Still Life is the fourth studio album from
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
progressive death metal band
OpethOpeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. While the band has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force since joining promptly after its inception....
.
Still Life was recorded at Maestro Musik and at Fredman Studios from 15 April to 29 May 1999. The album was produced and engineered by Opeth. Sound setting and additional engineering by Fredrik Nordström and Isak Edh. The album was mastered at The Mastering Room by Göran Finnberg. The inner booklet was designed by
Travis SmithTravis Smith is the name of:* Travis Smith , fictional character in the TV series Oz* Travis Smith , drummer of Trivium* Travis Smith , former Major League Baseball player* Travis Smith , heavy metal graphic artist...
and Opeth with the photography being produced by Harry Välimäki and Travis Smith.
This album was the band's first to be recorded with
Martin MendezMartin Mendez , is the bass guitar player for the progressive death metal band Opeth and the second most constant member of the band, behind vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt....
, who has continued to be the band's bass player.
Still Life is the fourth studio album from
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
progressive death metal band
OpethOpeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. While the band has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force since joining promptly after its inception....
.
Still Life was recorded at Maestro Musik and at Fredman Studios from 15 April to 29 May 1999. The album was produced and engineered by Opeth. Sound setting and additional engineering by Fredrik Nordström and Isak Edh. The album was mastered at The Mastering Room by Göran Finnberg. The inner booklet was designed by
Travis SmithTravis Smith is the name of:* Travis Smith , fictional character in the TV series Oz* Travis Smith , drummer of Trivium* Travis Smith , former Major League Baseball player* Travis Smith , heavy metal graphic artist...
and Opeth with the photography being produced by Harry Välimäki and Travis Smith.
This album was the band's first to be recorded with
Martin MendezMartin Mendez , is the bass guitar player for the progressive death metal band Opeth and the second most constant member of the band, behind vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt....
, who has continued to be the band's bass player. Although he had joined the band prior to the release of
My Arms, Your HearseMy Arms, Your Hearse is Opeth's third album, released in 1998. This album marks a large stylistic change from their previous release, Morningrise, especially production-wise. All of the songs are shorter than ten minutes, in stark contrast to their prior albums on which most songs exceed this...
, he had not had enough time to learn the bass lines to the recording.
Songs
Prior to the release of
Blackwater ParkBlackwater Park is the fifth studio album by Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth. The album was released in February 27, 2001 on Music for Nations and Koch Records...
in 2001,
Still Life was the band's most commercially successful album. Like most of the band's albums,
Still Life features the unusual marriage of
death metalDeath metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and
progressive rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
elements that helps differentiate Opeth from their musical peers.
On this album, vocalist
Mikael ÅkerfeldtLars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist/lead guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath...
's
death metal vocalsA death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, unclean vocals, among other names, is a vocalization style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres...
began to deepen considerably relative to the style that had been used on the band's earlier albums.
Still Life continues the band's experimentation with the
dynamicsIn music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional...
of their songs.
The song "Benighted" is its only acoustic track, containing a
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
-influenced
guitar soloGuitar solos are a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, rock, metal and jazz styles such as swing and jazz...
. The song bears a resemblance to
Camel'sCamel are an English progressive rock band formed in 1971. An important figure in the Canterbury scene, the group has been releasing studio and live recordings steadily, with considerable success, since their formation.-1970s:...
"Never Let Go" on their
self-titled debut-albumCamel is the first studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. It was released in 1973.-Side One:#"Slow Yourself Down" – 4:47#"Mystic Queen" – 5:40...
. This is also one of the band's few songs that follow a linear song structure, containing verses and a chorus. "Face of Melinda" is considered to be a fairly soft song for Opeth, and while it does not contain death metal vocals, it does contain guitar
riffIn music, a riff is an ostinato figure: a repeated chord progression, pattern, refrain or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompaniment of a musical composition. Though they are most often found in rock music, Latin, funk...
s that are typical of the band's heavier songs. A fretless bass guitar, along with brushes in place of conventional drum-sticks were used in "Face of Melinda" to give it a jazzier sound. The band looks to the song with a certain fondness and considers it their
balladA ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative and set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many...
.
Concept
Like its predecessor,
My Arms, Your HearseMy Arms, Your Hearse is Opeth's third album, released in 1998. This album marks a large stylistic change from their previous release, Morningrise, especially production-wise. All of the songs are shorter than ten minutes, in stark contrast to their prior albums on which most songs exceed this...
,
Still Life is a
concept albumIn popular music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical". Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs...
.
"The Moor" tells that the main character was shunned by his community because he was an atheist. He was called an "ungodly freak - defiler", and was "branded a Jonah with fevered blood". He was beaten, burned, covered with mud, and banished from his town, returning 15 years later for his love Melinda, whom he had to leave behind when he was banished.
