Originally released back in 1999, Opeth’s Still Life can arguably be deemed their magnum opus, but many will favour their ‘breakthrough’ album, Blackwater Park. For those who have not had the fortune of listening to Still Life, all I can say is that you are missing out.
The album holds a truly epic concept, chronicling the struggles and woes of an atheist man who has returned to the Christian society from which he was exiled, in order to find his past lover, while avoiding the elders of the land who would no doubt kill him if he were to be spotted. This is the album where Mikael Akerfeldt’s vocals really matured and became the sound that many now adore, both in the death and melodic sense. The album starts off with the multi-layered ‘The Moor’, explaining the story of the unnamed man’s exile. The song mixes between melodic and death vocals, with some truly claming moments and some extremely violent and brutal areas, bringing a wide range of emotions to the surface. Some of the tracks have a similar pattern regarding the variance of styles and emotions, but some tracks just possess the one style all the way through, these are some of the stand out tracks.
Stepping aside from the death metal area for the meantime, some of the acoustic/mellow songs really show off Akerfeldt’s song writing ability. These tracks being ‘Benighted’ and ‘Face of Melinda’. The lyrics sound very heartfelt and personal; it is very easy to get into the mood and frame of mind of the album’s main character. The bonus DVD that comes with the album even includes live footage of ‘Face of Melinda’ from the London Roundhouse, the performance is from the forthcoming live DVD that is due out at the end of the year. The two songs mainly describe the man’s adoration for his precious love, Melinda. They portray the events of the man viewing Melinda from afar, then finally meeting her face to face again, professing his love for her.
The purely death metal tracks are ‘Serenity Painted Death’ and ‘White Cluster’; these are the two most vicious tracks on the album. Telling the two final chapters of the story, which involve the enraged attack by the anonymous man upon the village, the attack is provoked by the village elder’s act of hanging Melinda (her crime was to be seen with the exiled man). The lyrics give grand and grotesque images, ‘each and every one would die at my hand, choking in warm ponds of blood’. The violent onslaught described in Serenity Painted Death leads up to the poetically depressing ‘White Cluster’, which delivers us the final moments of the man’s life before the noose.
A truly well crafted story that could easily be an ancient Norse tale, delivered in the most perfect way.
The bonus DVD contains the entire album in 5.1 surround sound (as well of the live footage mentioned above), allowing the listener to hear the album in a slightly new way. The more noticeable features being that the drumming is more apparent and the vocals sound more raw and pure.
Additional artwork has even been created by Travis Smith, who has done nearly all of Opeth’s album artwork. Notes on the creation of the album have even been added by Mikael Akerfeldt, telling stories such as the apparition of a soldier outside the studio and a phantom cough. It gives an amusing yet informative insight to the recording process.
Overall, I am very pleased that Peaceville Records decided to re-release this album, as it really is something every death metal or open minded prog fan should listen to. The only downfall is that I feel more could have been done with the DVD, more live performances or perhaps some behind the scenes footage from that era of the band. But don’t let those little irritations deter you from buying this album if you have never heard it before. It really is a progressive death metal masterpiece. Truly Still Life is the dark side of the death metal moon.
