I liked the acoustic version, but the original one, in my opinion, has a very beautiful guitar sequence at the end. One guitar play a harmony, and the other "answers" with the same, and at the end both converge and give entrance to the acoustic closure. I dont know if i explain myself, but is just amazing how it sounds 17:09 through the end
If I'm not wrong, that's called a 'repetition'... You can check for something similar (guitar work) in Draconian's "It Grieves My Heart" ( ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2RcIVD1hwO4.html ), although I think that would be more like a 'sequence'. Here, in Ne Obliviscaris's "Painters of the Tempest (Part II): Triptych Lux" ( ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fL1P6QXjnJc.html ) you have also that, plus what then (around 13:55) seems to be 'imitation', although it would be more like a very long and diverse "conversation" among bass, guitars and violin ;) Edited: I fixed the starting point of the linked videos, now they are working as intended.
More Opeth if you want: With growls -Hessian Peel -Godhead's Lament -Dirge For November Without -All Things Will Pass -Faith In Others -A Fair Judgement
The acoustic version is cool and all, but the the original is one of the best metal songs of the last 30 years. It may have the best growls of any song in Opeth's catalogue. Michael sounds downright possessed... which is appropriate given the title and themes. The original also functions as the most aggressive and "scariest" moment of the album's concept/story, and it loses much of that power when done entirely acoustically.
@Rev you should check out some songs from other albums in that case. All albums from heritage onward and face of Melinda, hex Omega, porcelain heart, harvest, patterns in the ivy, a fair judgement, for absent friends,atonement, isolation years, coil, burden, bridge of sighs.
An Opeth song from earlier albums is both powerful, aggressive as well as beautiful and soaring. The acoustic version does not have the full range of emotions as the original does. There is something to be said about a song that can take you to the edge of your seat, gritting your teeth and a moment later turns you upside down to where a beautiful melody is calmly washing over you. That is a lot to get from one song but Opeth manage to deliver that and it's the twists and turns that keep me coming back to their music.
Full agreement on this. He should have went with the original, first. Live through it, the switches, the suprises, the melodies. And then listen to the acoustic version for analysis of melodies.
'My Arms, Your Hearse' is a concept album, meaning that the songs are like chapters of a book, narrating a story. Here is a interesting summary of the theme of this album from an interview to Akerfeldt. (Posted on reddit by user /tarzanell) Interesting detail on the MAYH concept that Mikael shared during a 1998 interview: Mikael: It's basically about dying and becoming a ghost or spirit trapped in the form of mist on earth, and being confronted with the reactions of those being close. It reaches throughout one earthly year, and during this time, the character tries to affect people and subjects, but without much success. It results only in the character scaring his loved ones to death, thus he plunges into a wicked state of mind, and wants to bring his beloved with him to the other side. Once confronted with this impossible task, the mood builds into terror (Demon of the Fall), but soon goes into depression after realising the way it has to be (Credence). However, Karma and Epilogue is telling the final rest, the ghost being at peace and finally being able to cross the line to the other side. The subject chosen can maybe be looked upon as naive, but I think death is a great subject to write about as nobody can tell you that you're wrong. You can make up own stories on what you think happens. Mikael: The character dies, becoming a ghost upon earth. His funeral being described in the prologue. He comes to spiritual life in April and the rest of the album covers the struggle for recognition of his foggy state. He gets to see the days of the ones left behind. He tries to affect people in any way possible. The woman is not necessarily betraying him physically, but her grief is not enough for his ego. He expected her to suffer his demise for ages. When this is not the case, frustration creeps in making him an invisible stalker, and eventually a spiritual mare thrown unto the faces of the ones left on earth. Interviewer: What killed the principle in the story to begin with? Just something that happened, or was it the result of something the woman did? Mikael: It's not important, so I didn't bother to tell. I don't know really, but his death has to be anything else but natural. I wanted the character to be suspicious and restless, so that's why he's sneaking up on his beloved ones. Int.: I can't figure out whether the first recognized meeting of the ghost and his former lover were in April Ethereal or Demon of the Fall. Demon of the Fall clearly states "She turned around and faced me for the first time", yet in April Ethereal, "Within ghostlike rapture... she faced me in awe." Was it that the ghost had seen her for the first time in