorted.
Huh. I knew there had to be people out there that liked the last 4 more. Thanks for letting me know. 🙏🤘
I heard Ghost Reveries and Blackwater Park before Still Life, but Still Life and its concept with its overall atmosphere hit me so hard.
I love that album, its the one I go back to the most.
Strong reasoning 🤘🤘
Interesting list, with which I can partly agree. But "Morningrise" on the lowest rank gives me sort of a headache... ;D I think, here they managed much better to blend their different musical influences into one quite coherent piece of music than on their debut, which was already really interesting, but seems like a patchwork to me.
And I find it strange, that you mentioned the cd bonus tracks on the first three albums as if they were intended to be part of the albums from the beginning!
Nonetheless, great that you also think, "Heritage" and "In Cauda Venenum" are their best albums between 2011 and 2019, I definitely agree with that!
And "Blackwater Park" is also their best album in my opinion (and "Ghost Reveries" close to that).
Sorry for the headache 😆🙏🤘
Great list, and comments, really enjoyed watching the video.
Now, I consider myself black/death/growl novice, only started listening to these styles few years back. That being said, Pale Communion was my entry point for Opeth and I instantly was hooked. I'm a sucker for 1970's music, especially hard rock, prog and jazz fusion, therefore Sorceress is my personal favorite album. It took great deal of time for me to get used to their death metal albums, but man was my perseverance rewarded. Opeth are one of my favorite bands today. Here's my top 5 list:
1. Sorceress
2. Ghost Reveries
3. Still Life
4. Blackwater Park
5. Pale Communion
Most of the remaining albums are competing for #6 😀 My ranking changes quite often, but these 5 are utouchable, at least for now. Sorry for lengthy comment 😀 Cheers! \m/
Thank you! I think whichever your first album is will be special. I heard Blackwater Park first so I have a lot of sentimental value for that one.
I think I heard the next Rivers of Nihil album will have more sax
😍🤘🤘
Opeth is my #1 favorite band, and I actually disliked them for _years_ before I finally got into them heavily.
S tier - Damnation, Blackwater Park, Watershed
A tier - Deliverance, Morningrise, Pale Communion, Ghost Reveries
B tier - Still Life, Sorceress, Heritage, Orchid
C tier - My Arms Your Hearse, In Cauda Venenum
In that order.
I can see this ranking. 🤘🤘
I couldn’t tier any Opeth albums cuz I couldn’t stand the last 4 albums. I missed the growls that much. Besides we already have a Jethro Tull and a Camel.
So glad the growls came back and I’m still jealous you get to hear the new one 2 months early.
And even happier that it’s good.👍
But good tier list.
Thank you! 🙏🤘
Same here , and i am afraid a few growls on the new album won't change much...
Good video as usual! 🤘 It’s tough to rank Opeth, my 2 personal favorites are Still Life & Damnation. If I had to rank them all (& count Damnation/Deliverance as 1 album) I’d tentatively go with…
1. Still Life
2. Damnation/Deliverance
3. My Arms Your Hearse
4. Blackwater Park
5. Ghost Reveries
6. Morningrise
7. Watershed
8. In Cauda Venenum
9. Sorceress
10. Pale Communion
11. Orchid
12. Heritage
Thank you! 🙏🤘
Hey Barbas, are you going to see them live in Atlanta on 10/22?
Sure hope so! As the date gets closer I'm gonna request to cover it as a photographer. 🤞🤞
So, you’ve got the record? Do you, um, wanna hang out later? I can bring pizza. Or gold bricks and my firstborn child?
I love pizza. You can keep the children. I have enough. 😆
Still Life was my first Opeth album. I had heard of the band but was introduced to concept albums through In Flames Whoracle....looked up best concept albums and Still Life popped up and the story blew me away....then i listened to the album.....HO-LY SHIT!!!!! Im still trying to get up from being blown away 16+ years ago.
I really think whichever Opeth album you hear first is always gonna be special to you. They're all so good. Blackwater is that album for me. But I bet if I heard MAYH or Deliverance first those would be the ones.
Opeth is mind blowing on first listen. 🤘🤘
As you said, Jon, it is personal, so, while I second you for "Blackwater Park" on top, I strongly disagree about "Morning Rise" which I also put on top ! Besides, I can't really rate every album after Watershed as I haven't listened to them enough times to rank them, except that I'd say the "Neo-70s Prog" second style of Opeth is not for me, I can't get behind it...I'm ranking "My arms, your Hearse" same as you do, and "Damnation/Deliverance" probably the same or close to...
That makes sense. Cheers Greg 🥃
Deliverance and Still Life are my favourites, but "Hjärtat vet vad handen gör", "Svekets prins", "Charlatan" and "The Devil's Orchard" are some of the best songs they've made. One thing that bothers me is the organ..
I dig the organ... But I get it. Not for everyone. 🤘🤘
@@heavymetalphilosophy I think it depends a little bit. Sometimes it works. And the mellotron is great!
