With the forthcoming album ‘Watershed’ being very eagerly awaited by Opeth’s faithful brethren, it seems like a good time for a re-release of their excellent 1999 fourth album ‘Still Life’. It was not that Opeth didn’t hit the floor with both feet running when they brought out Orchid and Morningrise but at the time they were still very much an underground phenomenon. Those of us lucky enough to have caught their early gigs at tiny intimate venues such as the Borderline will attest to that (and totally annoy others by mentioning it, hi fellow scribe Oliver I am talking at you). It was Blackwater Park the groups fifth album that saw them really breaking through and embarking on their first world tour but in my opinion it should have happened earlier as ‘Still Life’ is a veritable classic, as was ‘My Arms, Your Hearse’ another album I am hoping may get the reworks courtesy of Peaceville.
The first thing that strikes is the lush deep red album cover courtesy of Travis Smith, capturing still life in every aspect and quite honestly this is one of the most beautiful album covers and designs seen in recent years. This special edition sees it with artwork reworked and in a nice inside booklet with lots more illustrations. There are 2 discs, the standard version and the DVD 5.1 Surround sound mix with a live version of ‘Faces Of Melinda’ as an extra.
The maudlin guitar sound acoustically builds into opener ‘The Moor’ and it is not until the main dramatic orchestration crashes in practically blowing the speakers with its powerful Fredrik Nordström punch, that you appreciate just how good this now sounds. Opeth are one of those bands to completely lose yourself in and ‘Still Life’ is no exception. Just as you think you are at ease with Mikael Åkerfeldt's growling vocals and the twisting, turning guitar signatures then you are usurped by clean sweeps and prog laden airy passages. As you would expect, the songs here are on the whole epic, the opener being over 11 minutes in itself. There is a well documented concept to this album that I am not going into again here, head over to Wiki to read it in detail.
If I had to choose a favourite and this is no easy task it would be ‘Godhead’s Lament’ with its opening barbarous deathly swipe which progresses (apt word) into a delirious fragrant sing along, meandering like a stream bubbling away over a meadow. It literally sends shivers down the spine every time I hear it. This is the perfect example of how to counterpoise melody and heavy brutality within one number. ‘Benighted’ is an acoustic interlude and one that has been compared by some to Camel, not surprising when you consider Mikael’s musical tastes.
Reading the sleeve notes it is amazing how good this is. Mikael was living on Jonas Renske’s couch, it was the first album for Martin Mendez, they had not rehearsed before going to the studio and were all heavy weed smokers at the time! Considering there are some real classics here like the jazzy night time vibe of ‘Faces Of Melinda’ and that there are some incredibly technical flourishes this is a real achievement, although one wonders how much chocolate and crisps were consumed during the sessions.
This may well be the third re-issue of the album but it has to also be the definitive one. I doubt there is going to be any technical advances that could possibly make this sound even more stunning. The other good thing is that this has not aged in the slightest. Still Life 2008 is if anything timeless. If you have not got this already grab it, if you have, it may well be worth thinking of updating, a classic in every sense.
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