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After listening to the Blackwater Park album and doing its subsequent review I mentioned that I went online and bought their entire back catalogue. I have listened to all their albums now and I will be doing reviews going backwards through the musical genius that is Opeth.

Well I guess I have already given away what I thought of Still Life in the opening paragraph but if you have heard of this band before and are a follower then you are not surprised by any review that hails this band and their music as some of the best metal in the world today.

My review of Blackwater Park was not very focused as it was the first thing that I heard from the band and I was completely dumbfounded (although it is rather funny..:)). I will try to do a better job on this one and the next three that I will do as I get time.

I still find the hardest thing to do in a Opeth review is trying to convey the feelings you get by just listening to this band's music. It is so incredibly complex and emotional and not just with the music itself but in the vocal delivery as well as the lyrics. I am still astounded in the ease at which the band can switch from the heavy distorted sound to the acoustic passages and have it all mesh so seamlessly. It really is odd that after you listen to this album for some time you start to get the feeling that some of the acoustic passages in the heavier songs are even heavier than the distorted parts of the songs. I have listened to this album probably 25 or 30 times in the last week or so and I have to say that every subsequent listen I have heard something new that I missed previously.

From beginning to end this album is plain and simply put a masterpiece. from the opening strains of "The Moor" to the closing brilliance of "White Cluster" this album is just absolutely incredible. I think my favorite tracks on the album are either "Face of Melinda" with its jazz kind of groove with the brushes on the drums and the incredible acoustic guitar playing or "Serenity Painted Death" with its absolutely killer groove the song is just awesome. It is still hard to say that those are my favorites as I love every track on this album but those are the ones that really stand out to me at this exact moment. I am sure that opinion will change more than a few times with each subsequent listen.

Overall I would have to say that this is an album that every metal fan should have. Hell, I think every metal fan should have all of their albums. I have yet to hear anything that makes me believe otherwise.

Track by Track

Every track is a ten in my opinion

Ratings

Vocals- 10
Guitars- 10
Drums- 9.5
Bass- 9.5
Production- 10
Overall- 10