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Reviews for Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse:

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just as good as any other opeth record. the amen corner and demon of the fall are two really great songs.

Review by: enthroned

The best Opeth album in my opinion....it is kind of different from the first two. The vocals on this one is much darker and not so screamy any more, which suits me better to Opeth. And the music is more organized and better performed with riffs that complete more and makes the songs more identifiable. It is a concept album with a very beatiful but dark storyline that took me two years to find out what it means. The songs are just amazing with Demon Of The Fall as highlight. Well, the album is one outstanding piece of art and is not like any other type. I higly recommend it to the ones that likes this kind of music.

Review by: natt

Opeth's third, and heaviest work. My Arms, Your Hearse is probably the hardest Opeth album to get into due to the fact that it seems so chaotic at first. MAYH is certainly a big departure from Morningrise. Whereas Morningrise would tend to wander off into its own little world, and weave itself around the listener, MAYH smashes the listener's head with a huge sledgehammer. Gone are the long acoustic passages, and the 10+ minute songs typical of early Opeth. The music on this album is a lot more focused, and the songs are shorter (although still over 5 minutes long).

When I first heard this album, it all went in through one ear and came out the other one. I didn't remember even one damn thing from the album. And so I gave up and went back to Morningrise, listening and re-listening to that until it got old. After running out of Opeth albums to listen to (I tend to focus on one and listen to that until I know it by heart, and then listen to it some more until I get tired of it), and tackled MAYH once again, this time actually paying attention. And while at first it seemed too hard to actually focus on anything in the album, almost every song had this incredibly catchy part that just got stuck into my head for days, and kept me coming back to listen to it again and again, until slowly the album started weaving its magic around me, and I actually understood most of the music in it. After getting into the actual music, I developed an interest in the lyrics. I started reading them, and after a bit of time, I just realized just how beautiful and poetic they were. Actually, at points, I even ditched my friends at school, to go to the library and read through the lyrics while listening to the album, that's how addicted I was to it.

MAYH is a concept album, dealing with a ghost coming back to the one he loved to find that she had moved on with her life, and basically his feelings, thoughts and emotions on it. I think. Heh. Even after all this time spent reading the lyrics, I still haven't grabbed the full story. That's mostly because I haven't really sat down and analyzed them, rather just marveled at the imagery they conjured up ("There it was. The final destiny. A sunrise that never came, still the night lamp that never faded away. Farewell was the word, and the afterglow was the brave morning. Rising and telling everyone about the beauty of its prologue." - beautiful... this passage always gives me chills, especially coupled with the music). But I'm rambling. Going back to what I was saying, MAYH is a concept album. It can't really be taken any other way. I can't separate the songs and describe each of them to you. It's an experience, where music takes a step back and allows your imagination to flow freely, especially when knowing the lyrics. That's the beauty of this album... even though it's a concept album, it's so cryptic that allows your own imagination to interpret what it hears in its own way.

This is another highly recommended album, although I have to warn you that if you're not familiar but would like to get into them, this is not the album to start with. I would probably recommend Morningrise or Orchid for their earlier sound, and Still Life or Blackwater Park for their current sound (SL and BP being a lot easier to get into). Leave MAYH until you actually know the other albums.

Review by: Smekermann

OPETH keep up making excellent music with "My arms, your hearse". But they don´t repeat the patterns shown in their previous wonderful "Morningrise". First of all, the songs are mainly shorter. And there are some interludes, prologue and epilogue. The production is also different, now is rawer, darker and dirtier. The drums are now played by Martin Lopez that has another style but anyway it fits perfectly with the sense of the album. Some keyboards are included, but only in the instrumental songs. Besides these details, the rest of the album is OPETH in a nutshell: manifold rhythms, plenty of tempo changes, acoustic calm parts, agression, and a lyrical focus very beautiful exposed in an interesting concept, telling us a story about a death and a disappointment. Precious. This is another great work from the Swedish masters that you shouldn´t miss at all. Just let "April ethereal" take you to another hazy place and you´ll understand me.

Review by: fjordi

My arms.. great hit, i love it.. Deamon of the fall is great and the whole album is so great

Review by: iNfernum

As you can see from my name The Amen Corner is my favorite Opeth song. This album is a masterpiece.

