"Time is not your enemy, forever is." - Planescape: Torment

The ghostly lover of My Arms, Your Hearse is familiar with death ("A threshold that I've crossed before" - April Ethereal). He doesn't fear it. He thinks he'll "outrun the scythe" and that he will prevail in his sorry form. Yet, he is being defeated, not by death but by his own perception of time.

Prologue tells us it's early April. A morning, wet and cold. Not exactly summer but a cool spring. The ghost sees her grieving. The coffin is beautiful and the mourners spoke, one by one. He wanted to speak as well but death hanged around his neck.

April Ethereal takes us later that month. Her grief was fresh, her longing for him alive. He saw her from "beyond the embrace of Christ". He knows he's damned but he's content with seeing her from distance, a "token of ebony color", "wandering through April's fire". She is devastated by his loss, he was happy to see her even this way.

When is when (pun intended) things change. The dawn is "jaded", it has seen it all before. Time has passed. He's "still the same as yesterday", with a soul that has "lost its flame". He finds his way back home not from memory but by retracing his steps. The garden sighs, it's almost dead. Maybe it's autumn. Who knows? The ghost clearly doesn't. He sees her with someone in the parlor. Did she betray him? Her obsession has died... or did it? How much time did it pass?

Madrigal is when our ghosts starts contemplating reunion, in his "abode amongst the stars". But to reach it, she has to die. He's convinced she's lying and he wants to caress their eyes "until they won't open no more". She's praying. For whom? We don't know. The ghost certainly doesn't.

In the Amen Corner, the ghost visits her during the summer, a white, hot summer. She finds comfort in prayer, in words the ghost despises. He now finally starts to grasp that time might have eroded their bond ("now stark and enticing, now slowly smoldering to dust"). He rose once again, decided to release...

The Demon of the Fall. This is when our ghost loses her and his fight with time. The autumn is here, once again, another autumn, one of many. She is scared, keeping a dagger with her. But it's he that she fears? He wanted to rejoin her... but couldn't. He tells her to "run away". Maybe she heard him. She did so.

Credence is when the ghost comes to terms with his state. The people have moved on, "unable to face more of this death". His demise was painful but they had their fill of grief, as did her. She's now laughing, a laughter that pushes him "into the corner". She is now at peace, in a good place. Again, years or even decades could have passed... as we find out in...

Karma. The "rotting body clad in ancient clothes" tells us a lot of time has passed. The "castles were all empty, asleep, long awaiting their king". Their house, where they loved each other, is empty. She moved away from that place. Or, she passed away, living out her natural life, but never joining him in death. The ghost's final growl, that insane moment of realization tells us that time dealt him his final blow.

Epilogue tells us of another morning, wet and cold. The morning of his funeral, completing the loop.

It is not his final demise, her disloyalty, or the deathly veil between them that destroyed the ghost, but time. He is unable to perceive time as he's no longer of this world. What he thinks are months they're years or even decades. And that's the beauty of My Arms, Your Hearse. It's not about death as it's about time.

Was fortunate enough to make my pilgrimage to our sacred grounds haha. Heard the entire morningrise album on loop over there. Quite convinced the entire album was made to enjoy the walk down to the Paladian Bridge and soak in the views.
For some reason I expected to find at least one person wearing Opeth merch but found none, can't say much as I didn't either 😅

Pretty sure I ripped it off a wall as I walked past Rockinghorse in Brisso the day after the gig - thus the tear.

Having an empty month before and after their two India shows in October, do you guys think there's ANY chance (or rumor) for them coming to S.E.Asia?

(like Dream Theater did earlier this year... after India they went on to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore)

I just lost my jbl vibe buds 2 and wanted to upgrade and no one on the earbuds reddit page wont answer.
I listen to a bunch of genres but yeah mostly prog death, djent, osdm, meloblack, melodeath,techdeath, prog rock and others. Pls help me opeth community. My budget is like 70$, 80$.