April Ethereal, but she didn't yet see him back? Clear this one up for me... Mikael: April is his reincarnation so to speak. She faces him, but looks right through him, unaware of his presence, yet she feels great sadness, as his death came to soon, unwilling to accept his death. The line "ghostlike rapture" is his own feeling, seeing his bride. In Demon there is a first meeting. She's being confronted with his spirit, by this time being in rage due to frustration. Int.: Wait a second. If the woman did not love the ghost, why is she in mourning in April Ethereal? Mikael: She did indeed love him. Anything saying she didn't comes from the thoughts of the main character, as he's being so lost into negative feelings about most things. Int.: And then in When, "The gilded faces grin...", presumably we're to assume that she and someone else (a secret lover on the side?) are happy about the death. How can both the grieving and the joy be correct? Mikael: It's not totally right. He never has any proof of her being an infidel, he only suspects her to be. The gilded faces are a description of statues coming alive in the mansion in which he used to live. Her grieving is complete, but not to his satisfaction. He hears voices from somebody else than her. Unable to figure out if it's imagination or not, he expects the worst, and the story unfolds. Int.: Perhaps the entire epic is a misunderstanding on the ghost's part? All of his post-death grief and anguish are for nothing because he misinterpreted a situation. She DID love him after all? It is a brief encounter in When that sets the stage for all of the shit going down. Did the ghost get it wrong? Mikael: Exactly, he only suspects her to be doing all these things. Actually the whole story only deals with his own understandings and misunderstandings. She doesn't really take part in any important events concerning his state of mind. He is restless in the very sense of the word, and he feels that every one is against him. But there's really nothing for the living to be against; he's not there anymore in body. The problem is, as he's a ghost trapped on earth, he does take part in all the events happening, but the remaining people doesn't take part in him in any way. Apart from his woman, they don't even know he's there.
I don't remember how many copies of that signed book were sold (500?) I'm glad I managed to snag one before they sold out. Also, thank you, Doug's brother, for always recommending Opeth!
This album was a concept one about a ghost all the songs in the album are chapters of that same story but there was some thought that went into each one so they work relatively well as stand alone songs both musically and thematically.
The heavy version is the more effective one at conveying emotion. I do dig the acoustic one for what it is, but I kinda feel it's a bit of a novelty more than anything.
Doug!!! Thanks for going back to Operh! Next time please look from Opeth for Ghost of perdition Live in Red Rocks, it has great time signature changes and more. Mind the growls of the beginning. Keep up the good work!
Magnificent is not enough for how good this is. This song carried me through the darkest days of my life, and I'm for ever in debt to it. Very happy you listened to it.
Akerfeldt is an extremely resourceful songwriter. Credence also happens to be the next song (with you should listen to) in the album. Akerfeldt wrote the lyrics to end with the title of the next song. It’s a concept album both in story and structure. It’s older so it’s before akerfeldt really came into his own as a songwriter but it’s terrific and full of youthful energy.
Agreed... The song that got me into Opeth after seeing them opening for Dream Theater in 2009. I did not remember much of the show but the awesome riff from the Outro of Deliverance.
Each song on this album ends with the title of the next song. For example, “April Ethereal” ends with the word “when”, which is the name of the next track. "Demon of the Fall" ends with the word "Credence", which is the name of the next track.
I've always loved the original because of how absolutely _evil_ those layered growls sound. The song is soaked in the atmosphere that those vocals set - even the cleanly sung parts can't escape the intensity, until the song dissolves into the acoustic outro that contrasts everything with the short guitar lament. Never had heard the acoustic version, but I was very pleasantly surprised, it is not a slouch either. I was skeptical of the whole song being cleanly sung, but the close harmony with the monotonous-ish melody translates the oppressive atmosphere very well. Serves as a testament to how Mikael has flourished even further as a composer, even when I recognize their newer material doesn't speak to me as much. Funny story about the abstract intro in the original was that it was born of a complete accident. It was a song by another band that had recorded in the studio before, and (most likely) while reusing the tapes in the studio the engineer had missed a spot or there had been some accidental bleed-in from another reel. The band didn't notice it had been left on tape before checking out their recording, but they decided to keep it since the intro made it sound like the song was haunted.
