The Candlelight Years

So, I've recently been doing a massive comb of Opeth's career and rediscovered just how helpful this little compilation was to me back in the day. I have the Candlelight Records version, which I believe was the most common version for release, and that gathers together the Swedes' first 3 records before they moved to Peaceville. Prior to buying The Candlelight Years, I had been searching for the CDs separately, but finding it difficult to pick up affordable new or used copies of any of them. Typically, you'll see the compilation retail for £15-£20 (about $20-$30), though I got it for £10. Depending on luck, that's about the cost of each of Orchid, Morningrise, and My Arms, Your Hearse sold separately.

All of them are worthwhile albums in their own right, none having any major production shortcomings or stylistic differences when compared together. They represent Opeth's era of longer songs, acoustic interludes, and progressive melodeath innovation. I would probably choose Morningrise as the slightly weaker album due to its extremely long compositions and less organized feel, while Orchid is a winner for pure ideas and My Arms, Your Hearse for the greatest cohesion across the album. Aside from the original material, each album comes with an additional bonus track or two. In the case of 'Into the Frost of Winter', it's a very old demo (recorded way back in 1992) that reveals the band's roots in more customary Stockholm death metal, though still possessing some of the later ideas such as switches between heavy and clean playing. 'Eternal Soul Torture' seems to be a product of the same demo if the noisy, un-mastered sound is anything to go by. Again, the ideas intrigue, giving a snapshot of Opeth's early evolution. In the case of My Arms, Your Hearse, I believe that the band had written all new material for the album, so including 2 cover songs of Celtic Frost and Iron Maiden staples seems sensible. These sound contemporary with the original album recording and add some subtle original features to flavour them with a dash of Opeth.

The value of this kind of product is thus beyond doubt, yet does it really give you the albums in a decent package? I would say yes, mostly. Obviously, you won't get all the original album artwork and booklets (the 3 original covers are depicted in miniature on the inlay and the back of the booklet), but you do get lyrics and credits, barring those for the bonus tracks. To make up for that, the compilation artwork is pretty nice and atmospheric, a rare old photo of Opeth in the forest matching the other forest-themed pages, while the cover might just be a nod to the opening track of Orchid, 'In Mist She Was Standing'. Likewise, I wonder if the compilation itself was a reference to 'Isolation Years' from Ghost Reveries. Then again, maybe not. The discs themselves are tasteful but plain and come in a strange kind of jewel case, not a slipcase. Since it's the only 3CD jewel case I own, it may actually be standard, though there are features like an odd notch down the spine, where the whole case splits open.

Due to the slight cutbacks from the original versions, I wouldn't recommend The Candlelight Years for anyone interested in getting the most from the albums, but it's definitely worth the price if you just want the music and a little bit of the atmosphere of early Opeth.