Album: Ghost Reveries
Official Band Site: http://www.opeth.com
Publisher: Roadrunner Records
Release: August 30, 2005
Genre: Death Metal
Members:
Mikael Akerfeldt - Guitar & Vocals
Peter Lindgren - Guitar
Martin Mendez - Bass
Martin Lopez - Drums
Per Wieberg - Keyboards
Track list:
- 01. Ghost of Perdition
02. The Baying of the Hounds
03. Beneath the Mire
04. Atonement
05. Reverie/Harlequin Forest
06. Hours of Wealth
07. The Grand Conjuration
08. Isolation Years
Review (credits to uraniummusic.com)
Smathers wrote:These are interesting times for Sweden's Opeth. Easily one of the most respected, influential, and valuable commodities on the market in underground metal, this humble band will soon receive unprecedented exposure to the mainstream media through Roadrunner Records, and they no doubt deserve it. Musically, this is their first "traditional" album following their 2003 masterpiece "Damnation", which was even featured in the New York Times, perhaps a first for an underground and/or death metal band. "Damnation" was steeped in psychadelic/prog rock worship, projecting thick layers of mezmerising ambience on top of their already captivating accoustic riffery. A modern day Pink Floyd, indeed. With the addition of Porcupine Tree keyboardist Per Wiberg, and a production job by Jens Borgen - the first Opeth album in years without Steve Wilson behind the board - the world has been waiting in suspense to see how Opeth would continue to push the boundaries of extreme metal.
"Ghost Reveries" showcases a very different Opeth. The semantics and signatures of classic Opeth are everywhere, and yet their overall presence ultimately is something completely new... and fresh. Whether fans consider this a leap forward or backwards will ultimately boil down to personal opinion, undoubtedly spawning countless debates and pointless, circular conversations. In the broadest sense, as one of my good friends recently said "Whereas Opeth used to be a death metal band with progressive tendencies, they have become a progressive band width death metal tendencies". What does that mean practically? The songs and aesthetics seem to have a pervasive sense of atmosphere and texture, whereas previous Opeth albums (except "Damnation") have sounded profusely organic. Between the added layer of keyboard and synthetic accompanyment, the long, minimalist vocal monologues by Mikael, and a different approach to production by Borgen, "Ghost Reveries" is progressive in every sense of the word, both musically and aesthetically.
What's more, even the overall mood of their songwriting is noticeably different - whereas this album was declared by the band to be one of their darkest to date, I actually find this album almost less meloncoly and grim than their previous works, as if there's a subdued sense of optimism. It still has doom leanings all over the place, yet something about some of the guitar leads and other portions of the music say otherwise, leading us all someplace even more ambiguous and foreign. Perhaps another month of listening to this album will reverse my opinion, as any quality Opeth album should... so many layers and tones to peel away. And dare I say I even heard a bit of Tool influence, both musically (1:36 into "Ghost Of Perdition") and vocally? Sacrilegious words for many Opeth diehards, but I don't doubt a lot of you will have the same reaction.
I'll admit that I endured a love/hate relationship with this album before I could truly enjoy it, a relationship that will undoubtedly relapse in several months. The first several listens through this album went from lukewarm to disgust, and finally after putting it down for several days and picking it up again, it clicked. The album feels less riff-centered, at least in a traditional death metal sense - the riffs instead contribute to a more abstract atmosphere the band tries to build. There's certainly more repetition and perhaps less inherent "grit" in the riffery which will annoy death metal purists and some of Opeth's diehard following, and yet for progressive fans like myself, "Ghost Reveries" became a much more stimulating, lasting listen than I was expecting. There are still plenty of unexpected, contrasting shifts between heavy and melody, as well as deliciously groovy, twirling guitar hooks championed by bands such as Edge Of Sanity and Bloodbath (Thank you Swano). Mikael's vocal harmonies are as compelling and meloncoly as ever, even venturing into gospel/blues terroritory on his a cappella vocal monologue in "Hours of Wealth". This man can do no wrong.
"Ghost Of Perdition" is a fitting, powerful opener for the album, with commanding Bloodbath-like riffing and one of the album's most beautiful, haunting melodies at 2:50; the fact that this it is lyric-less makes it all the more memorable, and after several digressions, the musical fury builds behind this once "a cappella" vocal harmony. Stunning. "Atonement" is another highlight track for me, certainly one of the album's more experimental tracks - the pseudo-tribal, psychadelic guitar and keyboard lead, coupled with subtle organ and piano effects sound stunning, enveloping the listener in musical opium. I find the combination of "Hours of Wealth" and "Grand Conjuration" equally captivating - in fact "Grand Conjuration" sounds rather mediocre without the extremely delicate, vacant ambience of the previous track to counterbalance the punch it gives you. I also enjoy riff/rhythm combination at 2:50 into "Reverie/Harlequin Forest", reminding me of "Serenity Painted Death" on "Still Life", easily one of my favorite moments of delicious Opeth riffery. On a whole the songs on the album progress in a natural manner, always distinct and never once making an attempt towards the same epic plateau.
This is a very different album on the part of our metal heroes Opeth, and despite some weaker moments, I have felt more moved by this release than with "Deliverance" or "Blackwater Park" - granted it's not as good as when you first discovered Opeth, that moment when they "clicked" ("Morningrise" did that for me) - that right there is musical virginitiy that you'll never get back. This fact alone makes "Ghost Reveries" an incredible accomplishment on the part of Opeth, who will hopefully use the visibility given to them by Roadrunner to bring death and progressive metal to the mainstream - an idea that will make some fans cringe, but a necessary step forward by a band whose musical integrity, commitment (8 full-length albums in 10 years, come on people) and sense of identity is unsurpassed in today's metal scene. Humility, not ego, fosters integrity, remember that.
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