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Novembers Doom - Aphotic

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During World War II, the German economy shrank to the point where it became necessary to use replacement products as substitutes for the genuine articles. The German word for these substitutes was, and is, “ersatz”. Neither the civilian economy nor the military industrial complex were exempted from these ersatz products. For instance, coffee was replaced by a product made from chicory. Rubber was manufactured from oil, and oil shortages led to the development and use of synthetic engine oil wherever possible. The word “ersatz” eventually made its way into the English lexicon. The meaning of the word is slightly different in English than it is in German – something which is ersatz is often inferior to the item it replaces for English speakers, whereas this is not the case for German speakers. Although it has been discontinued, to the great dismay of literally dozens of people, Postum is a recent example of an ersatz coffee product. Cheez Whiz is also an ersatz product. While I doubt that many people drank chicory coffee after the real article became available again, ersatz synthetic engine oil was, and is, a far superior lubricating agent to the old-school dino juice.

Aphotic is essentially an ersatz Opeth album, and a very good one at that. This is not meant as an insult in any way, because I am using the word in its German sense. Aphotic is much better to listen to than Postum is to drink, and Aphotic will not sap your desire to live in the same way that consuming Cheez Whiz will. The release of Heritage, which lacks any elements of death metal, is just the final step in Opeth’s evolution, a step that has been approaching ever since Orchid was released. It has been, or should have been, obvious to any Opeth fan, in the same way that it is obvious that metal fans wear a lot of XXL black band t-shirts, that Rob Halford is gay, and that each new In Flames album will be a further exploration of how far a formerly-great band can fall. Where Opeth will go after Heritage is not so obvious.

Now that Åkerfeldt has kicked metal fans, er, death metal to the curb, what’s a lovesick Opeth fan to do? The answer is: 1) listen to an old Opeth album, or 2) listen to an ersatz Opeth album. The libertarians and Tea Partiers amongst us would have us believe that the market, or, rather, the Market, is some sort of omniscient, omnipotent god. The Market uses its divine powers to predict the needs of civilization, and to distribute wealth and resources appropriately without bias or fail. Whether we want to admit it or not, a heavy metal version of the Market exists, and our little economic god has actually managed to predict Heritage‘s release, and the accompanying lack of new Still Lifes and Deliverances, by spawning a cottage industry of ersatz Opeth bands. If the Market continues to be this successful, its influence will spread, and eventually heavy metal investment firms with names like Tardy Brothers, Wackenchovia, or Sparbank of Gothenburg Mikael Stanne will be formed. They’ll sell exotic securities based on the value of Six Feet Under CDs, or Slipknot thongs, or vintage NWOBHM 7 inches from bands like Sword Dragon and RokkWizard, or something like that, on the basis that such commodities can only appreciate in value. When the market for these rare and valuable items collapses, Bill Robinson will be homeless and live in a city park, and Roadrunner will have to start releasing nu-metal albums to make ends meet.

Buried in my musings above is the implication that if we reward the Market’s predictions by buying ersatz Opeth albums, heavy metal as we know it will end. Because I am a selfish bastard, I don’t care, and I would actually spend my own ill-gotten cash on a copy of Aphotic. You must understand that I discovered the Opeth cottage industry some time ago, when I was trying to remember all of the Opeth clones that had sprung up. My memory was failing, and this annoyed me so much that I did some research, and created a list of Opeth-esque bands, and yes, I’m still single, ladies. I did this because, while I’m looking forward to Heritage, I still want more vintage Opeth.

My list of ersatz Opeth bands and albums is below. Also, there’s Edge of Sanity, the Moontower album, and maybe Godgory, but since those albums were released before or concurrently with Opeth’s ’90s albums, they aren’t really ersatz Opeth at all. If I missed any ersatz Opeth bands, let me know in the comments. The Market demands it!

Richard’s list of ersatz Opeth bands

+ Alley
+ Barren Earth
+ Insomnium
+ Farmakon
+ recent Novembers Doom albums
+ Disillusion – Back To Times of Splendour
+ In Vain
+ Gwynbleidd
+ In Mourning

— Richard Street-Jammer

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HEAR NOVEMBERS DOOM

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http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW-LbXzzuDg

Novembers Doom – What Could Have Been

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BUY APHOTIC

Novembers Doom

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