Opeth
Mikael Akerfeldt – All vocals, Guitars, additional Mellotron
Martin Mendez – Bass Guitars
Peter Lingren – Guitars
Per Wiberg – Mellotrons, Organs, Grand and Electric Pianos
Martin Lopez – Drums and Percussion
This is definatly one of the best CDs I have. I was at the CD store and decided that I would buy this and The Fall of Ideals by All that Remains (also, a supurb CD) Anyways, I bought this CD after hearing the two songs Ghost of Perdition and The Grand Conjuration, both arguably the best songs on the CD. This is my first reveiw so please give as much feedback as possible, and if my review sucks, feel free to say so.
1. Ghost of Perdition - One of the heavier songs on this album, and arguably the best, as I said earlier. Starts off slow, and out of nowhere, the lead singer does his amazingly great, low death metal screams, and then goes to his clean voice, sounding great. This song is very long, but Opeth wrote it, so what do you expect? The length doesn't bother me though, I love this song. The Guitar in this song is excellent, and the vocals are great as well. Also, the drums are impressive. There is not one thing that I do not like about this song, it would be easy to listen to it over and over and not get bored, other than its length. Ten miniute songs arn't meant to be played over and over. (Not in my opinion atleast.) Very interesting lyrics. Well anyways, this is a amazing song. Definatly a great opener. [Highlight: Everything] 10/10
2. The Baying of the Hounds - Quite a good song, instumentally and vocally. Not as catchy as Ghost of Perdition, but still great. Lots of low death metal-screams in this song. Again, interesting lyrics. Excellent follow up to Ghost of Perdition. [Highlight:Vocals] 9/10
3. Beneath the Mire - Great opening drums, and some pretty interesting effects along with the guitar playing some chords. The drums are amazing in this song, and the guitar is pretty good as well. Not the best song on this CD, but its still great. (Great vocals I might add) [Highlight:Drums] 9/10
4. Atonement - Opens quite slow with just the drums and the bass. The guitar soon kicks into the song , playing a very relaxing tune. The lead singer then starts singing, very slowly, and gives a sort of eerie feeling because of the effect that Opeth uses on his voice. He then hits a high note and holds for a while (Hit it very well, I might add). The guitar then repeats what it was playing before, and again the lead singer comes in, repeating what he did before. The rest of the song plays out with a piano added. This is a very good song, with an extremely rexaled and eerie feeling. [Highlight: Guitar] 8/10.
5. Reverie/Halequin Forest - One of the softer heavy songs on the CD, well atleast until Mikael Akerfeldt starts doing his low death screams. This is a great song, a mix of pretty much everything in this song, from clean, to distorted, to clean vocals, to screaming. Great song overall. 9/10[Highlight: Hard to say]
6. Hours of Wealth - One of the softer songs on Ghost Reveries, but still a good song. Mikael Akerfeldt definatly does a good job at the vocals in this song. Very relaxing. The guitar is also well played. There is no screaming in this song that I know of, which makes for a smooth ride the whole way through. [Highlight: Guitar] 8/10
7. The Grand Conjuration – Definatly the heaviest song on this CD, and arguably the best. At first the Guitars play, and repeat the same thing for quite a while. Then the vocals come in, giving an eerie feeling by the way he sings in this song. Almost a whisper. Then suddenly (with a little lead up from the drums) he does some of the best screaming on the album. Very low screams, and very well done. He then goes back to the whisper sort of singing, and yet again, the drums lead to a low scream. Then there is an impressive guitar solo, and the song plays on from there with lots of low screams. Extremely great song. Vocally, and instrumentally this song is amazing. There is not a bad part to this song in my opinion, and it is extremely long, so when listening to it for the first time, brace yourself for some of the best Opeth out there.[Highlight: Everything] 10/10
8. Isolation Years - A very slowly sung song, with extremely well done vocals. Not much to say about this song, as it is extremely short for an Opeth song. But lots of high notes, with no screams what-so-ever. This song is actually very good, even for someone who doesn’t like soft music. Really worth listening to. [Highlight: Vocals] 8/10
Well I for one was extremely impressed after listening to this CD. It has a short number of tracks, but 7/8 songs are over five minutes long. An extremely well balanced CD, and all the elements of this CD are extremely impressing. Definatly worth buying. Recommended to fans of: Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, and well…anyone who just loves good Death Metal. This is an amazing work of art by one of the best Death Metal bands out there. Enjoy this CD, and I strongly recommend that the listener takes the time to listen to the songs the whole way through.
------TheSunSleeps-----