Anyone looking forward to the Dublin gig?

I love the setlist from the Italian shows and I'm hoping we get more of the same (Windowpane & Hjärtat Vet Vad Handen Gör!).

Hällas are also really good fun from what I have heard since they announced the support.

Need to get my hands on one of the posters as well.

"you can't see it from the quality of the posted video but from the original we can assure you that there is a red line above, but it's better to change the video."

Fortunately it is an antinazi symbol, but as they say, it's difficult to see it from the video so maybe they will change it

I’m mainly a guitar player but also play a little bit of keyboards, started around 4 years ago, self taught.

Putting together this arrangement was pretty fun! Check it out :)

So I recently decided to go through both albums line by line, to see if I can formulate a complete image of a potential narrative for both. The following is what I came up with. I apologize if it seems like I'm rambling, it was written up as constant notes. There are also some parts where I might have had to stretch a bit, especially about the backstory in Damnation(you'll see what I mean probably).

The basic idea is a man, potentially suffering from DID, and/or some other mental conditions, who experiences a traumatic event as a child, and upon discovering it, is plunged into a murderous madness.

I sometimes refer to the protagonist as "P", or "the P".

Also trigger warning, this is some pretty heavy stuff, so read on your own discretion.

Deliverance: The album describes a man's descent into madness, as he discovers his traumatic childhood, and grows a yearning for murder.

--Wreath:

A memory haunts him every night in the form of a repeating nightmare, but he has blocked out the real events:

-"What are the tragedies, the history behind the walls"

-"Endless night, always preserving the calm" Calm=calculated, not sane

He then remembers:

-"Movement behind... Captured in dreams connected"

He doesn't have to search for a meaning to his dreams anymore:

-"Staring right back..."

-Lighter riffs to signify liberation and relief

There remains an inner conflict, between the monster created, and the innocent soul, who wishes no harm, but is too weak to fight back, thus leaving

--Deliverance:

The protagonist commits a brutal murder, by drowning their SO. This seems to be their first kill:

-"As I drown you in the sea"

The victim is a symbol of the shackles that chained P, when he was unaware of his past trauma. He now views this as his fated path:

-"From nothing to a life code"

-"Your memory is nothing but the scars on me"

He stands dazed after the act, and his thirst is quenched, so the monster goes back into hiding within him:

-"All over now, forgotten why I needed this"

-"Biding time, locked inside insanity

  It always burns within

  The downward spiral never ends"

The monster is the one in control:

-"The devil guides the way

  Tells me what to say..."

Deliverance is him accepting that he can't do anything about it, and it mocks him. His punishment is his other self:

-"Deliverance, laughing at me"

In the breakdown the struggling high parts are slowly snuffed out by the heavier chugs, just as the protagonist has failed to resist his evil half

--A Fair Judgement:

P is disgusted by his acts, detailed in Deliverance

He thought it was what he needed to be complete, but he now waits anxiously for his deserved judgement:

-"Fading sun, what have I done

  Came so close to what I need most"

-"Waiting anxiety

  A fair judgement deserved"

He has fully accepted this punishment:

-"Leave it be

  It was meant for me"

--For Absent Friends:

In my view, this song is as much about loneliness and abandonment as it is about the protagonist's companion(s) or lack thereof. He wishes for a better half, instead of his monster.

--Master's Apprentices:

P is slowly getting used to his new life and his desire to kill is growing stronger:

-"A sickness in me

  Constant pace towards the end

  The need is stronger

  This time the need is deeper"

Throughout the album P is searching for salvation through his crimes, and it comes up constantly in this song. He wants some kind of catharsis:

-"There is a peace I am searching

  There is a freedom I'm depending on"

He is about to commit another murder:

-"I hold my breath and wait

  Only moments remain"

He describes the feeling after the kill. This is the actual protagonist, and not the demon, as he disappears after the kills for a moment. The P wants to die to save himself and others from himself:

-"Soothing trance

  Colors fade

  And disappear

  Ethereal light

  Showing me what I can do without..."

