Morning Rise- Opeth

nyarlothothep

Not a bad album, some good sections and the medieval vibe is more pervasive here than on their later works which I like. However the production is diabolical, 1. The drums have that horrible we recorded in a random studio on a budget sound, the snare sounds piffly, the cymbals are thin, the drums have no presence. Weirdly I'm listening to Orchid right now and the drums sound better. Piffly drums are also on Metallica's Kill em All, and songs can really be made or broken by the strength of the drums, Kill Em All the title track, is ruined by the ****tiness of the production which is similar to Morningrise's. Also the acoustic guitars on Morningrise sound horrible, way to bassy on the bass and too tinny and bright/crisp on the upper strings. I feel what could have been a highly evocative album of medieval times is ruined by workmanlike budget studio production. The bass has no presence. The only things that sound right are the guitars and vocals.

Deschain

Would have to agree, the production plays a huge part in the enjoyment of an album for me. When it comes to Opeth I generally don't listen to anything pre Still Life, not that I don't enjoy songs off albums that came out before, its just that from Still Life on the production is really nice. Of course arguable Blackwater Park onwards may be of a higher production standard but Still Life still sounds great to these ears. I actually prefer songs pre Still Life more on The Roundhouse Tapes, they just sound fuller than on the studio efforts.

Links234

oh hell no! this was one of the best things Opeth ever did

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxSyzHJC-7g

the production is great, it's not perfect and polished but it sounds so good.

Passenger

The drums are certainly a weak link on Still Life and the production isn't as accomplished as the albums to come but it's still very much a fan favourite. The songwriting is quite complex and there is a deft counterbalance between the heavy riff based passages and the more mellow acoustic arrangements that makes this album streets ahead of most other releases from Metal bands to be fair.

Chikablam

Links234 wrote: »

oh hell no! this was one of the best things Opeth ever did

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxSyzHJC-7g

the production is great, it's not perfect and polished but it sounds so good.

This guy.
This song.

Easily my favourite album.
And its not at all too bassy, I'd say it fits in very well

nyarlothothep

Passenger wrote: »

The drums are certainly a weak link on Still Life and the production isn't as accomplished as the albums to come but it's still very much a fan favourite. The songwriting is quite complex and there is a deft counterbalance between the heavy riff based passages and the more mellow acoustic arrangements that makes this album streets ahead of most other releases from Metal bands to be fair.

Really? I thought they sounded pretty good on Still Life...

From 5.20 ish onwards in To Bid You Farewell, was Mikael intentionally writing porn music? Because the rhythm on the bass in addition to the 70s wah guitar suggests that.

I guess my chief complaint would be whatever they used as an acoustic guitar, it just sounds rank, it may be distinctive but it's too crisp. In Nectar the bassist is playing a really cool riff at the end, 9.20 onwards but you cant hear it, it's deprived of presence/power due to sh1tty mixing or a bad sound/input

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-tvJcTPxHc

Wrongway1985

Ya on issue of the Sound of "still life" the edition with bonus DVD (with live face of melinda) I think is better sounding than the ordinary edition. I cant confirm coz i dont have it but the 10 year anniversary edition of "blackwater park" the opposite is meant to occur with people complaining that the sound belittled that of the original.

Somnus

This is the one Opeth album I don't have/never listened to! I should really sort that out :P

Also agree about Still Life, the production obviously isn't Blackwater Park quality, but I still think it sounds great. And the songs on it are just unreal. I've never listened to the remastered version. I wonder does it have the same character.

I remember listening to some of the remastered Dream Theater songs, for example Pull Me Under, and it just sounded wrong to my ears. Vocals too in front, bass more in your face etc. It lost the cohesiveness of the original mix,which is something I like on certain older albums.

This is becoming a thread on album production :P

PickledLime

I'd be inclined to say 'Morningrise' sounds ****ty on an iPod with yer stock earbuds. Stick the CD or vinyl on a decent hifi setup and it's pretty damn tasty; decent dynamics, everything sits in the mix where it should and there's plenty of 'oomph'. And the bass guitar is more clearly audible than a lot of their other recordings.

And it was produced by Dan Swano! Everything I've heard that he's produced is top notch. And as an aside, he's released probably the most 'solo' solo album I've ever come across - just look at the credits for his 'Moontower' record :eek: (highly recommend this album if you enjoy Opeth!).

Here Come The Pretzels

Morningrise is my favourite Opeth album by a long way. To my ears the production is brilliant. It sounds quite crisp and sparse which creates a great atmosphere.
I think it suits Opeth more than the fuller, wall of sound type production of Blackwater park. The bass actually has its own voice too. Mikes scream has a higher pitched quality which adds to the overall effect. I like all of Opeths albums but Morningrise and Orchid
remain my favourites. Great feeling off both albums. I dont know sh!t about music production but I knows what I likes and those albums have it in spades.
The sinister sounding riff about two minutes into "The Night and the Silent Water" is as good as it gets...

Links234

PickledLime wrote: »

And it was produced by Dan Swano! Everything I've heard that he's produced is top notch. And as an aside, he's released probably the most 'solo' solo album I've ever come across - just look at the credits for his 'Moontower' record :eek: (highly recommend this album if you enjoy Opeth!).

Moontower is INCREDIBLE it's something else entirely, I love it