WHAT WHERE THEY THINKING? // Opeth - Nepenthe // Composer Reaction & Analysis
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
- Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on Opeth - Nepenthe (Audio)
ORIGINAL VIDEO // • Opeth - Nepenthe (Audio)
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00:00 Intro
00:37 Reaction
06:16 Analysis - Introspective Writing
08:32 Analysis - Jazzy Drumming?
12:49 Analysis - Contrasting Funk!
18:04 Analysis - Lyrical Dive
21:34 Outro
#reaction #opeth #progressiverock
"They take their work seriously, but they don't take themselves seriously" This matches my impression of Åkerfeldt exactly, judging by his interviews and stage prescence.
Some of the funniest stage banter I've ever heard. He's hilarious.
Definitely an album song...one of those that, during it's grooviest parts, leaves me wanting more; like I want a whole song of it. I would love to see it live. Would be a nice time to catch your breath while anticipating the funk sections for dance time. - Chris
This was a fun reaction! Heritage (the album this is on) takes you for a ride, man. The songs feel disjointed and eeriee to me, and it's part of what makes the album great. This is random, but I've always felt it's like walking around in Hieronymus Bosch's depiction of hell in The Garden of Earthly Delights. Out of context I can agree it comes off as a bit comedic, but in context I think the unpredictable nature of it is actually more unsettling. Worth a full album listen at some point.
Mikael Akerfeldt just does what he wants and doesn't care about what other people think of it. Creative genius.
Not jazzy drumming? Then I challenge you to pinpoint what kind of drumming style it would rather be. Rocky? Nah. Folky? Certainly not. Poppy? Don't think so. Funky? In parts maybe, but def not with the mainly mellow sections. R&B? C'mon. Bluesy? Not mostly.
I think the light groove with the help of swinging brushed snare (with those ghost notes) fits no description but jazz. I do agree that the cymbal usage is sparse and that the bass drum is quite frequently used. But THE WAY he uses them is "all that jazz" to me 😊
Another thing. This is a pretty linear track. Try jumping some 20 sec at a time through the song and you would find repetition is rare. A very smooth and delicate atmosphere that soon seems familiar though.
A simply GORGEOUS track to me!
All in all I really dug your analysis though. As always, you're straight forward with your thoughts and rather jump into deep water than skip the wet. I love you for it!
And I'm sorry., but I can't hear any Primus inspiration at all in this one. Where's the adjacent cacaphony you're talking about?... A tiny bit of Mahavishnu Orchestra in a heavy section maybe (70's prog jazz fusion) and they sure played some dense stuff.
Garroter is their jazziest track, drum-wise at least (which also happens to be my favorite off of the last album)
@@shryggurSure, great track!
Only, this theme was about jazzy drumming in non-jazz music and Garotter has loads of jazz inspiration overall (not only the drumming)
@@progperljungman8218 Well yeah, that's true :)
Prog Drumming :3
@@sVieira151 I was thinking of "unique style" (truly progressive) as an option, but this drumming is just too familiar 😉
Mikael writes pretty cerebral music and is a funny guy. I always felt the element of musical comedy is always present in their music, although it's never straight-up comedy.
This was their first non-metal album and the most eccentric. I love it so much lol, every song sounds like it's turned inside out. Probably the most 'brainy-funny' album by them (...more Zappa than Primus?), and Nepenthe is one of the weirdest from it, so it definitely makes more sense in the context of the whole.
Agreed! This is the best of their post death stuff. The albums after were good but they became more of a hard rock band which is kind of opposite to what I feel a band with extreme roots should do. Most of the Heritage songs are so abstract and experimental.
I always forget how much I enjoy this song, thanks.
I think Opeth's newer face is best described within Pale communion. It feels similar in style to Heritage, but more cohesive in nature. It flows a lot better.
The ICV album is probably their best “prog” album since watershed and is their latest. De Narmast Sorjande is pretty heavy and mind boggling
I prefer Opeth's heavy side, but I enjoy listening to these later albums at times because there's so many interesting sounds and emotions in their prog rock stuff. One day I was doing dull, tedious item farming in a video game, killing rats over and over. It was the most repetitive and simplistic thing imaginable. I muted the game and decided to give these albums a chance, and they made it way more tolerable. Enjoyable even. Heritage's atmosphere actually made it a memorable part of my time with that game.
