My Arms, Your Hearse
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| My Arms, Your Hearse | ||
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| Studio album by Opeth | ||
| Released | August 18, 1998 | |
| Recorded | August-September 1997 | |
| Genre | Melodic death metal Progressive metal |
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| Length | 52:38 | |
| Label | Candlelight Records (Europe and reissue) Century Black(U.S.) |
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| Producer(s) | Fredrik Nordström, Anders Friden, Opeth | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Opeth chronology | ||
| Morningrise (1996) |
My Arms, Your Hearse (1998) |
Still Life (1999) |
My Arms, Your Hearse (sometimes known as MAYH) is Opeth's third album, released in 1998. This album marks a large stylistic change fom their previous release, Morningrise. All of the songs are shorter than ten minutes, in stark contrast to their prior albums on which most songs exceed this. The album features a heavier overall sound, and fewer mellow acoustic parts, although, the album contains four mellow or instrumental tracks devoid of death metal vocals: "Prologue," "Madrigal," "Credence," and "Epilogue." This was also Opeth's first concept album.
This was Opeth's first album not to feature Johan DeFarfalla, the bassist on Opeth's previous releases. He had been fired prior to the beginning of the recording process. Opeth brought in Martin Mendez, a friend and previous bandmate of drummer Martin Lopez, to replace him. However, he did not have enough time to learn the bass parts for the album, so Mikael Åkerfeldt played bass on the album.
Perhaps to enhance the flow of the album, the last word(s) 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.
My Arms, Your Hearse was Opeth's first album to be simultaneously released in Europe, on the Candlelight Records label, and the United States, on the Century Media label.
The 2000 reissue of My Arms, Your Hearse includes two bonus tracks. Both of these songs are covers that were previously only found on tribute albums.
The title of the album is derived from the lyrics of Drip, Drip by progressive folk band Comus.
Contents |
[edit] Concept
The concept is about a character who dies and becomes a ghost. The story of the ghost's existence revolves around the woman whom he loved. Frustration and suspicion make the character restless as he watches his loved one after his death. His soul is in constant turmoil because he does not believe that she was truly greived at his death. She is unaware of his presence, yet she feels great sadness, and she is 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.
[edit] Track listing
- "Prologue" – 0:59
- "April Ethereal" – 8:41
- "When" – 9:14
- "Madrigal" – 1:25
- "The Amen Corner" – 8:43
- "Demon of the Fall" – 6:13
- "Credence" – 5:26
- "Karma" – 7:52
- "Epilogue" – 3:59
[edit] 2000 reissue
The 2000 reissue of this album includes two bonus tracks, which 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.
- "Circle of the Tyrants" (Celtic Frost cover) – 5:12
- "Remember Tomorrow" (Iron Maiden cover) – 5:00
[edit] Credits
- Mikael Åkerfeldt – Vocals, Guitar, Bass
- Peter Lindgren – Guitar
- Martin Lopez – Drums
- Fredrik Nordström – Engineer, Producer, Hammond Organ
[edit] External link
| Opeth |
| Mikael Åkerfeldt | Peter Lindgren | Martin Mendez | Martin Axenrot | Per Wiberg |
| David Isberg | Andreas Dimeo | Kim Pettersson | Johan DeFarfalla | Stefan Guteklint | Mattias Ander | Nick Döring | Anders Nordin | Martin Lopez |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio Albums: Orchid | Morningrise | My Arms, Your Hearse | Still Life | Blackwater Park | Deliverance | Damnation | Ghost Reveries |
| Singles: The Drapery Falls | Still Day Beneath the Sun | The Grand Conjuration |
| Live Albums: Lamentations |
