Opeth

[PauloSilva]

I started loving PRS when i started to listen to Opeth. What about you?

 

[duhdewd]

I was introduced to PRS by watching Carlos Santana and Tim Mahoney back when I was starting on guitar in the mid 90s, then after buying my first PRS in 2008 I discovered Opeth and Porcupine tree on "a" PRS forum. Opeth has become my number one fave over the past three albums, Mikael is a mudderfuggin genius, and Fredrik absolutely kills!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

The two are disjointed in my mind. I love 'em both, but didn't realize one played the other until later. Not sure which came to my attention first.

EDIT: Opeth, definitely Opeth -- I've been a fan since the early oughts, possibly earlier. Didn't learn of PRS until the mid oughts.

 

[bodia]

Alex Lifeson brought them to my attention. Actually, it was just way back in the 90's when GC used to have a bunch of great looking guitars hanging on their walls!

 

[xjbebop]

Other way around for me... checked out Opeth after owning an Akesson model for a short time. Bought one of their albums which I've grown fond of. Can't recall the title right now, but I appreciate the song writing and musicianship...although I could still do without the cookie monster busting in... I just don't get the point of that.

 

[alantig]

First heard Opeth at Experience PRS a few years back. I've caught them on tour a couple times since then, with some killer openers (Ghost, Mastodon, Huntress, Sabaton). Not a big fan of the cookie monster vocals, either - there are only a few people who do that that I can deal with.

 

[Herr Squid]

If you guys are talking about the cookie monster vocals still, maybe you haven't heard the last 3 albums (Heritage, Pale Communion, Sorceress). Nary a cookie monster vocal on them, and Mikael sings his ass off on some of the tracks (though I've heard the word "overwrought" tossed around...). They're definitely on kind of a heavy 70's prog path now, and Sorceress in particular is pretty consistently strong.

Oh, and I was a PRS convert well before I stumbled on Opeth via Porcupine Tree references. It was good marketing and pretty guitars that piqued my interest, rather than any particular artist.

 

[Michael_DK]

Can't remember when my fascination with PRS guitars started. I think I saw some lame nu-rock (?) bands playing them. They were all over music videos at the time (early to mid-2000s?). Definitely a visual thing first for me.
I didn't look into PRS guitars as an option for me until much later. By then I had discovered Opeth (Ghost Reveries album), but didn't know they played PRS until much later.

I didn't dig the heritage album, while Pale communion is pretty solid. Sorceress is really good - it's AWESOME live (the title song) . Though I, for one, miss the cookie monster vocals, even if his regular singing is even better these days - I really like his voice. Around Reveries is the sweet spot for the cookie monster vocals for me (also musically - probably just because it's what I first encountered)

 

[alantig]

To be clear, I wasn't commenting on the vocals in Opeth specifically, just cookie-monstering in general. Opeth is one of the bands I can listen to the cookie-monster vocals.

I'm not as familiar w/the earlier Opeth stuff - I think the earliest I have that I'd consider myself somewhat familiar with is Watershed. Still working my way there.

 

[Herr Squid]

I don't care all that much for the first several Opeth albums (too noodly and aimless in my opinion). But Steven Wilson produced the Blackwater Park album and he focused 'em right up. That's one of my favorite albums of all time. The next two albums, Damnation and Deliverance, were conceived as a Jekyll and Hyde pair and recorded simultaneously. Damnation is the mellow one, and it's pretty enough your grandmother might even like it, albeit it's all minor keys. Deliverance is the over the top balls-out metal-fest and there are some absolutely killer tracks on there. Highlights are Deliverance, Master's Apprentices, and A Fair Judgement (which IIRC was the finale when they played at the Experience).

 

[dkilpatrick]

To be clear, I wasn't commenting on the vocals in Opeth specifically, just cookie-monstering in general. Opeth is one of the bands I can listen to the cookie-monster vocals.

I'm not as familiar w/the earlier Opeth stuff - I think the earliest I have that I'd consider myself somewhat familiar with is Watershed. Still working my way there.

For me, black water park is their best album.
Great mix of heavy and acoustic guitars with both style vocals in long epic songs.
I referred to them as the "Pink Floyd" of metal after hearing that.

Opeth has been around for a very long time and their style is always changing.
That's a good thing!

 

[Michael_DK]

To be clear, I wasn't commenting on the vocals in Opeth specifically, just cookie-monstering in general. Opeth is one of the bands I can listen to the cookie-monster vocals.

I'm not as familiar w/the earlier Opeth stuff - I think the earliest I have that I'd consider myself somewhat familiar with is Watershed. Still working my way there.

You should check out Ghost Reveries (the one before that) - I think it's more accessible than watershed, so it should be fairly safe territory ;-)