Next time you're at the piano, check out their song "Silhouette." Edit: Not much of a vocal melody because it's supposed to be screaming lol Edit: Didn't know you were gonna listen to the original afterward, so you knew about the screams haha
That outro always gets me. FYI this is a concept album, with this track being the climax of the tale. It tells the story of a spirit haunting the material plane after his funeral, addressing his suspicions around his death and coming to terms with his passing over a period of time. The songs address this and reference different seasons, including the Demon of the Fall.
First time I saw Opeth live was around 2002 and they played the original version. Opeth was a four members band at the time. Still with Peter Lindgren and Martin Lopez on the band. Classic !
The guitar tone on my arms your hearse may be my favorite as far as opeth goes. Fantastic album and Mikael played bass because Martin hadn’t joined the band yet
How awesome is it that you're back to Opeth again. Doug and Opeth mix well! And gotta admit I teared up a little with the live piano over the outro on the original song, that was beautiful. Thank you.
How nice of you doing both versions. Obviously the original version is one of the greatest songs of metal history of an album criminally underrated, even by Opeth fans. I got The Book of Opeth and it brang a little vinyl with this acoustic version of Demon of the Fall, which i love.
I love the version from live at Red Rocks DVD. I just love the way they incorporated keys into this piece there. Sounds so rich and majestic! BTW the whole DVD sounds unbeliveable. The guy who mixed it did an OUTSTANDING job! Love it!🙏❤️
Great find, I'm always amazed how well hard songs can be arranged for acoustic instruments. FYI, The "death growl" is pretty common in Metal, and the growlers have to prepare properly so they don't hurt themselves. Not my cup of tea, but some can't stand Geddy Lee's voice (Rush). Keep giving us surprises, Doug! :)
Early Opeth uses the acoustic to electric transition dynamic a lot, and I think the acoustic version loses the impact held by those stark contrast in those transitions. The band only added a keyboard player in 2003, so that's why you have no keyboard in the studio version. I would suggest to listen to the song following Demon of the Fall on the album Credence, an amazing acoustic track.
Very 1st Opeth song I had heard way back in 2000. I was totally blown away by it and became a fan right there and then. So savage and beautiful at the same time 🤘
Back when i heard that album for the first time i was in total awe, and to this day My Arms Your Hearse still is my absolute favorite. The transition between the previous record to this one paved the way to a newer sound (this was Martín López and Martín Mendez first record, drummer and bass player although the bass was played by Mikael itself) and how Mikaels voice developed to an absolute demon is outstanding. I love this record with all my heart.
Those last few notes were leading into the next song, which happens to be the ballad on MAYH, named Credence. I HIGHLY recommend that you continue into the next track!
The album is conceptual, this song is kind of a central point of the story. So it makes more sense with the rest of the songs on the album. Also, since you like Steven Wilson’s and Mikael Akerfeltd’s music I wonder why people don’t suggest Storm Corrosion. It’s their own project. They wrote a whole album together and it was released in 2012. It’s very psychedelic and progressive music. “Drag Ropes” or “Ljudet Innan” would be great for analysis.
Agreed! So many to choose from . . . . some of my favorites are: The Architect, The Point Of No Return, Drowning In The Flood, Pareidolia, Somebody, Crystallized, and NIL BY MOUTH!!! Nil By Mouth is such an amazing instrumental, as a drummer I probably extra love it for the amazing work by drummer Raymond Hearne! Doug was asking for drummers to do something "more" than just constant double bass pounding? Well here it is! Raymond's playing here is like a cross between Neil Pert and Dave Weckl at their best!
@@alphaenemyplus8376 Great minds and all! ;-) And wow . . .I just listened to drummer Alex Rudinger doing a cover/playing along with Nil By Mouth! Very impressive and interesting to watch the details of the drum parts! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KzSpN-mxiwg.html
About your cuestion, the original is obviously far better and far more emotional, even the production of it was intentional. This was a conceptual album and it has always felt like magic because of how ethereal an eerie it is, even 24 years later.
