I’d highly suggest Beneath the Mire off this album. It’s incredibly dynamic and has phenomenal mixing along with incredible atmosphere. And it feels less repetitive.
The middle part of that song is like the emotional finale to that latin rhythm called "bembe" that they use again and again. Edit: I'm thinking of Baying of the Hounds lol my mistake
The grand conjuration was the first song I ever heard from Opeth and it’s awesome that they have so many other equally amazing dynamic songs. Definitely one of my favorite groups.
Hola Bryan! Atheist made an album called Elements in which, every song was named after an element or something from nature... Fire or Air would have been perfect for this week! Very great music! Sorry, this was a very in-depth reaction into one of my favorite bands! It is uncanny how you can just nail a song that intense with ease and fluidity.
My favorite band! I want you to cover as much Opeth as possible haha, so whenever it happens I'm just happy. You should do say Blackwater Park full album reaction. Or maybe Ghost Reveries, because you did cover 2 songa off of Blackwater Park and if I'm not mistaken this is the first song you covered feom Ghost Reveries. It might be dense though, as each track can be analysed extensively, which is true for most of their albums.
I went back and the guitars are definitely in 4 but the drums are what informed my 5 guess. So I'm refining my read of that section of using a 4:5 polyrhythm.
I know a lot of people are gonna recommend ghost of perdition and other fantastic tracks off this album, but the song The Lotus Eater off of Watershed is an even more perfect mix of eery melody, varied songwriting, and distinctly menacing groove, and without spoiling anything it even has a jazz funk breakdown which is one of my favorite all time musical moments.
I'd say the "djent" bits are more of a progression from the groovier death metal chugging filtered through prog sensitivities. They play around with those sorts of grooves a few times in their career. Notable examples include Harlequin Forest and especially the end of Deliverance, which features a very long 5 minute jam with them just playing around an almost purely thythmic idea.
The crazy part is that this song is considered by many, to be one of the weakest from the album, yet it's still amazing. It just show how strong the album is.
The nastiest moment from this track is the tambourine fill into the growled dotted-eighth section. But the repetitive ending is a rare case of a part in an Opeth song overstaying its welcome in my opinion. And the metric modulation / time signature change stuff straight up doesn't happen by the way, it's all 4/4 with some interesting accents and polyrhythms.
This is one of my favorite Opeth songs. The production is technically great and the quieter sections have such a great atmosphere but I agree that the loud parts don't really hit hard. I think it might be because it's so polished that it becomes a bit too clinical and bland at times.
This is from my favorite Opeth album, Ghost Reveries, which is the album where I think Opeth reached their peak in terms of mixing the progressive death metal and old-school prog aspects of their sound. Not long after Opeth would drop the death metal altogether and go full old-school prog. Back when this album came out this track wasn't one of my favorites; it seemed too overly simplistic for Opeth. Then I saw them live and this track was definitely one of the highlights. The atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Were it not for seeing it live I'm not sure I would've said this song fit with the week's theme, but, yeah, see/hear it live and it totally feels like the band is conjuring something incredibly evil! It's been a favorite ever since. I've also come to appreciate all the subtleties like the diverse percussion style, the tasty bass work, and those whispered vocals near the end. That groovy part near the end where the opening riff comes back is pretty badass too. BTW, your title's wrong, even though you said it right in the video: It's The GRAND Conjuration, not GREAT.
I often forget that some of these metal songs hit different with a wall of speakers in your face and everything cranked up to 11. And thanks for the typo notice. It's funny because this is my second fix of it. The first time I had typed "The Great Conjuring" 😅
When this came out, I felt like "The Grand Conjuration" took the ideas from their track "Deliverance" and just expanded it to the Nth degree. It is one of my favorite old school Opeth songs (the Martin Lopez era).
Always love some Opeth. I've only listened to Blackwater Park in its entirety and multiple times. Been meaning to check out their other works. I liked this song and other songs not from Blackwater Park that I have heard. Not sure what is being conjured
Man do yourself a favor, listen to all of their records from still life to watershed, those albums are pure awesomeness. Earlier records are less polished and more black metaly (without the vocals thank god), while the later records are progressive rock (you could argue metal but no growls)
I love this analysis because it represents how art can be interpreted depending on the eye of the beholder. This was the first Opeth song I listened and I think is very atmospheric but this songs conjures nostalgia in me… so I’m biased 🤣 good work 😊
@@floridabelle haha I was being sarcastic.....but yeah some of his videos are long, don't always have the time to watch them all , but I do what I can 😋
You know what's funny is, I'm pretty sure that "crackling" sound you heard at that end is just his vocals lol. There are like 3 or 4 times there where he just lets out long, gurgly roars & it's just kinda purposefully mixed into the background.
