My Arms, Your Hearse
Encyclopedia
My Arms, Your Hearse is Opeth
's third studio album
, released in 1998. This album marks a large stylistic change from their previous release, Morningrise
, especially production-wise. All of the songs are shorter than ten minutes, whereas on their prior albums most songs exceed this length.
My Arms, Your Hearse was Opeth's first album to be simultaneously released in Europe
, on Candlelight Records
, and the United States
, on Century Black.
The title of the album is derived from the lyrics of "Drip, Drip" from First Utterance
by Comus
. The album is dedicated to Lee Barrett (of Candlelight Records).
, who answered a newspaper ad searching for a drummer. Shortly thereafter the band also brought in Martin Mendez
, a friend and previous band-mate of Lopez. However, Mendez did not have enough time to learn the bass parts for the album, so Mikael Åkerfeldt
played bass at the recording session.
. This was also Opeth's first concept album
.
Åkerfeldt came up with the lyrics for this album before the music was written. The lyrics were written to be a concept album
, and the music was written based on the lyrics.
The album concerns a character who dies and becomes a ghost. The narrative on the ghost's existence revolves around the woman he loved. Frustration and suspicion make the character restless as he watches his loved one after his death, his soul in constant turmoil as he does not believe that she genuinely grieved his passing. Though his ghost's actual presence remains undetected, she feels a great sadness, and remains unwilling to accept his death.
The progression of the album can also be seen as linked to the progression of the seasons, the final song ending with winter, and leading back into the first song with the beginnings of spring.
The last word of each song on the album is the name of the following, with the album's final track, "Epilogue", leading back to "Prologue" to complete the cycle. Since the album has three instrumental tracks, lyrics are included in the jacket to be read during those parts, fulfilling the naming convention. In some cases, the silent lyrics move the plot along, and in others only serve to comment in a passive fashion.
and United States
on CD by Candlelight Records
and Century Black respectively. It was released in Poland
by Mystic Production on cassette
. The album was reissued in 2000 on CD by Candlelight Records and on LP by Displeased Records
. The LP was limited to 1000 copies. These reissues contains two bonus tracks, "Circle of the Tyrants" and "Remember Tomorrow". They are covers of songs that were only previously available on two separate tribute albums, In Memory of Celtic Frost
and A Call to Irons: A Tribute to Iron Maiden, respectively. A special edition was released by Candlelight in 2003.
The album was widely praised by critics. Steve Huey of Allmusic said that it "flows logically from one composition to the next, and the mostly long songs have enough variation in texture and mood to hold the listener's interest fairly consistently." Jeb of Metal Faith magazine said that "each song sort of flows into the next giving the whole album a unified feel." Jeff of Mid West Metal magazine commented "having never been exposed to Opeth, I had them pegged as a typical black metal bands that sings about love and relationships and crap like that. I really didn't expect to get blown out of the water when "April Ethereal" kicked in, from this point I am converted! And while the album has some mellow parts and some folk-ish characteristics, it's still a very intense album from a band who seems to have not forgotten how the fuck they got their current plateau in life." Christian Renner of Metal Crypt wrote "the musicianship is brilliant as always and the songwriting is just what you would expect from this incredibly talented group. This is another great album that most bands out there would give their right arm to have written and that statement just speaks volumes of the songwriting talent of the Åkerfeldt
/Lindgren team." Pedro Azevedo of Chronicles of Chaos gave it ten of ten stars writing "though some parts of the drum sound are somewhat awkward at times (new drummer and bass player, by the way), the instrumental
performance is as great as one would expect, and Akerfeldt's vocals are again amazing. Top quality sections just flow throughout the album, making it truly -excellent-. My Arms, Your Hearse is a indeed a brilliant proof that Swedish metal isn't entirely stagnant." Tartarean Desires critic Cseke Róbert wrote that "this record is more powerful and more beautiful than most of today's music from this genre. The entire record is a mixture of hell-bound adrenalin and soul... My Arms, Your Hearse is such a powerful album that I consider it one of the best of the genre." Demonic Tutor (Olivier Espiau) of Metal Storm
stated the album is a "trip to heaven" and also:
Tim Henderson of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles
said "you are in for a treat, easily described as the black metal
version of Darkside of the Moon in all it's [sic] pride and glory. In fact, if Gilmour
joined Emperor
, or if Cradle
took sides with Yes
, can My Arms, Your Hearse be truly described". "My Arms, Your Hearse is a milestone in 90's extreme metal
", wrote Chris Bruni in his review for Unrestrained! magazine. He also wrote that is "easily their most stunning achievement" and "the songs are stronger, heavier, more cohesive, with a stronger sound courtesy of Studio Fredman
, and the textures and song movements are some of the best executed structures to be heard in metal
."