I'm a massive Opeth fan, and I had no idea this acoustic version existed! I'm struck by how much that acoustic version of an old Opeth song sounds like later songs with more acoustic treatment and what I think of as Moorish/Oriental themes. I'm thinking of stuff like Seventh Sojourn, which didn't sound similar at all until I heard the acoustic treatment of this older song.
Although not my first album nor my favorite, the climax at 2,5 minute is indeed one of the purest growls and work so well with the agressive riff and drums. To me an epic part that always grips me by the throat. Always open my left hand and push it forward whilst growling along with it.
The whole album is a kinda ghost story about a man coming to terms with his own death and the fact that he is haunting his wife. Absolutely brilliant song, sorry i only found your channel now, I love it!
Such a brilliant song, an opeth classic, I love your analyses. Another favourite for me on that album is April Ethereal, just as powerful. You should also give the band periphery a try, I'd recommend absolomb or satellites first.
I absolutely love the original. It was on the first Opeth album I got back in the 90s, and has always been a standout track, not least because they used it as their show closer for years, until Deliverance took over that role. One of my favorite parts has always been the two contrasting simultaneous guitar parts in the verse, working their way individually through the scale. I wish you'd commented on that, it always tickles me :)
This album (their first) as well as their two following albums have a particular fan base where many of them came from listening to a lot of black metal. I am personally not particularly fond of black metal and I don't listen to their three first albums anymore (the first Opeth album I bought was Morningrise, their second album, when it was released). My Opeth listening these days start from Still Life (fourth album) since Mikael's song writing skills and vocals improved a lot as well as the bands playing abilities having grown a lot. They also scaled down the raw black metal influences quite a bit which made their fanbase explode. With their fifth album Blackwater Park they sounded very different from their first two-three albums and it was the album that rocketed them into an international phenomenon within the metal/prog metal scene in 2001. There are fans that only listen to their first 3-4 albums, then there are fans only listening to albums 4 through 9 and then yet another fanbase that only listen to their modern prog rock no-growl-metal albums 10 through 14. I believe a majority of fans share my preference of listening to album 4 through 13, ie. their second era that started with the more refined Still Life and their third era that started with a change of direction with their prog rock album Heritage. With that said, there are some really good parts in many of their earliest songs from their first three albums with riffs, ideas and arrangements that are still really cool and as I wrote earlier, some fans prefer their earliest stuff. It's all about personal preference after all.
Never knew there was even an acoustic version of this song and there i thought I had their whole discography damn it! Original is just a BEAST song but the acoustic is GODLY lol
Back again on behalf of all the bards out there to put in a vote for Blind Guardian! Sacred Worlds, And Then There Was Silence or Dark Clouds Rising or War Feeds War from their Orchestral album recorded with the Prague Philharmonic. Love the vids and your break downs. ✌️ from 🇨🇦
Please do some Haken in the future. Some suggestions: The Architect, 1985, Cockroach King, Falling Back To Earth, Pareidolia, Veil, Nil By Mouth, Celestial Elixir, Shapeshifter 104 minutes of music to analyze. Have fun :D
I am so happy to see you do Opeth. I've been thinking that you should do Porcelain Heart. No growls, but the song is absolutely magic. Long version though. Or Dirge for November, would be great too.
Surprised Doug hasn't done Deep Purple yet they did 2 orchestras back in 1969 and 1970,love to see doug analyse Deep Purple Child in time live in Denmark 1972,and dissect Jon Lord's Hammond organ solos.
I prefer the original, I find it more dynamic. That said I had the luck to be at Södra Teatern for the live version and it was a very good experience :-)
Hi Doug! I stumbled across your videos about a month ago and have really been enjoying them. British singer & bass player John Wetton, who is sadly no longer with us, played with King Crimson and had a solo career. I would love to hear your commentary on the video Starless. It's a take off on the King Crimson song Starless and Bible Black. Even if you don't react to it, I hope you'll take the opportunity to give it a listen. In addition to John's fantastic vocals, there's an extended instrumental section that builds in a very interesting way. In addition to Wetton and the other gifted musicians, drummer Marco Minneman gives an excellent performance. Thanks and keep up the great work!