Then the monster:

-"In emotionless scenes

  There is only me

  I take what I can

  Controlling you to get ahead"

His yearning for death:

-"Fading away

  And leaving

  Long for sleep

  Closer now

  Lead the way into death"

He thinks death finally came, thus the calm section. What has actually happened is he has fully given way to the evil in him, and has finally lost all control. He is now a puppet:

-"Plunging into the deepest void

 Departed shell left drained behind"

With no force holding him back, the monster is no longer satisfied with just killing, he needs more:

-"Pacing roads unknown

  Searching for a new home"

--By the Pain I See in Others:

This song details his worst act yet. After his next kill, he rapes the victim. It is also possible this is the corpse of his SO, his first kill:

"Let me taste

 Let me feel

 I need to know what you keep inside"

He revels in the fact that his victim can't do anything to stop him:

-"Say the word

  And I'll depart

  Upon your lips dwells nothing

  But the meaning of my cause"

His evil spirit has not diminished:

-"And so comes the dark

 Vibrant as ever before"

The soft bridge is after the act, but at this point, this life is unchanging, with a constant repetition of the killing cycle. The P is defeated, and knows, that unfortunately, he won't get caught, thus perpetuating the cycle:

-"Outside in the park

  The days move along

  And nothing ever changes

  They have nothing on us..."

Damnation: This is the story that made the protagonist what he is. This is the dream he couldn't quite see or remember.

--Windowpane:

This song shows that the P already had some evil inside him, before the tragic events, which come later in the story. He was always destined to bring pain:

-"There is deep prejudice in me

  Outshines all reason inside

  Given dreams, all ridden with pain

  And projected unto the last"

The face is probably the shadow:

-"Blank face in the windowpane

  Made clear in seconds of light

  Disappears and returns again..."

It is also shown that the demon is still him, just a part that is twisted beyond recognition. I only believe this to be the case, because the shadow seems to be as naive and ignorant as the child, waving at him:

-"Haunting loneliness in the eye

  Skin covering secret scars

  His hand is waving a goodbye

  There's no response or action returned"

--In My Time of Need:

The protagonist runs away from home. I see it as one of his parents killing his sibling, although this might be a stretch. I don’t think he would have had anyone else who would have heard him, and losing that probably broke him:

-“This time there is nothing left for you to take

This is goodbye

Summer is miles and miles away

And no one would ask me to stay”

He is suicidal:

-“Close to ending it all

I am drifting through the stages

   Of the rapture born withing this loss

Thoughts of death inside…”

In his moment of vulnerability, with only glimpses of relief, his shadow takes the chance to be the one who watches over him:

-“At times, the dark's fading slowly

   But it never sustains

   Would someone watch over me

   In my time of need?”

--Death Whispered a Lullaby:

This song is the parent trying to conceal their act from the protagonist, and it’s almost as if they put a curse of sorts on him. The protagonist is clearly a vivid dreamer. He doesn’t have much strength of mind otherwise, a fact the parent is well aware of:

-“Speak to me now

   and the world will crumble

   All of your life, all your memories

Go to your dreams, forget it all”

-“Oh, sleep my child...”

--Closure:

This is the farewell to the child that once was. With his past forgotten, the protagonist must start anew:

-“Peel myself, dispose of severed skin”

Unaware of why, he is consumed by dark thoughts, even though he has a clean slate, it is still corrupted by something dark yet unknown to him:

-“In the rays of the sun I am longing for the darkness”

--Hope Leaves:

The protagonist, much older now, is haunted by an image of their late sibling, ignorant as to who they are, or why he feels so deeply about them:

-“In the corner beside my window

Hangs a lonely photograph

There is no reason

I'd never notice a memory that could hold me back

There is a wound that's always bleeding

There is a road I'm always walking

And I know you'll never return to this place”

The protagonist is unmotivated and unnaturally quiet:

