Saturday: Opeth - Moon Above, Sun Below

     Hey there stranger, talk about being late on the Saturday draw too... As all three of you may have noticed, I took a bit of an impromptu and unannounced vacation from Loud Noises over the weekend. It was the girlfriend's birthday yesterday, with a whole plethora of festivities populating the preceding days, so I decided that rather than rush things here (or worse, abandon her for extended periods of metal consumption) I'd just get back to you guys once things settled down.

     We're both back to the grind today, and everything's pretty much back to normal around here, so that means it's everybody's favourite time: catch-up time. I've got a whole weekend to make up for, so let's get straight to a Saturday song to get things started.

     Opeth's latest album Pale Communion is one of their most divisive yet. If you're into the jazzy 60's/70's folk-prog that the band's been moving towards for the last couple of records, you're in luck, because Pale Communion is the furthest down this particular path that Opeth has gotten yet. If on the other hand you're more of a fan of the heavier metal elements that the band has largely been moving away from for the last couple of records, you're out of luck, because Pale Communion is yet essentially another dose of retro-flavoured prog-rock.

     Your Saturday song, "Moon Above, Sun Below", is one of the heavier songs on the album, and one of the songs that harkens back the most to albums like Watershed and Heritage. Don't get me wrong, there's still no death growls or anything, but it's still got a sinister metal-y vibe all the same. And any song with a running time of more than ten minutes is pretty metal, right? Have a listen to "Moon Above, Sun Below" and make the call for yourself.

Album of the Week(end): Opeth - Watershed

     Super late on the draw with your album this week, but I'll use as an excuse the fact that I've got a little something in the works... a little something you'll have to wait a while longer for, but a little something I think you might enjoy. Anyways, rather than just skip the week, I've decided that this week you just have to spend the weekend doing your homework -- but you have to rock it extra hard. Hopefully that won't be a problem, given the subject matter.

     What subject matter, you ask? Well, this weekend you're going to be getting closer to Opeth's 2008 monster Watershed. As any Opeth fan will tell you, I could recommend any number of albums from the band's catalogue, and for more than just a weekend, or even a week, but Watershed marks a...'watershed'... moment in my own personal musical journey. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. I really couldn't)

     Back when this album came out, I was decently into Opeth, particularly their more recent stuff (the Damnation and Deliverance records, as well as Ghost Reveries),  and I was also really starting to listen outside the mainstream metal box (or at least, I suppose, what I considered to be the mainstream metal box back then -- lots of metalcore, mainly). So when this Swedish band that I already considered to be pretty damn good put out the perfect mix of rock, metal, jazz, blues, and folk, all on a single record, I was pretty much instantly hooked.

     Assuming (stupidly, perhaps) that you're not already familiar with this one, I'm hoping you'll get pretty instantly hooked too, since you've only got the weekend to sit with it. But really, any time you give to this classic over the next couple of days will be well spent. Don't let the fact that Opeth is a metal band turn you off if you're not a metal fan. Don't let the fact that this is the album on which Opeth really went non-metal turn you off if you are a metal fan. Any way you slice it, just revisit this classic as a favour to me, OK?

Song of the Day: Opeth - Porcelain Heart

     All too soon, it's happening again: my girlfriend is making another trek to Ikea to get more furnishings for her new apartment. But take heart, my fellow males: it looks like I don't have to go.

Song of the Day: Opeth - The Devil's Orchard

     In coming up with a song this evening, I've been going through my records (yes, I keep records) to see if there might be somebody I felt was underrepresented and deserving of a day in the sun. Lo and behold, I've found something just right.

Song of the Day: Opeth - The Lotus Eater

     It's been almost a month of songs of the day now, and I have yet to do an Opeth song. Shame! Odds are you don't need me to tell you how awesome Opeth is, so I won't waste a lot of time and energy trying to convince you of said awesomeness, but if you don't know Opeth... seriously, what's wrong with you? Have you been living under a rock for the last 20 years or something? Stop reading this right now and click play already, OK?

     Your song for today is "The Lotus Eater" from Opeth's phenomenal 2008 album Watershed. This was such a great album that I could really recommend the whole thing, one song a day, for a week, but I'll settle for having you listen to this thoroughly badass track from it. If the demented metal circus break at about 5:45 doesn't get you going, you're a stronger man than I.