This was the first Opeth album I bought. Probably had the same facial expression as you with the original, I was not prepared for that level of metal. It was worth it to hear all they had to offer musically though
Please react to Carolina IV, by Angra (studio version). They mix metal with Brazilian music... Fairy tale from Shaman (live version) is also a great song
Maybe you should do Credence next, it's the next song on the album, it continues the story, and it's a mellow song, so it's more in your wheelhouse genre/sound wise. A lot of interesting stuff going in the chords in that song as usual with Opeth stuff. 😀
The concert was an all ”unplugged” set (not really) but there was no distorted heavy guitars or growls during the night. It was not bad as a one off but I much prefer their ”normal” highly entertaining live shows :)
I like your reviews Doug, just found it from the Octivarium review... this is the third video of yours that i've watched (I'm only at 13 minutes in this video currently) Info for Opeth fans below; They played this live in Boulder Colorado, in May 2014 i think. It is on youtube, i'll edit with a correct date, in fact this might be from that show... that was a great 2 night show. Drove down from Montana for that show (I drive from Montana for any Opeth shows that I catch...) edit: the show I was thinking of was in 2013. May 20, 2013 full set is available if you search. (not my video btw)
Lines In Your Hands! Nepenthe! Lotus Eater! River! Deliverance! So much more! Youre doing great though! Thanks for doing lots of Opeth. I had a feeling you wouldn't like the original . It why I suggest you dive into more of their later stuff. Heritage and on.Also, Demon of the Fall ends with. credence and the next song on the album is Credence
@@BassGoBomb Thanks man! I mainly enjoy Doug for his Opeth reactions! Opeth has a vast catalogue of great music and I want him to go down that rabbit hole. The songs I mentioned are some of my faves but really any Opeth would do :)
Opeth is a gem in the prog genre, i love their last album, i don't mind the early albums with growing but it is not my cup of tea. And i will try again, Marillion and the song Ocean Cloud from the Marbles album will really bring you a great listening experienc, it is a close to 20 min epic song about a guy leaving everything behind to sail around the earth
What's really cool. If you listen to the original album My Arms, Your Hearse, the last word of the first song is the title of the next song. And the last word of the second song is the title of the third song, and so on. The last word in the song "Demon of the Fall" is credence; the name of the next song. Too bloody cool.
Doug, I think the right next opeth song could be "Credence", no growls, really melancholic and it is the continuation of Demon of the fall. Just as you could see, the last word on Demon of the fall is Credence, infact the entire album is a concept album where the last word of each song is the title of the next one ,so i think you could appreciate it, especially for the progression of the story that you have been introduced to with this song.
I also prefer the original over the acoustic one. There's so much ... what is the right word or sentence(?) ... evil good energy. Doug, I really appreciate your interpretation of the lyrics. Thank you for that! (for us who don't get a squad of what the track is actually all about 😄). One of my fav. by Opeth \,,/
The original has so much anger and aggression and hatred. Pure anger and resentment. Your facial reaction to it was funny. Oh yeah I didn't even remember, but My Arms, Your Hearse is a thematic album once again. It's about the death of partner I recall, and possibly about the haunting and lack of resolution, release, something like that. It's possibly like you presented, from the perspective of the dead ghost. The whole album pretty much sounds a lot like this and their black metal roots/influences are still showing up heavily. I also seem to remember that every song lyric ends with the next song's title. Here "she had lost in me her credence" and the next song being Credence. A song titled When has some beautiful parts, Prologue has a melancholic sweet piano interlude to the album, Karma once again has the ugly tritone and growl, but also so so beautiful clean parts. And I think just a listen through of Epilogue as outro is worth your time. It's like your heart being finally released, such emotional instrumental. It's like a farewell, a sweet goodbye. Recollection of good times and sadness from letting go, but that hopeful tone of new beginning. I wonder if there's some modal play like dorian. And the bonus track, Remember Tomorrow, an Iron Maiden cover that is in my opinion better than the original.
So cool to see you figure out what they are doing chord wise. I think rhe5 acoustic version is ok, but the original is one of the all time best songs. This song is just so much better and more interesting with the dynamics of the heavy and the mellow and melodic imo. Please continue doing more Opeth! This is great!