Review by: TheAmenCorner

Geez...this is a toughie. After being submerged into the dangerous beauty of Morningrise over a year ago, I've been hoisting the Opeth flag on many occasions. Skip forward to their latest release and I'm just a bit more ambivelant about matters. Certainly Mikael Akerfeldt can be considered, along with Dan "I got my fork in the stew" Swanö, to be of godhead status in the dark metal scene. Both prolific and immensely talented, Akerfeldt is a very solid reason to check out any of the Opeth opuses. (Say that fast.) But you might want to approach My Arms, Your Hearse with a bit more caution as the songs are somewhat shorter and a little less winding than its predecessor. Whereas Morningrise slowly weaved its magic around you with each new listen until you suddenly understood each second of the lengthy pieces, MAYH doesn't have that breakthrough of comprehension so easily. After a dozen listens, I'm still scratching my head and not always diving fully into it. I'm not sure if that's simply because I haven't heard it under the right circumstances or if it just needs more listens, but at this point I must report it is measurably less than Morningrise. Not by much, mind you. Opeth still stands head and shoulders above the crowd of metal folks thinking they're original. My Arms just proves that following up an incredible masterpiece is simply not the easiest thing to do. Regardless, you should be sure to put Opeth somewhere in your collection.

Review by: Gravedaddy666

This is the best band ever period. Every song on this album is simply amazing. When, The Amen corner and Demon of the fall are the best if you put a gun to my head to chose. All of the songs flow right into one another, so much even the last word in the song as the title for the next one. A must have for any fan of music in general.

Review by: Paradox423

What can I say? My arms your hearse is the best album ever released. To be honest I hate it when little fans hero worship their favorite band (*cough* tool *cough*) so I'll try to make this the least hypocritical it can be. Opeth are not gods they are artists, and those purists who dismiss such art are either boring and conservative, or tryhard meatheads, making out that their balls are made of steel. If you like music that can take you away to another world, destroy you, empower you, depress you, fullfill you, release you, throw you, touch you and is just plain out incredible then then this is what you've been searching for. Even my 57 year old dad appreiates Opeth and he's a snobby beethoven loving classical pianist. Buy this album, you won't regret it
-Those eyes...empty like a barren well

Review by: barren_well

The first album with the Martn's (Mendez/Bass, Lopez/Drums).
It's an absolute beauty, and the critics about the new drum and bass player are total shit critics. Martin Lopez is a good drummer and maybe Matrin Mendez hasn't that impact on the band as Johan DeFarfalla but he is surely not bad!!
They start with Prologue, a short intro.
Then.... A total fucking smasher!! April Ethereal, a heavy song with damn good guitar and drumwork!
This is my personal favorite with Demon Of The Fall wich als is a very talented progressive/death song!
Since 2003 you there are a few limited Tin-case cd's of this album, nice collector's item but without lyrics!!!
Also on the re-release two high classed bonus tracks, Circle of the Tyrant and Remember Tommorow (beautiful song!) with only clear vocals. Mikeal has a very good clear voice which is beautiful on this song!
Without doubt also the most heaviest album of Opeth! Very good production and a clear sound (that's why i like this more than Morningrise).
90/100

Review by: Khold666IsGreat

First Opeth album I ever heard and still has my favourite song on it, "April Ethereal". Wicked album with the new drummer and bassist, who both deliver awesome performances. Anyways, this album fucking rules, wicked hard songs, great solos, hard and soft interludes, all awesome. Opeth rules!!!

Review by: MetallicOpeth

Opeth only creates excellent music...but this album is their best without any doubt.

Review by: Vampyric

This album has Opeth's most requested song: Demon of the fall. And when you hear it you can see why. This is yet another great album. Opeth is one of the few band that has never made a bad song. And My arms your hearse is no exception. Get this album it is in a way timeless.
9.5/10

Review by: illnath

Heavy, brooding , dark, depressing. The best OPETH release ever. And when its all said and done "DEMON OF THE FALL",
will be the anthem for which this legendary band will be known for.

Review by: rack

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