Ranking Every Opeth Studio Album From Worst To Best
10. My Arms, Your Hearse (1998)
My Arms, Your Hearse is where Opeth truly started tapping into greatness. A narrative work revolving around a ghost who begrudgingly watches his lover carry on without him, it saw the band move from Swanö’s Unisound studio to Fredrik Nordström’s Studio Fredman.
More importantly, it marked the start of their classic line-up via the swapping of De Farfalla and Nordin for Martin Méndez and Martin López, respectively. (Of course, Méndez doesn’t play on the LP since he didn’t have time to learn his parts. Instead, Åkerfeldt also plays bass, so this is technically the only time Opeth recorded as a trio.)
Naturally, the collection continues where Morningrise left off, but every aspect – the musicianship, the songwriting, the vocals, and the fluidity between tracks and movements – is exponentially enhanced. In fact, selections like When, The Amen Corner, Credence, and Karma still contain some of Opeth’s sturdiest melodies and/or instrumental passages.
Undoubtedly, My Arms, Your Hearse was a huge advancement, and it’s commonly regarded as one of the top progressive metal concept albums of all time. Really, its only flaw is its retrospective role as a steppingstone to Opeth’s vastly superior fourth outing.