Opeth is one of the very few band of which I can enjoy a song despite the presence of Growl (Opeth & Ayreon).
That said, I absolutely love Opeth's works that are not metal.
I love this little quirky little song. Nice palate cleanser✌🧝
Heritage is a strange album and definitely an acquired taste. But it is one of my favourite Opeth albums, i love the disjointed feel. Eerie, upbeat, melancholic, sad, epic, angry, existential, etc. You can feel lots of emotions in one album. Needs an album reaction as a whole for sure though.
It reminds me of Spinal Tap playing at the nearly empty outdoor auditorium. That’s how much this era of Opeth blows..
imagine a guy growling(at age 20) composing this song.. masterpiece
mikael was really 20 when these albums released?
@@progrockplaylists Nah, but he might have composed it some 17 years before 😉
@@progrockplaylistsstill life was written by a guy in his early 20s and that is fucked 😂
You look like Keanu! Great breakdown!
I love everything Opeth's made. The Garotter from their latest album would've been a great choice too. Devilish piano playing, I think jazzy drumming, beautiful build up.
Heritage was such a vast departure from all their previous albums. I find it hard to connect with musically. Its really them searching out and testing out this very different sonic language, but their more recent albums do it better.
Sounds like Mattias Ia Eklundhs Swedish pop fusion guitar style
3:25 song rating: stank face / 10 :D
Well deserved though - Mendez was going OFF!
half of this is consoling people that expected harsh vocals. the other half is fuck it babe we rock and roll
Its King Crimson tribute 100 percent. Without a doubt. Primus would agree with me on this. Lol. Primus sucks!!!!😅❤
Yeah your right I hear a bit of Primus in the song with that goofy sounding riff lol
This song is mid--way through their first album after they switched to their 70's progressive hard rock, which was a big departure from their normal progressive death metal sound. The whole album is a really magical i think, lots of psychedelic and out there 70's stuff with the Opeth spread mix in. But yeah, this probably isn't teh best song from the album to take as a single piece, it really needs the rest of the album to give more context. You haven't done much stuff their prog-rock era (everything from Heritage and on). Be curious to see what you think of it. Heritage is the only album from this 'era' of Opeth that i really like.
I'm fortunate enough to like 'em all 😊
@@progperljungman8218 The albums after Heritage aren't bad, just not my favorites, per se.
I would prolly enjoy this one a lot more without the vocals. As an Opeth fan and a Mikael Åkerfeldt fanboy, that statement almost feels like heresy :>
Heritage got a very lukewarm reaction when it came out, because it was such a departure from their usual sound. It's by far their jazziest record. As a huge fan of their classic sound, I think it's brilliant also. Nepenthe is one of the weaker tracks on it, though.
Over the years it has actually become one of my favorite records of theirs. It works best when you listen to it in its entirety, though. I love the warm, organic sound and the 70s vibe. Over my 5.1 setup it sounds like you're sitting in a room with the band playing around you.
3:33 god
The Primus thing? Yeah, a bit off...
You want jazzy drumming in metal? Atheist - Brains!
Massive opeth fan and this one's never connected with me much. I remember when they played it live the theater went dead silent lol.
Hi there!
It really connects with me. But then I'm also into some delicate stuff like jazz, folk and shit 😁
Yeah definitely not a live song, but I dig for sure, one of the gems off of the album.
@@soakedbearrd I mean, Opeth has done an all mellow tour even - and it was really good. This song has really big contrasts. Of course the theatres should go silent when the band starts to play such a delicate intro. Doing otherwise would be disrespectful. Bryan started to whisper even 😊
@@progperljungman8218i love opeth but if i went to a concert in the heritage era i would have felt so robbed lol
Stop saying "utilized." The word is "used," unless you're utilizing the cymbals to open a soup can.
horrible track
Could be worse
boy that song is horrible, and I love opeth. there is nothing in here that makes opeth good.no songwriting here.