An Analysis of Opeth's Still Life

In 1999, Opeth released the album Still Life. Despite being a metal band, Opeth manages to capture heaviness with raw emotion. Throughout the album, the band balances a blistering metal sound with a jazzier, cleaner sound that is distinctly progressive. Though the music itself is quite worthy of analysis, the album cover that presages the work is evocative of the emotions at play despite its simplicity.

Though light dynamics take the form of black and white, the main conflict is between black and red, creating a seemingly demonic and evil backdrop. This juxtaposition, which illuminates the portrayed scene, provides “light” but creates an eerie yet brutal texture. The cross is placed into this sinister light, which highlights but separates it from the person standing towards the front. This black clad person faces away from the red, allowing a clear distinction to be made between him and the cross. He cannot place himself with Christianity or the red in which it is bathed. Another interesting visual tactic is to swath the edges in darkness, erasing them from the red light. Thus, only two clear items can be visualized: again, the man and the cross. The man’s supporting his head with his hand suggests that he is distressed. Taken together, all of the parts of the image create a haunting image, even though only a few colors are used. The restrictive color usage adds to the atmosphere but also creates a further austerity. Then the separation between the man in black and the cross in red is clear and distinct. Ultimately this album cover serves to separate the man and his faith in Christianity, which matches the story portrayed in the album’s music. At the same time, this album cover matches the ominous music underlying "Godhead's Lament," "Serenity Painted Death," and other tracks, it bears too demonic of an image to perfectly capture the spirit behind songs like "Face of Melinda," which is quite elegant. Opeth seems to have picked too strong of an album cover for Still Life but for what it is it works well.

Works Cited:

Opeth. Still Life. 1999. Peaceville Records. Music.