Entry 300 - Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

 

It's 1998, a young Xorn is going through his local record store and sees a CD from a band that I've heard a lot about. I decided to pick it up and plop it in my dinky little boombox. I didn't know it at the time but that album - My Arms, Your Hearse - would rise to become one of my favorite albums ever recorded.

I pressed play on my CD player and after a short intro (Prologue) I was greeted by the immense opener that is April Ethereal. This song weaves in and out of powerful riffs, acoustic interludes and incredible growls. The song introduces you to everything that Opeth is at this point within the span of 8 minutes.

When takes over and expands upon the sound with a more brutal direction. The riffs hit harder and the vocals focus more on a guttural sound. The song takes a turn about 60% of the way through and we're properly introduced to Mikael's clean vocals... and oh man is he good. At the end of the song finishes up with a litany of questions all starting with "When..." Perfect way to end the song.

The album continues to expand and explore this complex interaction between vocals, drums, guitar, and bass for a few more songs until everything is suddenly interrupted and we are greeted with Demon of the Fall. Everything I said before about brutality is completely minimized compared to the vocals at the start of this song. It is uncompromising and channels the namesake of the song effectively. Probably my favorite song on the album, maybe my favorite Opeth song period (though Master's Apprentice is also way up there).

Opeth have created an all time great album with My Arms Your Hearse. No amount of words that I type here can bring a glimpse of how much I enjoy this album. Outside of a the first riff in Karma there is nothing on this album that is less than perfection.