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
's third studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, released in 1998. This album marks a large stylistic change from their previous release, Morningrise
Morningrise
Morningrise is the second studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on June 24, 1996 in Europe by Candlelight Records and on June 24, 1997 in the United States by Century Black. The recording sessions took place at Unisound studio, in Örebro, between March and April...
, especially production-wise. All of the songs are shorter than ten minutes, whereas on their prior albums most songs exceed this length.
My Arms, Your Hearse was Opeth's first album to be simultaneously released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, on Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records is an independent record label based in Europe founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal and death metal, having bands such as Emperor,...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, on Century Black.
The title of the album is derived from the lyrics of "Drip, Drip" from First Utterance
First Utterance
First Utterance is the debut album of the British progressive rock band Comus. It was released in 1971, with the opening song "Diana" being released as a single....
by Comus
Comus (band)
Comus is a British progressive rock / folk band which had a brief career in the early 1970s; their first album, First Utterance, gave them a cult following which persists. They have revived in the late 2000s and played several festivals.-History:...
. The album is dedicated to Lee Barrett (of Candlelight Records).
Background
This was the first Opeth album with Martin LopezMartin Lopez
Martin Lopez is a drummer, known best for his nine years with the Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth.Lopez was born in Sweden to Uruguayan settler parents, later moving to Uruguay, then back to Sweden.-With Soen :...
, who answered a newspaper ad searching for a drummer. Shortly thereafter the band also brought in Martin Mendez
Martin Mendez
Martín Méndez is the bass guitar player of progressive death metal band Opeth and second most constant member of the band, behind lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt....
, a friend and previous band-mate of Lopez. However, Mendez did not have enough time to learn the bass parts for the album, so Mikael Åkerfeldt
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
played bass at the recording session.
Musical style and concept
The album features a heavier overall sound, cleaner production and fewer mellow acoustic parts. The album contains three instrumental tracks, "Prologue", "Madrigal", and "Epilogue", and one mellow track, "Credence", which is devoid of death metal vocalsDeath growl
A death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, and harsh vocals among other names, is a vocalisation style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal and black metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres.Death...
. This was also Opeth's first concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
.
Åkerfeldt came up with the lyrics for this album before the music was written. The lyrics were written to be a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, and the music was written based on the lyrics.
The album concerns a character who dies and becomes a ghost. The narrative on the ghost's existence revolves around the woman he loved. Frustration and suspicion make the character restless as he watches his loved one after his death, his soul in constant turmoil as he does not believe that she genuinely grieved his passing. Though his ghost's actual presence remains undetected, she feels a great sadness, and remains unwilling to accept his death.
The progression of the album can also be seen as linked to the progression of the seasons, the final song ending with winter, and leading back into the first song with the beginnings of spring.
The last word of each song on the album is the name of the following, with the album's final track, "Epilogue", leading back to "Prologue" to complete the cycle. Since the album has three instrumental tracks, lyrics are included in the jacket to be read during those parts, fulfilling the naming convention. In some cases, the silent lyrics move the plot along, and in others only serve to comment in a passive fashion.
Release and reception
My Arms, Your Hearse was released on August 18, 1998 simultaneously in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on CD by Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records is an independent record label based in Europe founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal and death metal, having bands such as Emperor,...
and Century Black respectively. It was released in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
by Mystic Production on cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
. The album was reissued in 2000 on CD by Candlelight Records and on LP by Displeased Records
Displeased Records
Displeased Records is a Dutch independent record label, founded by Lars Eikema and Ron Veltkamp. The label has many Dutch and other extreme metal bands on its roster, but has also rereleased many classic albums, including albums by Agathocles , Cryptopsy, Infernäl Mäjesty, Sadus, Toxik and Whiplash...
. The LP was limited to 1000 copies. These reissues contains two bonus tracks, "Circle of the Tyrants" and "Remember Tomorrow". They are covers of songs that were only previously available on two separate tribute albums, In Memory of Celtic Frost
In Memory of Celtic Frost
In Memory of Celtic Frost is a Celtic Frost tribute album released in 1996. Notable for its inclusion of "Babylon Fell" by Apollyon Sun, which features former Celtic Frost vocalist/guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer...
and A Call to Irons: A Tribute to Iron Maiden, respectively. A special edition was released by Candlelight in 2003.