I think, this song and it's meaning play out in a more "grand" way when in the context of the entire album, this song is the "grand" finale of the album and the story, but actually the very last track on the album is "Isolation Years" which I have always thought of like the "ending credits" of the album, you know like when you watch a movie and it ends, it cuts to black, music starts playing and credits starts rolling, that's the same feel Isolation Years gives me.
I hear 4/4, but you'll probably come back to that... Agree, it sounds over-compressed. Didn't realise it was so old, so I'll let them off as their sound improved and developed imo.
returning after a long time away to recommend the album I always suggested back when I used to watch every one of your videos. I'd love to see you do a full album reaction to The Quantum Hack Code by Amogh Symphony I would recommend only one track, but it's a concept album with a story interwoven between the songs. always hoped you'd get around to it
Haha, this is one of my favorite songs by them. I've probably recommended you it before, but a lot of Opeth is inspired by Camel, and their most popular song could may as well have been a Camel song. So that is something to check out. Prog rock.
maybe a bit off topic but how can you have a green writing on the shirt, blue headphones and a green/blue screen effect behind you? a couple years ago it would have been a nightmare!! Btw opeth is great, i love this song and this album. I personally feel only the actual "conjuration" part of the song is really grand, but the soft parts are the sickest, disturbed, tempting and most devilish
Right! Then again, those sick, disturbed, tempting and most devilish parts might also be percieved as the most conjuring AND making the grander parts come off even grander 😁
I have my background removal keyed to a very specific shade of green. I have a couple of Mario shirts where Luigi and Yoshi get removed from them but the green on this shirt is different enough from my green screen to not removed. Technology has certainly come a long way :) And you're right about the conjuration part, it's the largest part of the song and I should have taken that into consideration.
@@CriticalReactions that's awesome. Anyways, always a pleasure to hear your takes on things and have me discover new stuff, this time on a song i knew beforehand, doesn't happen that often... Thank you!
Interesting story with this song... He originally wrote a completely different version of this song for the album but Roadrunner Records wanted a 'single' but there wasn't one on the album. He went back and gutted this song, and rewrote it based on the main riff. That's why this song seems so bare bones and repeptitive compared to other Opeth songs. It was arranged in a way that could easily be edited down to a 4 minute single. The song sucks, Mikael is the first to admit it, and we'll never know what the original arrangement sounded like because he lost the demo and doesn't remember how it went.
To be honest, this is the only filler song in the Ghost Reveries album. It feels fun in some parts , but, afterall, it's just repetitive and doesn't really fit in the lyrical feeling of the rest of the album (which is a masterpiece)
I’d highly suggest Beneath the Mire off this album. It’s incredibly dynamic and has phenomenal mixing along with incredible atmosphere. And it feels less repetitive.
The end of Beneath the mire has some of my favorite Martin Lopez rhythms. Great song, great album and great band.
The middle part of that song is like the emotional finale to that latin rhythm called "bembe" that they use again and again.
Edit: I'm thinking of Baying of the Hounds lol my mistake
Ghost Reveries is such a spectacular album. Jens Bogren mixed it btw, as well as Colors II to which you reacted a few days ago !
The grand conjuration was the first song I ever heard from Opeth and it’s awesome that they have so many other equally amazing dynamic songs. Definitely one of my favorite groups.
Telling titles: Strapping Young Lad - Shitstorm
Hola Bryan! Atheist made an album called Elements in which, every song was named after an element or something from nature... Fire or Air would have been perfect for this week! Very great music! Sorry, this was a very in-depth reaction into one of my favorite bands! It is uncanny how you can just nail a song that intense with ease and fluidity.
You: What are we conjuring?
Literally the next line the eyes of Satan so I would assume Satan
My favorite band! I want you to cover as much Opeth as possible haha, so whenever it happens I'm just happy.
You should do say Blackwater Park full album reaction. Or maybe Ghost Reveries, because you did cover 2 songa off of Blackwater Park and if I'm not mistaken this is the first song you covered feom Ghost Reveries. It might be dense though, as each track can be analysed extensively, which is true for most of their albums.
