“Windowpane”
Opeth
Just recently I became exhausted by my assignment-ignited stress and decided to take a moment and relax. I proceeded to turn off all the lights and turn on my lava lamp so that the room became engulfed in a fade blue light. At this point I also turned on my stereo and allowed the CD inside to play a random track – having no initial idea of what that CD was. The CD skipped tracks and finally stopped on an all-time favourite of mine titled “Windowpane” by Swedish Prog-Death quintet Opeth. While I had listened to that song various times before, it seemed like I was hearing it for the first time. I had allowed myself to become so detached from my physical environment that all I was focusing on were the sounds escaping from the speakers. And what a sound it was.
I had always loved the solo in the middle of the song performed, most eloquently, by Opeth mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt. Initially I just listened to the solo as part of the overall song, yet halfway through it I started to listen to it on its own. Instantly I noticed the way the solo appeared to be some sort of hybrid – a mixture of over 50 years of rock and roll. There were elements of jazz, blues, psychedelic rock and 60s-style rhythms, all combined and juxtaposed into a simple, one minute solo. Now, this isn’t the greatest solo ever performed (is there such a thing?), nor does it adopt a difficult mode of play, but it was like I noticed another layer that was hidden underneath its sheer simplicity.
As well as heightening my long love affair with the group (and even more so with heavy metal) it made me think more about the perceived ‘gap’ that exists between pop and alternative acts…a very cool experience indeed.
Lilen Pautasso
Words: 307