The album was widely praised by critics. Steve Huey of Allmusic said that it "flows logically from one composition to the next, and the mostly long songs have enough variation in texture and mood to hold the listener's interest fairly consistently." Jeb of Metal Faith magazine said that "each song sort of flows into the next giving the whole album a unified feel." Jeff of Mid West Metal magazine commented "having never been exposed to Opeth, I had them pegged as a typical black metal bands that sings about love and relationships and crap like that. I really didn't expect to get blown out of the water when "April Ethereal" kicked in, from this point I am converted! And while the album has some mellow parts and some folk-ish characteristics, it's still a very intense album from a band who seems to have not forgotten how the fuck they got their current plateau in life." Christian Renner of Metal Crypt wrote "the musicianship is brilliant as always and the songwriting is just what you would expect from this incredibly talented group. This is another great album that most bands out there would give their right arm to have written and that statement just speaks volumes of the songwriting talent of the Åkerfeldt
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
/Lindgren team." Pedro Azevedo of Chronicles of Chaos gave it ten of ten stars writing "though some parts of the drum sound are somewhat awkward at times (new drummer and bass player, by the way), the instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
performance is as great as one would expect, and Akerfeldt's vocals are again amazing. Top quality sections just flow throughout the album, making it truly -excellent-. My Arms, Your Hearse is a indeed a brilliant proof that Swedish metal isn't entirely stagnant." Tartarean Desires critic Cseke Róbert wrote that "this record is more powerful and more beautiful than most of today's music from this genre. The entire record is a mixture of hell-bound adrenalin and soul... My Arms, Your Hearse is such a powerful album that I consider it one of the best of the genre." Demonic Tutor (Olivier Espiau) of Metal Storm
Metal Storm (webzine)
Metal Storm is a webzine specializing in various forms of heavy metal music. It is based in Tallinn, Estonia but caters to an international audience, symbolically recognized by the acquisition of an EU domain in 2008...
stated the album is a "trip to heaven" and also:
Tim Henderson of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles
-External links:* *...
said "you are in for a treat, easily described as the black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
version of Darkside of the Moon in all it's [sic] pride and glory. In fact, if Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
joined Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
, or if Cradle
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
took sides with Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, can My Arms, Your Hearse be truly described". "My Arms, Your Hearse is a milestone in 90's extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
", wrote Chris Bruni in his review for Unrestrained! magazine. He also wrote that is "easily their most stunning achievement" and "the songs are stronger, heavier, more cohesive, with a stronger sound courtesy of Studio Fredman
Studio Fredman
Studio Fredman is a recording studio in Göteborg, Sweden, owned and operated by producer Fredrik Nordström.It is popular among Swedish metal bands, with artists such as At the Gates, Deathstars, Nightrage, Dimmu Borgir, Arch Enemy, Soilwork, Dark Tranquillity, Amon Amarth, In Flames, Zonaria,...
, and the textures and song movements are some of the best executed structures to be heard in metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
."
Track listing
Opeth
- Mikael ÅkerfeldtMikael ÅkerfeldtLars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, rhythmRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, leadLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and acousticAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
guitars, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, grand piano - Peter LindgrenPeter Lindgren (musician)Peter Lindgren is a Swedish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former guitarist of Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth...
– lead, rhythmRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
and acoustic guitars - Martin LopezMartin LopezMartin Lopez is a drummer, known best for his nine years with the Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth.Lopez was born in Sweden to Uruguayan settler parents, later moving to Uruguay, then back to Sweden.-With Soen :...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Production
- OpethOpethOpeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
– productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Fredrik NordströmFredrik NordströmBjörn Tom Fredrik Nordström, born on 5 January 1967, is a Swedish record producer and guitar player for the heavy metal band Dream Evil. Nordström is one of the leading melodic death metal producers in Sweden, and he has worked with some of the genre's top acts, including At the Gates, Arch Enemy,...
– production, engineering, mixing, Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
in "Epilogue" - Anders FridénAnders FridénAnders Fridén is the vocalist/lyricist of the Swedish band In Flames-Early career:Fridén was originally the vocalist for Dark Tranquillity. He performed on their debut album, Skydancer, but left the band soon after. Two years later he joined In Flames...
– co-production, engineering - Göran Finnberg "and the somewhat distant Opeth ghosts" – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Tom Martinsen – graphic design
Release history
| Year | Region | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
CD | CANDLE25 | |
| 1998 | United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
CD | 7894-2 | |
| 1998 | Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
Mystic Production | 159 | |
| 2000 | United Kingdom | Candlelight | CD | Candle055 |
| 2000 | Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
D-00083 | ||
| 2000 | United States | Candlelight | CD | CANUS068CD |
| 2003 | United Kingdom | Candlelight | CD | CANDLE055TIN |
| 2003 | Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
CD | IROND CD 03-632 | |
| 2005 | United Kingdom | Candlelight | LP | CVCS 005 PD |
| 2006 | Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
Candlelight | CD | XQAN-1003 |
| 2008 | United Kingdom | Back On Black | LP | BOBV099LP |