The beginning part you thought might be 5/4 is 4/4 with dotted notes, no? never even thought to try to look at that as 5/4 lol
Yeah it's not 5
Definitely 4/4 with a syncopated feeling due to the dotted notes
I went back and the guitars are definitely in 4 but the drums are what informed my 5 guess. So I'm refining my read of that section of using a 4:5 polyrhythm.
I know a lot of people are gonna recommend ghost of perdition and other fantastic tracks off this album, but the song The Lotus Eater off of Watershed is an even more perfect mix of eery melody, varied songwriting, and distinctly menacing groove, and without spoiling anything it even has a jazz funk breakdown which is one of my favorite all time musical moments.
I'd say the "djent" bits are more of a progression from the groovier death metal chugging filtered through prog sensitivities. They play around with those sorts of grooves a few times in their career. Notable examples include Harlequin Forest and especially the end of Deliverance, which features a very long 5 minute jam with them just playing around an almost purely thythmic idea.
"Flowery sinister" might fit as a trademark for Opeth. Just have a look at their logo/artwork 😊
This is one of the best reactions I’ve listened to. (Thank you)
The crazy part is that this song is considered by many, to be one of the weakest from the album, yet it's still amazing. It just show how strong the album is.
Although this was one of my first songs by Opeth I agree it's one of the weakest
Hmm, I would’ve said Atonement.
It might be the weakest but it's definitely the most evil by them
It was the first song of theirs that I ever heard, and still my favorite out of all their albums.
Def one of my top favourite Opeth songs!
Opeth for ever and always with all their styles and all their flavours.
The nastiest moment from this track is the tambourine fill into the growled dotted-eighth section. But the repetitive ending is a rare case of a part in an Opeth song overstaying its welcome in my opinion. And the metric modulation / time signature change stuff straight up doesn't happen by the way, it's all 4/4 with some interesting accents and polyrhythms.
Mikeal does tend to hold on to his great riffs/loops a bit too long. Still one of my favourite bands as well!
I always enjoy 🔥🔥❤Opeth❤🔥🔥.
I love their music. ❤
It was nice to hear your thoughts, and opinion.
👋🙂 (This channel's my home base)
@@progperljungman8218
Cool. 🎼👍🏻🎶
I keep seeing you on various Opeth reactions, definitely a fan lol
@@Johnytomm You betcha!! 🤘🙂🤘
@@Johnytomm Takes a trüe fan to recognise another 😊
You know, there is no real scientific explanation for what makes something " Groove ". It's subjective and different for everyone.
This is one of my favorite Opeth songs. The production is technically great and the quieter sections have such a great atmosphere but I agree that the loud parts don't really hit hard. I think it might be because it's so polished that it becomes a bit too clinical and bland at times.
YESSS!!! Such a banger!!!
The Grand Conjuration (of the Groove)
This is from my favorite Opeth album, Ghost Reveries, which is the album where I think Opeth reached their peak in terms of mixing the progressive death metal and old-school prog aspects of their sound. Not long after Opeth would drop the death metal altogether and go full old-school prog. Back when this album came out this track wasn't one of my favorites; it seemed too overly simplistic for Opeth. Then I saw them live and this track was definitely one of the highlights. The atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Were it not for seeing it live I'm not sure I would've said this song fit with the week's theme, but, yeah, see/hear it live and it totally feels like the band is conjuring something incredibly evil! It's been a favorite ever since. I've also come to appreciate all the subtleties like the diverse percussion style, the tasty bass work, and those whispered vocals near the end. That groovy part near the end where the opening riff comes back is pretty badass too.
BTW, your title's wrong, even though you said it right in the video: It's The GRAND Conjuration, not GREAT.
I often forget that some of these metal songs hit different with a wall of speakers in your face and everything cranked up to 11.
And thanks for the typo notice. It's funny because this is my second fix of it. The first time I had typed "The Great Conjuring" 😅
When this came out, I felt like "The Grand Conjuration" took the ideas from their track "Deliverance" and just expanded it to the Nth degree. It is one of my favorite old school Opeth songs (the Martin Lopez era).
You should definitely listen to "A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh" by Celtic Frost for this weekly theme!
Always love some Opeth. I've only listened to Blackwater Park in its entirety and multiple times. Been meaning to check out their other works. I liked this song and other songs not from Blackwater Park that I have heard. Not sure what is being conjured
Man do yourself a favor, listen to all of their records from still life to watershed, those albums are pure awesomeness. Earlier records are less polished and more black metaly (without the vocals thank god), while the later records are progressive rock (you could argue metal but no growls)
I stopped playing this song for how many Sirens started to climb out of my toilet
I love this analysis because it represents how art can be interpreted depending on the eye of the beholder. This was the first Opeth song I listened and I think is very atmospheric but this songs conjures nostalgia in me… so I’m biased 🤣 good work 😊
The beginning is just a 4/4 with some unusual syncopation.