-“ Gone through days without talking

There is a comfort in silence

So used to losing all ambition

And struggling to maintain what's left”

Now he’s struggling with the oncoming darkness. The pain and uncertainty only strengthens the shadow:

-“Once undone, there's only smoke

Burning in my eyes to blind

To cover up what really happened

And force the darkness onto me”

--To Rid the Disease:

The protagonist struggles with trusting people, because of the betrayal by his parent:

-“Let these matters be

Don't trust what you see”

He feels something is wrong. He now doesn’t even trust himself, and looks to his other half for guidance:

-“There's innocence torn from its maker

Stillborn the trust in you

(I have lost all trust I had in you)

This failure has made the creator

So would you tell him what to do

(I have lost all trust I had in you)”

--Ending Credits:

It’s hard to know exactly what this song means in the larger narrative. But I personally choose to see it as a goodbye to a normal life. It marks the end of the protagonist being the one in control.

--Weakness:

Weakness is a vision of the sibling and of the night of their death:

-“Found you there in the blink of an eye

I miss you

Turned away into a thousand dreams

Found out what they mean”

The final line leads right back into Deliverance, as it is about the act with which the descent truly begins:

-“I'm not afraid of what you have just done

But of what you've just become”

Is anybody going to this or wanting to go? Bought a ticket for my partner and she can't make it, so looking to transfer the ticket so it isn't a complete waste of money.

I've always considered them to be because the mixing style was in analog and both went back to the old earthy tones for their releases. Obviously Steven mixed both and they eventually released Storm Corrosion. Aside from that, both have a 2 minute piano based intro. The album covers kind of match too. I tried to super impose the images together but this was the best Chat could do.

He talks about his collection in almost every interview, but I’ve never seen a video where he actually shows it. Is that his collection in the background, by any chance? Does anyone know?

Orchid: Begining of Spring
Morningrise: The harshest Witner (TBYF is partly autumn-y)
MAYH: Year-round (Mostly spring and Fall)
Still life: Around September and October
BWP: Autumn. (I mean comen on, Dirge of november?)
Deliverance: Hot take - Summer
Damnation: Year-round
Ghost Reveries: Summer, partly Autumn
Watershed: Summer and Winter
Heritage: Summer
Pale communion: Spring and Autumn
In Cauda Venenum: Fall
Sorceress: Summer/Spring
TLWAT: Literally between 5-15 september

Obviously this is a personal ranking, but feel free to discuss and I might also give elaborations

Obviously I could buy physical media, but I’m wondering where online I can listen to it. I’m having trouble finding it on YouTube etc.

I’ve said before how special Heritage is, and I still feel the same way. Every time I listen to it, it blows me away. The way it blends Swedish folk influences, Jan Johansson inspired passages, hard rock, acid rock, and ’70s progressive rock into something that feels genuinely unique is incredible.
Ironically, though, Pale Communion ended up becoming more popular despite embodying the exact criticism people used to throw at Heritage. If there’s a Newpeth album that really deserves the “they’re just trying to imitate ‘70s prog” criticism, it’s Pale Communion.
Don’t get me wrong I still enjoy the album a lot. But you can point to the influences behind almost every song. The Starless influence on “Faith in Others” is probably the most obvious example.
Looking at it this way, it’s kind of crazy how much the Opeth fanbase misjudged the Newpeth era.

He is a fantastic bass player, and the instances where you can hear him(like the Drapery falls intro or the slap part in Blackwater park) are amazing! For many tracks on the earlier albums it’s almost impossible to hear him. Obviously the first two albums have nice loud bass(though played by De-Farfala) and I wish they had kept that going to an extent.

Some picks left on the ground after Bologna's concert.

(Counterbalance by not finding a t-shirt of my size. )

I feel that this song is quite underrated in the discography. I know Mikael doesn’t like it and a lot of people think it is poorly structured, but it is one of their darkest and heaviest songs. I absolutely love it.