As many metalheads before me have and as many after me will do, I discovered Opeth pretty early on in my exploration of the metal genre. It wasn’t exactly difficult; I was obsessing over the likes of Soilwork and Testament just as Ghost Reveries was coming out, so I decided to pick up it and Deliverance (gotta explore the back catalog too, right?), and they quickly became one of my favorite bands of all time, a spot they occupy to this day. In particular, it was Mikael Akerfeldt’s unique ear for melody – inspired as much by Camel and Comus as it is by Celtic Frost – that sucked me in.
To date, every other band I have heard that has tried to replicate Opeth melodies has failed spectacularly. Plenty of bands have taken the extreme-metal-mixed-with-proggy-structures approach and succeeded with it – Cormorant and Ludicra stick out in my mind – but the ones that do always aim for different sonic territory. Bands that try to sound like Opeth always seem to end up missing something, and unfortunately, that is where Man Made Origin’s debut full-length False Consciousness has ended up.
Now, to be fair, False Consciousness doesn’t try to be a blatant Blackwater Park knockoff. Among the band’s listed influences, there are audible elements of Deathspell Omega in the more dissonant riffs, and some of the more ambient sections bear a Cult of Luna tinge. However, it is very, very obvious that the primary influence here is Opeth, and the total package comes across as Opeth-but-not-quite-Opeth. Lead vocalist Max Taylor even puts on his best Mikael Akerfeldt impression at times, most noticeably in his clean vocals, and does a pretty good job of it as well. It is the rest of the writing that doesn’t live up.
The riffs on False Consciousness just aren’t as good as genuine Opeth riffs, and there isn’t enough musically to differentiate them from Opeth riffs to justify it. If they could pull off something as moving as an “Isolation Years” or as badass as a “Demon of the Fall”, it’d be one thing. But trying to write riffs like Mikael Akerfeldt when you aren’t Mikael Akerfeldt just doesn’t work. The recipe for success in this genre is to use Opeth as inspiration for the structures of your songs while your other influences shine through more musically, which Man Made Origin haven’t done. The end result, while not bad by any stretch of the imagination, just leaves you wondering why you aren’t listening to the real Opeth. The sound and the chops are there, but the magic is missing.
If you want a fix of extreme prog metal, then False Consciousness will give you that. There is a lot of potential here if Man Made Origin can develop a unique musical identity, and I hope to see them reach it.