Watershed at B is a shame - if it (somehow, for e.g.) came after Heritage, then it would probably be seen as an S tier album in a list like this. It's got so much going for it, but coming directly after Ghost Reveries was it's biggest downfall. I remember the sound quality being jarring compared to GR, and the proginess having developed really quickly which was also a little jarring. But many years or decades later relistening to it is just pure bliss
That's a good point. If it had come after Heritage it would definitely be heralded as a return to form. 🤘🤘
opeth is my favorite band, but i have only listened to in cauda venenum once, so i can't rank it. 4 - 7 is REALLY splitting hairs and could shuffle on any given day.
1. still life
2. watershed
3. ghost reveries
4. sorceress
5. deliverance
6. morningrise
7. blackwater park
TIER BREAK
8. damnation
9. my arms, your hearse
TIER BREAK
10. heritage
11. orchid
12. pale communion
🤘🤘
Why only one listen to In Cauda Venenum?
I listened to the Swedish version for a month before English because I was simply overwhelmed by the music I didn't want to be distracted by thinking about the lyrical content.
@@RickMacDonald19 i haven't bought any albums since i left pennsylvania in 2018. i listened to it on youtube once but i'm a cd guy, so i never listened to it again.
Still life way better then My arms, your hearse.
I can see the argument 😁🤘
Pale Communion at C 😭 it's honestly the only album I really enjoy after Watershed. Hyped for Last Will!
C for Opeth. A compared to any other band 😁🤘
Solid list! My favorite three are Still Life, Blackwater Park, and Ghost Reveries. Stoked to hear more of this new style!
Thank you! 🙏🤘
Morningrise and my arms are great albums, come on can't be a D
Only in comparison to other Opeth albums for me. I would still choose them over other bands B albums. 🤘🤘
I’d swap Pale Communion with Heritage - and I have a real soft spot for Watershed - but otherwise this is spot on for my ranking as well. And a reminder I’m overdue for a Ghost Reveries spin! Great video man 😎
Thank you! 🙏🤘
Ok this will be intriguing, my first album I heard from them I had to pre-order to be shipped from Europe. It was my arms your hearse (I heard demon of the fall and said holy fooook I need more on a independent radio like a high school radio station I believe). Now, I always see my arms shit on by my favorite TH-camrs as a lesser album than I believe. So... Let's see where you put one of the most important albums of my life, my arms your hearse
I really think the record you hear first will always be special to you. For me it was Blackwater.. but many people like Ghost Reveries more. Even Still Life.
I have sentimental value for Blackwater because I heard it first.
@@heavymetalphilosophy yea, I mean to me when I introduce someone to Opeth I always play "when" as the Intro. It's everything I love about them
@@heavymetalphilosophy like you say, their all classics in the end but that first time you hear them seduces you so much
Sorceress! That’s a great track! Rest of that album tho is a cluster F
Looking forward to new album 🤘🏼
The nerd in me loves that tho 😆🤘
Favorite song will probably be April Ethereal from My Arms your hearse, having been the first song of Opeth song I ever heard, it still draws me in to that otherworld experience place of mind that originally blew me away with Opeth, however on another note in the same vein, Damnation is probably my favorite Opeth album of all time, for as much heavy music as I adore Id figure it would be Blackwater park or even Still Life they come close though, but what catches me with Damnation isnt just that its a super chill album and no heavy songs, but the space it occupies disarmed my expectations in a way that is extremely rare for me, a sort of musical life epiphany if you will, much in the same way Sleep Token much more recently disarmed my expectations utterly, thats the only other time I experienced anything like what Damnation did for me even though ST is a completely different sound, it crushed my pre-conceived notions and was the music I never knew I needed in my life. Ok long rant over :)
Definitely my favourite album. It just blew my mind the first time i heard it.
Very well said. 🤘
I would've never thought to compare Opeth and Sleep Token but put like that... Makes perfect sense.
A little shocking to see a list where Still Life and Watershed are under In Cauda but we can't argue about taste!!
Some would say the same thing about Heritage but it is not that surprising because it always was a strong album. The combined subtraction of the growls and high gain guitars was too much to take in for most fans at the time but the quality has always been there for the people that got over it and for the prog fans.
Maybe pause the completes tiers frame for future lists....(13:36)
The music nerd in me loves the proggier jazzier records. The metalhead in me loves Deliverance.
Good advice. If I ever do another tier list I'll keep that in mind. Thank you. 🙏🤘
The Best of the Best (at least for me) is "My arms, your hearse".
My least favorites are the ones without the growling (I know the music still amazing but there's something missing)
I'm that weird guy who needs the screaming/growling.
Best album title ever! 🤘🤘
I love Opeth and can't wait for the new album. But I love Rotting Christ more. Please don't hate me.