"Godhead's Lament" finds the outcast attempting to conceal his return. He contemplates the consequences, considering leaving for safety's sake, but does not, his desire to see Melinda again outweighing any concerns for his welfare. He watches her from afar, only to discover that she has become a nun (godhead). Yet he still tries to get her back.
"Benighted" reads like a love letter, basically an unspoken ode to Melinda. The outcast tries to convince her to come with him because he loves her. He tries to convince her to abandon her religion which is like a chain around her neck in his eyes.
"Moonlapse Vertigo" is a reminder that the people of the town would kill him if they realized he was there. The song references the Council of the Cross, referring to the Christian government, who openly show scorn for the disgraced and the poor. He realizes that he has no time left to flee from the country and decides to meet Melinda at last and lead her out of the country with him. In this song the outcast really shows his immense hate towards the Council.
"Face of Melinda" paints the black-haired lady as a quiet, brooding creature as he approaches her. After his failure to court her, she was sworn to the life of a nun, however, he does not give up, plotting to have her back to fill his emptiness. He is disheartened, but tells her about all that he had risked to return to her. She tells him of her own moral failings, but surprises even herself when she tells him that she still loves him. The song ends with a grim clue of what's to come - "and baffled herself with the final line - 'my promise is made but my heart is thine'", implying these are Melinda's very final words.
"Serenity Painted Death" begins when the outcast awakens to find Melinda has been taken and her throat slit for her being 'unfaithful' to the church, which she was supposed to be "married" to. Consumed by pent up pain and rage, he brutally kills the soldiers who had killed Melinda, in a momentous and final act of aggression. In a frenzy of rage he assaults and kills every soldier he can before he succumbs and collapses in total exhaustion. When he regains control over his mind, the Council of the Cross is there to take him.
"White Cluster" starts as the outcast is in a dream-like state, most likely because of the blood loss. The dreamlike state slowly turns to reality. The Council of the Cross tries to make him repent but he is insincere. He is led to the gallows to be hanged. The townspeople who have gathered to watch the execution wear white instead of black, showing that they believe he is a lost soul. The hangman approaches him and ties the noose, allowing him a moment of reflection before he is hanged. Just before he meets his end, he feels a hand on his shoulder and as he looks behind him he sees Melinda standing right behind him, ready for him to join her in death.
Track listing
All songs written by Mikael Åkerfeldt.
- "The Moor" – 11:26
- "Godhead's Lament" – 9:47
- "Benighted" – 5:00
- "Moonlapse Vertigo" – 9:00
- "Face of Melinda" – 7:58
- "Serenity Painted Death" – 9:13
- "White Cluster" – 10:02
Release
The album was released in Europe under the
Peaceville/SnapperPeaceville Records is a British independent metal-oriented record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw in 1987, in Cleckheaton, England...
label in 1999, about which Åkerfeldt was very excited. Due to US label problems, the album was not released in America until February 27, 2001. The album was re-released by
Peaceville RecordsPeaceville Records is a British independent metal-oriented record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw in 1987, in Cleckheaton, England...
in 2000 as a jewelcase in a slipcase version and again as a
digipakDigipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI Media, a MeadWestvaco, Inc. resource, which acquired the original trademark holder, IMPAC Group, Inc., in 2000...
version in 2003. A third re-release came out on March 31, 2008, with reworked album artwork by original artist Travis Smith. This new edition has two discs, including remastered versions of the album (one in 5.1 Stereo
Surround SoundSurround sound encompases a range of techniques for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. The three-dimensional sphere of human hearing can be virtually achieved with audio channels above and below the listener...
) and a live video for the album track, "Face of Melinda", from
The Roundhouse TapesThe Roundhouse Tapes is a live double album by the Swedish progressive death metal band, Opeth. The CD was recorded on November 9, 2006 and was released on November 5, 2007 in Europe and on November 20, 2007 in the rest of the world. A two disc DVD version was released on November 10, 2008 and...
live performance in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
Trivia
On September 13, 2004,
Mikael ÅkerfeldtLars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist/lead guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath...
's wife, Anna, gave birth to their first daughter. They named her Melinda, after the character the protagonist on
Still Life is trying to save.
Credits
- Mikael Åkerfeldt
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist/lead guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath...
− vocals, guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker. The signal that comes from the guitar is sometimes electronically altered with guitar effects such as...
- Peter Lindgren
Peter Lindgren is a Swedish guitarist and songwriter. He is best known as the former guitarist of Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth. In 1991 he joined Opeth to play bass for a show, but ended up staying and switching to guitars...
− guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker. The signal that comes from the guitar is sometimes electronically altered with guitar effects such as...
- Martin Mendez
Martin Mendez , is the bass guitar player for the progressive death metal band Opeth and the second most constant member of the band, behind vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt....
− bassThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
- Martin Lopez
Martin Lopez is a drummer, known best for his nine years with the Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth....
− drumsA drum set is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person . The term "drum kit" first became used in the 1700s in Britain...