Oh boy I miss Lopez in Opeth. His drumming was so tasty. Had some latin vibes.
Oh helll yeah!!
also not sure about the ending, on the physical album there's not that minute of silence
👋
@@floridabelle never thought I would've seen you here ha
@@deminybs Lol. I've been here before actually. It is Opeth after all. 😁
I don't always comment on them, so there's that. 🤪
@@floridabelle haha I was being sarcastic.....but yeah some of his videos are long, don't always have the time to watch them all , but I do what I can 😋
You know what's funny is, I'm pretty sure that "crackling" sound you heard at that end is just his vocals lol. There are like 3 or 4 times there where he just lets out long, gurgly roars & it's just kinda purposefully mixed into the background.
I think, this song and it's meaning play out in a more "grand" way when in the context of the entire album, this song is the "grand" finale of the album and the story, but actually the very last track on the album is "Isolation Years" which I have always thought of like the "ending credits" of the album, you know like when you watch a movie and it ends, it cuts to black, music starts playing and credits starts rolling, that's the same feel Isolation Years gives me.
They summoned that 0/4 metered section at the end.
Aside from the moor, my favorite Opeth song right here!
Opeth is the ultimate storyteller
I think the dotted rhythm you're hearing might actually be a polyrhythm between the instruments. 3 against 4 maybe? Or just heavily syncopated.
I hear 4/4, but you'll probably come back to that... Agree, it sounds over-compressed. Didn't realise it was so old, so I'll let them off as their sound improved and developed imo.
yeah more OPETH!
OPETH ❤🤘
returning after a long time away to recommend the album I always suggested back when I used to watch every one of your videos. I'd love to see you do a full album reaction to The Quantum Hack Code by Amogh Symphony
I would recommend only one track, but it's a concept album with a story interwoven between the songs. always hoped you'd get around to it
Haha, this is one of my favorite songs by them. I've probably recommended you it before, but a lot of Opeth is inspired by Camel, and their most popular song could may as well have been a Camel song. So that is something to check out. Prog rock.
maybe a bit off topic but how can you have a green writing on the shirt, blue headphones and a green/blue screen effect behind you? a couple years ago it would have been a nightmare!!
Btw opeth is great, i love this song and this album. I personally feel only the actual "conjuration" part of the song is really grand, but the soft parts are the sickest, disturbed, tempting and most devilish
Right! Then again, those sick, disturbed, tempting and most devilish parts might also be percieved as the most conjuring AND making the grander parts come off even grander 😁
I have my background removal keyed to a very specific shade of green. I have a couple of Mario shirts where Luigi and Yoshi get removed from them but the green on this shirt is different enough from my green screen to not removed. Technology has certainly come a long way :)
And you're right about the conjuration part, it's the largest part of the song and I should have taken that into consideration.
@@CriticalReactions that's awesome. Anyways, always a pleasure to hear your takes on things and have me discover new stuff, this time on a song i knew beforehand, doesn't happen that often... Thank you!
I don't know if you've done watershed but I think it has the best production opeth had ever had. I'd like to see you analyse the lotus eater.
It’s 4/4
You should do Pallbearer - Devoid of Redemption in this theme
Good suggestion
Demon of the fall next please
this is my favorite opeth song, and i didn't really care for it the first time i heard it.
Watershed is peak Opeth
Interesting story with this song... He originally wrote a completely different version of this song for the album but Roadrunner Records wanted a 'single' but there wasn't one on the album. He went back and gutted this song, and rewrote it based on the main riff. That's why this song seems so bare bones and repeptitive compared to other Opeth songs. It was arranged in a way that could easily be edited down to a 4 minute single. The song sucks, Mikael is the first to admit it, and we'll never know what the original arrangement sounded like because he lost the demo and doesn't remember how it went.
booo the song isn't as interesting as others on the album, but it still rocks
The way the growls kinda cut off at the end of the vocal line (3:40) in this song has always been annoying/distracting to me.
To be honest, this is the only filler song in the Ghost Reveries album. It feels fun in some parts , but, afterall, it's just repetitive and doesn't really fit in the lyrical feeling of the rest of the album (which is a masterpiece)
Nightwish - Music
It's indeed music 😂