No hate. Rotting Christ rules! 🤘🤘
I've done a couple episodes on them 😁
Disagreement about Pale Communion and Sorceress (The second one have muddy sound and production , not clean), and to me Pale Communion is The best clean album of the band.
Glad to see some respectful disagreements about the clean era albums instead of just the Still Life ranking. 😆
@@heavymetalphilosophy ❤️❤️❤️ man!.. Thank you so much !.. your opinion about Still Life is different then mine, but it deserves all the due respect, since you also explained and motivated very well your rating in this tier list and everyone has the right of defending their own thoughts opinions, and personal tastes; is pretty clear since the start of this video that you consider every Opeth record an A+ in comparison to other bands. So keep going forward With The great work my friend. Greetings from Italy by an Opeth addicted fan. 🤝
You're a brave man doing an Opeth tier list 😂
99% of everyone has been cool with their disagreements. I have been accused of not being a "true" fan a couple times tho 😆
@@heavymetalphilosophy haha I'm just aware of how passionate we Opeth fans can be. Pleasantly surprised the comments haven't been too bad!
My top 3 are Still Life, Orchid, and Morningrise. Definitely not the fan favorites. Weirdly, I rate BWP super low which is a thing I've never seen any other Opeth fan do. I really only love 2 songs from it, and I don't even enjoy those songs more than anything on other albums. Of that period of BWP through Watershed, I think BWP is easily the least interesting of those albums.
Interesting! You're right, I've not seen other fans say that. Respect. 🤘
There’s no way Heritage, ICV and MAYH should be higher than Still Life and Watershed…
Also flip Sorceress and Pale Communion and flip Morningrise and Orchid and there you have it…😄
From the comments it looks like I'm one of the few Sorceress enjoyers 😆
Still life is not good for being heavy. Heavyness is the least thing I care when I remember this album, is heavy of course, but the best part is how memorable and extremely well written it is, the concept story is perfect and fits the music in the way they never could repeat, this album deserves the S tier.
I knew the Still Life one was gonna be controversial. A beloved album. And I love it too. I just gravitate to BWP or GR first when deciding which one I want to listen to.
Question about it, when you say it's still ultra proggy and no death, the single has some hardcore moments. Does the single represent the entire album well?
Yes and no.. Yes in that.... you notice when there's death growls on the single, the riff underneath isn't a death riff. It's still a prog riff. That happens a lot on the record.
No in that the other songs have a lot of different sounds and moves.
Morningrise Is the best opeth album
What's your favorite song on the new album as far as right now goes or top 5 songs on the new album sir?
This is gonna seem like a copout but honestly §1-§7. The reason being is it's a story and each song leads into the other and goes with each other. Only §3 doesn't have growling in it somewhere.
The closer "A Story Never Told" is my least favorite because it's soft but.... I have a feeling once I can read the lyrics and know the story better I might change my mind on the closer.
Morningrise has Black Rose Immortal.
An all time song indeed! 🤘🤘
new subsriber here, I really love your content! My list is a bit different but there isnt a bad list because their catalog is superb.
S- Still Life + Damnation+ Blackwater Park
A- Ghost Reveries + In Cauda + Watershed
B - Pale Communion + Deliverance + My Arms Your hearse
C - Heritage + Morningrise + Orchid
D- Sorceress...terrible muddy production and outside of the song Sorceress seems like a mess of riffs and passages.
Thank you and welcome aboard! 🙏🤘
And 100% agreed! Superb catalog.
Still life just for the masterpiece of the moor should be and A. Watershed should be too
Ooooooo boy. I can already tell I’m gonna get my jimmies rustled.
That phrase is getting added to my vocabulary now! 😆
Heritage better than Watershed? Yes, weed I think youre having
😆I wish! I miss weed so much. Stupid day job has randoms 😣
@@heavymetalphilosophy 😂😂🤣🤣you rock!!!!🎸
S - Morningrise, Blackwater Park, Deliverance
A - Ghost Reveries, My Arms, Watershed
B - Still-Life, Damnation, In Cauda
C - Heritage, Orchid
D - Pale Communion, Sorceress
Why did Still Life get B tier for no reason?
I knew that one would be controversial 😆
Still Life is beloved because of how heavy it is. For me I like Deliverance a bit better which is an A. Kinda forces me to give Still Life a B.
I must reiterate though... A B tier Opeth album is an all timer for lesser bands. 🤘
Still Life easily S Tier...Tough putting Morning rise at D; considering Black Rose Immortal is on it...but I understand, compared to other bands...All Opeth is S Tier for me.
I knew the Still Life opinion would be controversial... But we definitely agree on the comparison to other bands 😁🤘🤘
Ok you gave it some love haha, A plus works
I love Damnation
Me too! 🤘🤘
Indeed Aarruugghhh!
My man! Arrrgghh!!
You took off Sorcerer of the chart at the end , you gave a B
😫😫
Hate it when I make mistakes like that. Good catch tho 🤘