Streamline : Design or provide with a form that presents very little resistance to a flow of air or water, increasing speed and ease of movement.

I highly oppose the purchase of picture discs but at the time this was the only option available.

After two experimental albums, Opeth returned with one less member to create their heaviest hitting album yet. Morningrise tightened the somewhat loose and fragmented orchestrations present on Orchid so it’s no surprise that Akerfeldt and company managed to create something even more streamlined on this third outing. As a result, things are a bit of a mixed bag.

On one hand, My Arms Your Hearse is easily the most accessible Opeth album for heavy music fans to sink their teeth into. For those primarily interested in “metal” this might be the Opeth gateway for you. Almost completely removed are the acoustic sections and  experimental instrumental sections. Sure, everything is tighter but at the cost of a lot of the interesting intricacies that attracted me to their first two records. It is artistically sound and well conceived but very straight forward. Some might consider this a sign of focused growth, I find it a bore.

It’s bad when you’re afraid to handle your vinyl. Music should be built to play, not looked at. Delicate little creature this one.

For those who have read more than a few of my posts, it should be common knowledge that I don’t often like to compare bands or relegate music to genres. With My Arms Your Hearse it feels like Opeth is trying to appeal to a broader fan base by creating an homage to Akerfeldt’s favorite metal bands. I say, if I wanted to listen to Morbid Angel, I’d listen to Morbid Angel.

The absence of the bass sound present on Orchid and Morningrise is missed greatly here. Yes, this is subjective but Akerfeldt’s bass playing on this thing doesn’t resonate with me and the songs severely lack depth as a result. As a “heavy metal” album the guitar tone isn’t particularly captivating either. The harmonies present in the past are replaced by fuzzy walls of distorted sound. Riffs are often difficult to parse as each stringed instrument blends together and rarely has a voice of their own. Even the quieter moments are limited to simple chord structures regularly played in a minor pentatonic scale. This isn’t too dissimilar to what was being performed on their previous records but the stripped down nature of the music makes their limited technical abilities show like a tampered with pimple. Opeth are most compelling when they switch things up frequently. Akerfeldt’s strengths as a composer are in his ear for assembling progressive pieces from scraps of riffs.

My Arms Your Hearse is a concept album in the most literal of ways. Not only is there an overarching theme throughout but the songs blend into one another without much of a break in the flow. The last word of each song is the title of the next which adds a fun, albeit gimmicky element to the overall piece. So far, it is a very well sequenced album but the lack of variety tends to make all of the songs blend together. Again, some might see this as a positive. Things trot along well enough but, again, I could listen to dozens of other better straightforward heavy albums to satisfy that itch. The few melodic and clean moments throughout feel out of place and ruin the momentum too much. Some of the clean lyrics are also extremely jarringl, particularly when juxtaposed with the heavier sections. The lyrics at the end of When are particularly cringe-worthy.

With all of that negativity out of the way it is still hard not to recommend this album. As an introduction to Opeth it might be a good entry point for heavy music fans. The first few songs flow very well before things start to feel monotonous. Demon Of The Fall is the definitive high point here. As a result the remaining tracks fall extremely flat. Credence is an unmotivated, lazy excuse to change things up a bit but ultimately falls flat with it’s amateurish vocals and boring guitar work. Karma relies too heavily on the structures introduced in the opening tracks of the album and overstays its welcome. The closer, aptly titled Epilogue is so poorly conceived that it almost sounds like it was written by an entirely different band. This is also where the album should have concluded. As a conceptual piece it would have been nice if everything concluded in a nice little package but there are “bonus” tracks added. They ruin the integrity of the piece as a whole and are out of place.

An album should be appreciated on its own merits. However, I struggle to separate this piece without comparing it to the previous two outings and as a result it disappoints. There are good moments peppered throughout but nothing that holds a candle to anything off of Orchid or Morningrise. Still, it’s a good sign to see a band who isn’t content on resting on their laurels. I’ll always support the will to challenge and change a formula. I don’t always have to enjoy the result but it can at least be respected.

Track List:

Prologue
April Ethereal
When
Madrigal
The Amen Corner
Demon Of The Fall
Credence
Karma
Epilogue
***
(Songs that don’t belong on a concept album)
Circle Of The Tyrants
Remember Tomorrow