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My Arms, Your Hearse

Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse Audio CD

A fair review of the Opeth "My Arms, Your Hearse" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Opeth reviews here, or go back to the Opeth tabs.

Band: Opeth
Title: My Arms, Your Hearse
Rating:

Release Date: 1998-08-18
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Prologue 2: April Ethereal 3: When 4: Madrigal 5: Amen Corner 6: Demon of the Fall 7: Credence 8: Karma 9: Epilogue

A typically classy album from an amazingly consistent band.
I have much admiration for the two prior releases ("Orchid" and "Morningrise"), yet I always felt that for all the brilliant musicianship and creativity, they lacked a bit of cohesion, not to mention distinguishable tracks. This is where I really feel Opeth took things to another level. Each track would contain several totally separate sections, all brilliant, but not really relating to each other to give the listener something to hold onto. I found "Morningrise" to be the bigger offender, with 5 epic tracks of over 10 minutes in length, and no common theme tying any of them together. As much as I enjoy listening to that album, I find myself struggling to focus on it for its whole running time.

"My Arms Your Hearse" on the other hand, saw the band for the first time shortening the track lengths and sticking to more conservative song structures. They still managed to include the acoustic interludes and a variety of riffs and leads in every track, yet each one manages to hold its own identity due to a common theme and mood. A track such as "Demon of the Fall" is a perfect example of this change. It's certainly one of the most crushing songs Opeth have ever recorded. The vocals are brutal to say the least and some of those riffs are just exquisitely dark. Rather than break the track up on tangents of bridges and interludes and drawing it out unnecessarily as I feel they had at times in the past, they opted to run with the theme and mood throughout. They then utilized tracks like "Credence", which is an awesome acoustic ballad, to explore their tender and less metallic side.

For me, it's this restraint and focus that makes "My Arms Your Hearse" such a great listen and a step in the right direction. It's one of their most consistently heavy albums along with "Deliverance" and has some classic tracks such as "April Ethereal", "Demon of the Fall" and "Karma". A couple of tracks lose a bit of momentum such as "The Amen Corner" which starts off in style but can't quite follow through, but there is no filler material whatsoever. There are not many fans that list this album as their favourite and I'm not going to make that call either, but it's a typically classy release from an amazingly consistent band.

Very Good...But Not The Best From an Amazing Band
Maybe it's the lack of any REAL bass presence (johan's bass duties replaced by Akerfeldt) or the muddled sound of the production but this album really doesn't effect me the way the other one's do. After many years of trying to accept this album in the ranks of Still Life/Morningrise/Orchid or Deliverance I have to sorrowfully admit I it does very little for me. This album is more of a 3. 5 for me but still alot better than many other band's offerings. Still Recommended but for opeth virgins start with Morningrise or Still Life .

Not so much "music", as it is an evocation of mood and image

Before I found this band, I was fed on radio rock and late night mtv which provided as extreme a avenue for heavy music as you could get without actually playing a solo or using more than 2 different types of song structure (read: evanescence/linkin park). This was my first Opeth purchase, and utterly shattered whatever pre-conceived notions I had of what "music" was.
On hearing the praise bestowed on this band by frequenters of a forum I visited, I decided to download and check out some of their tracks.

Demon of the Fall was one the first tracks I heard from Opeth, and it was like an epiphany.

Unlike most others, this reviewer didn't get turned off at all by the vocal style. Rather, what captured my attention was the unrelenting, uncompromising way these guys played. To someone who had up till then never been exposed to black/death metal, this was like something I'd be searching for all along. I knew squat about anything non-mainstream then, and Opeth just happened to be my "gateway" band to metal, its sub-genres and all kinds of things musical that don't get air time on commerical radio.
Rather than lavishing endless praise on this band and coming off as something of a fanboy(I prolly already seems like it), I just want to briefly describe this complete new-comer's reaction to their kind of music, and in particular this album.

It is dense. It cares nothing for licks or choruses or catchy riffs/segments. If you were to close off all other sensory distractions, you could visualise the lush imagery and moods it conjures up, exactly what depending on the listener. Opeth is not something you pop in the stereo at a party for a good time with friends. It's something you sit alone in your room with, after closing the door, and REALLY fully immerse yourself into.

Again, they're by no means the only band that does this to me, but they were the first. If you have never heard of death metal, or if prior samples of it have sounded repugnant to you, I suggest you try out this band and/or this album. In a good way, this band and other quality death metal bands expose the rawer, darker sides of the emotional spectrum, and are just as good as other genres of music that typically sound upbeat. .

Opeth is to Death as Pink Floyd is to Rock
Constently changing sounds and amazingly blending it all together. This album has a full cirlce feel to it. Opeth seriously doesn't get enough, if any, American support from Media. Opeth is one of my favorite bands, and when it comes to talent, they are the most talented bands I've listened to in my entire life.

This album in alot of ways reminds me of Pink Floyd's the Wall, mainly because how everything flows. this is really good music to listen to while you are under the influence of random drugs, not lsd though because during the death like singing parts you'll start to see really strange stuff.

Get this Album.

An extraordinary piece of Art
It is flawlessly structured with harmonuous composition. I do have every single Opeth CD and I must say that this one stands out as the most prolific and polished album from this band. It is very true as some previous reviewers have noted that the work is like a continuous story that has no logical gaps in between, a feeling that you get from other bands that undertake the standard approach of one song at a time. It has everything youu could crave for: the mellow sound along with the extremely effeective change of rythm, growling vocals that have never sounded so good anywhere else (may be Crematory's Just Dreaming is the only close contestant I can think of right now), excellent musical craftsmanship flowing from every note.

This is a gem in a genre where it is very hard to achieve the accord and consistency between vocals and instruments. Opeth is doing remarkable job pulling those seemingly opposite means in a coherent, very accessible I would say product that certanly cannot leave you indifferent. By the way Still Life was mentioned quite a bit. I have it and it is great piece but I still believe that My Arms Your Hearse is untouchable. I hope you would enjoy this masterpiece as much as I did.

You can see a complete list of all Opeth discography, or go back to the Opeth tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.