Review by Ben for Opeth - Still Life (1999)

An extraordinary concept album that covers the spectrum of emotions with both conviction and class.

Opeth’s third album, My Arms, Your Hearse, displayed a much more prevalent sense of focus and moderation than the first two, which is something I’d personally hoped for. Thankfully, they’d stick with this direction going forward, continuing to finetune all the best qualities of their style with each successive release. 1999’s Still Life album is considered by many to be their best work, and it’s hard to argue really. Like My Arms, Your Hearse, their fourth release is a concept album, but this time around the concept has far greater presence. But before I get into all that, it’s worth noting that Still Life was a first for Opeth for a couple of reasons, and probably had no right to be as good as it turned out to be. On paper it would appear that the line-up is unchanged from the last album, but it’s actually the first time Martin Mendez performed in the studio for the band. He was already part of the official line-up when My Arms, Your Hearse was recorded, yet he hadn’t been present long enough to learn the bass lines, which were performed by Mikael. It’s also the first album not to be released on Candlelight Records after Opeth signed with Peaceville prior to entering the studio. This move resulted after their friend Lee Barrett left Candlelight, and considering they’d fulfilled their three album contract and had no other ties to that label, decided to look elsewhere. Peaceville was the obvious choice given their great history in metal and their solid relationship with distributor Music For Nations.

Ignoring all these peripheral alterations, it’s the issues they faced with Studio Fredman that make Still Life’s almost flawless quality so astounding. After booking a timeslot in March 1999, things became complicated when the studio suddenly relocated. Not only did this force the recording to be postponed a month, it also meant that the members of Opeth had next to no rehearsal time whatsoever. When they finally entered the studio to lay down Still Life, they really had no idea whether any of the tracks were going to work as they’d never played them as a unit before. Mikael has since stated that he is endlessly amazed at just how good the album turned out to be given the less than ideal circumstances leading up to its creation. It wasn’t smooth sailing from this point onwards either, with the suitably moody artwork by Travis Smith taking an unexpectedly long time to complete, pushing the release date back by around three weeks. Even then Still Life didn’t get a release in the United States until February 2001 (nearly two years after its completion), when the band’s new distribution network failed to deliver the goods (literally). Somehow, despite everything seeming to conspire against the Swedes, they managed to produce the best album of their career to date, and one of the true masterpieces in metal music as a whole. That’s a big call I know, but there are numerous reasons why I make it, not least due to the comprehensive realization of the album concept.

It’s not difficult to pinpoint why Still Life is more effective when it comes to the concept than My Arms, Your Hearse. Firstly, whereas the lyrics of the preceding album were hard to fully delve into due to their decidedly poetic and vague arrangement, the story of Still Life is told in a clearer and more comprehensible format. Secondly, whereas the artwork of My Arms, Your Hearse seemed to have little connection to the concept, Smith’s artwork brings Still Life to…um…life, giving the listener something tangible to hold onto when experiencing the album. Finally, and I guess most importantly, Still Life’s tale of loss and loneliness is genuinely touching and engrossing. By the time epic opener The Moor has run its course, we share the anger and frustration that the unnamed outcast of the story so rightfully feels. We are told of his open rejection of the religious beliefs held by the town inhabitants, and how they subsequently beat, burned and covered him in mud, before banishing him forever. Fifteen years later the outcast returns with the intention of tracking down his lost lover Melinda. Godhead’s Lament describes how he watches her from afar, fearing that he will be detected, and doubting that he can make contact with her without attracting the religious authority of the town. Benighted perfectly conveys his longing for Melinda and how he desperately hopes that they might yet be together, despite her becoming a part of the controlling religious organisation since his banishment.

Things become desperate during Moonlapse Vertigo as the outcast realises how much danger he puts himself in just by being there, and that he has very little time to try to convince Melinda to come away with him. He steels himself to approach her, which takes place during the album’s centrepiece Face of Melinda. Confused, Melinda initially rejects him, and hides behind her religious beliefs. Disheartened yet not defeated, the outcast makes one more attempt to win her back and we learn that she does still love him, now as she always did. Unfortunately, before the reacquainted couple can leave, the outcast wakes to find they have been found out. Melinda has been taken away and her throat slit for her association with him, leaving him consumed by fury and a longing for vengeance. He goes on a rampage, killing numerous soldiers before finally being captured by the Council of the Cross. Final track White Cluster completes the tragic tale, with the outcast refusing to repent before being taken to the gallows to be hanged before a large gathering of townspeople. Still Life closes with the outcast having a vision of Melinda right before he is executed, suggesting that he will soon be reunited with her in death. It’s dramatic stuff for sure, and Opeth manage to convey the necessary spectrum of emotions through smoothly executed shifts in dynamics. They don’t merely match the music to the concept however, and Still Life contains seven enthralling and unforgettable tracks in their own right.

While the album functions far better as an all-encompassing package rather than individual parts, the first three tracks along with Face of Melinda are the highlights for me. The Moor’s gradual build-up in intensity brilliantly showcases Opeth’s range and sets the haunting tone that runs throughout the hour long running time. The acoustic sections have far more direction than found on early Opeth works and integrate seamlessly into the more metal facets of their music. Mikael’s vocals are as strong as ever, with deep growls flawlessly encapsulating the resentment and anger of the outcast, while his high quality clean vocals express the love and care he has for Melinda impeccably. Godhead’s Lament contains one of the very best Opeth riffs and its heaviness perfectly leads into the exquisite Benighted. It’s amazing that I would even consider a track that is technically a ballad to be the highlight of an album loosely associated with death metal, but Benighted is just so beautifully written and executed that I think I might have to. After the similarly brilliant Credence on My Arms, Your Hearse, it appeared Opeth could do just about anything they wanted without losing the high level of conviction and class that saturates their work. Still Life is yet another five star album by this amazing band and a “stuck on an island” type of experience for me personally. It’s one of those rare complete packages that you can lose yourself in entirely, which is something I happily do on regular occasions.