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Opeth‘s 1999 album Nonetheless Life – launched on October 18, 1999 – was an enormous deal. It was their first and solely document on Peaceville Information after they left Candlelight and Century Black, and their first album to function longtime bassist Martin Mendez. I would argue it was additionally the primary Opeth album to essentially nail that unsettling, “evil lurking within the distance” sound that everyone knows and love.
Personally, Nonetheless Life and Blackwater Park have been the 2 albums that acquired me into Opeth as a youngster.After brushing with the prog style by way of Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree, I used to be finally led down the darker path of Opeth – one which I by no means went again on. Nonetheless Life captivated me from the second “The Moor” got here slowly creeping into my headphones, and thank Devil for the repeat button on my shitty CD-playing boombox, as a result of by the point ‘White Cluster” closed out I used to be prepared for it to begin yet again.
Regardless of the document getting nice opinions upon its launch and being seen favorably by followers through the years, Nonetheless Life wasn’t a lot of a needle-mover for Opeth‘s profession. In a 2019 interview with Invisible Oranges, Opeth mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt famous that Nonetheless Life and the Peaceville of us actually solely introduced the band one main alternative – their first U.S. present on the unique Milwaukee Metallic Fest.
“Positively, that is what occurred [that Still Life was a failure, but an opportunity]. However you solely stay surrounding a document, so as soon as a more moderen document is out, you ask, ‘What is occurring now? Oh, okay, nothing is occurring.’ And it was a very good two years between these two information, and two years with nothing is a very long time. It was solely till we acquired picked up by Music for Nations to do Blackwater Park and the document that adopted that we truly began to have a profession of kinds and began touring and issues like that. However with Nonetheless Life there was nothing…
“Other than one actually good factor I keep in mind from the Nonetheless Life cycle… we performed our first US present. We performed the Milwaukee Metallic Fest in 1998? 1999? [ed. note – it was 2000] Every time it was. We had a packed room. Somebody mentioned there have been 2,000 individuals in there and we have been like, ‘What? Two thousand individuals? It is like Iron Maiden!’ [laughs] We noticed that, yeah, there are followers who’re listening to this document! We simply by no means advised — there was no approach for us to get that sort of response aside from a couple of measly feedback on no matter tiny little web site web page we had on the time. However not a lot occurred with Nonetheless Life — after all, that was the catalyst to what was going to occur with Blackwater Park and Music for Nations.”
However what the hell was Nonetheless Life about? That Travis Smith cowl artwork is clearly hinting at one thing, proper? In accordance with Åkerfeldt in a 2008 interview with Metal Update, Nonetheless Life revolves round a small-town heretic returning to his very spiritual dwelling city and all of the unhealthy issues that transpire shortly thereafter.
“For My Arms, Your Hearse it was like a ghost story. The essential theme was that this individual dies. He is sort of reborn as a ghost, and he stays in the identical setting. He sees his family members, like members of the family and associates, occurring with their lives. It is virtually like a movie – what’s it known as? The Sixth Sense – he does not perceive that he’s lifeless – however I wrote it truly earlier than the Sixth Sense got here out. It is virtually like a movie.
“Nonetheless Life was not Satanic however an anti-Christian theme. It sounds fairly naive after I clarify it like this. It sort of takes place a very long time in the past when Christianity had an even bigger significance than it has immediately. The primary character is sort of banished from his hometown as a result of he hasn’t acquired the identical religion as the remainder of the inhabitants there. The album just about begins off when he’s returning after a number of years to hook up together with his previous ‘babe.’
“Clearly plenty of unhealthy issues begin occurring with, as I name it on the album, ‘the council.’ The massive bosses of the city know that he is again. A variety of unhealthy issues begin occurring. They see him as a hypocrite in a approach. It is virtually like a satan’s advocate or no matter it is known as.”
Nonetheless Life was launched on October 18, 1999, however would not make its approach over to the U.S. for launch till February 27, 2001 due to distribution points. Nonetheless Life has additionally largely dropped off Opeth‘s stay setlists, with “The Moor” nonetheless getting some play in 2022 and 2023; and ‘Face Of Melinda” coming again for the primary time in seven years earlier this 12 months.
Anyway, go take heed to Nonetheless Life. It is precisely as nice because it was 25 years after its launch.
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