Ghost Reveries (2005)
Release date: August 29, 2005
Length: 66:46Tracklist:1. "Ghost of Perdition"
2. "Baying of the Hounds"
3. "Beneath the Mire"
4. "Atonement"
5. "Harlequin Forest"
6. "Hours of Wealth"
7. "The Grand Conjuration"
8. "Isolation Years"
Personnel:Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, Mellotron
Peter Lindgren – lead guitar
Martín Méndez – bass
Per Wiberg – Hammond organ, Mellotron, grand piano, Moog
Martin Lopez – drums, percussion
Martin Axenrot − drums ("Soldier of Fortune")
Recorded March 15–June 1, 2005
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Genre: Progressive metal, Death metal[/size]
Label: Roadrunner[/size]
Producer: Jens Bogren, Opeth[/size]
History / BackgroundFor the first time since Still Life, the songs for Ghost Reveries were written for the album before going into the studio. This gave Opeth three weeks to rehearse and perfect the recording in the studio. The band had to decide whether to record the album at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden, or at Sonic Ranch. They eventually chose Fascination Street Studios, as it was closer to their homes.
Ghost Reveries was initially intended to be a concept album, with numerous tracks linking together a story of a man's turmoil after committing an unconscionable act, symbolised by killing his own mother. However, Mikael Åkerfeldt commented:
"I had intended to do a occult concept piece lyrically and got off to a great start with some downright evil lyrics like "The Baying of the Hounds" and "Ghost of Perdition", then I did "Isolation Years" which had nothing to do with the intended concept but I liked it so much I decided to ease up on the concept idea in favour of this one lyric. Why I decided on a occult theme? Well, I've always been intrigued by it, especially Satanism and stuff like that. I studied some books that oddly enough my wife had in her collection like "Servants of Satan" as well as "Witchcraft and Sorcery" + some more. I figured it'd be interesting to see what a mature 31 year old mind would make of this subject as opposed to the 16 year old kid who used to pose in front of his Bathory poster. I'm quite happy with them to be honest, and they're ... evil!"The album only partly portrays a concept, not fully arranged in the poetic manner as previous releases such as Still Life and My Arms, Your Hearse.
"The Baying of the Hounds" is partially inspired by lyrics from the song "Diana" from Comus's album First Utterance.
Music“Ghost of Perdition” makes use of some excellent grooving riff work in conjunction with strong vocal melodies and ample dynamic exploration throughout, coming up with something along the lines of what I’d imagine “Godhead’s Lament” would have sounded like had it attempted some versatility in its arrangement. “Beneath the Mire” even goes as far as to incorporate some slightly funk-inspired riffing in the beginning, and a couple of menacing stop-start, staccato sections towards the end that provide a very unique rhythmic emphasis unlike anything else the band has done. Softer material has a quite sizable representation across three separate tracks, though in opposition to the typical acoustic ballads as displayed on Damnation or elsewhere, these exercises tend to operate on a more experimental, somewhat trance-like basis. “Atonement” and “Isolation Years” are the two more memorable instances, the former for its abundance of tribal influence and subdued, meditative atmosphere, and the latter for the sheer emotional quality of its chorus.
The three shorter songs, called Atonement, Hours of Wealth and Isolation Years, are particularly dominated by the use of keyboards. Atonement has a slightly jazzy feeling to it, but it's the vocals that shine the most – it's one of the most emotional moments of the entire album, with a beautiful, slightly processed voice that really remains in your mind... Hours of Wealth may be the weakest track of Ghost Reveries, but it still works as a very good acoustic interlude. However, the closing track – Isolation Years – is a different thing entirely. The most melancholic and the shortest track on the album, but full of emotion and feeling, it's extremely memorable since the first listen, and the perfect ending of the album, it's also probably the most impressive clean vocal performance of Mikael Akerfeldt on Ghost Reveries. The most impressive growling performance, on the other hand, would be the first half of The Baying of The Hounds. Actually I'll go as far as saying this is one of the best growling performances I've ever heard, with a really deep, dark, powerful voice, that really will make you feel the lyrics (and we're talking about lyrics such as “the cities lay dead and beyond despair”). The truth is that vocals on the whole album are absolutely top notch, emotional, powerful and simply excellent in every way, and these examples are just the ones that stand out the most, but there are many, many more (such as the beautiful “Drown in the deep mire...” part – The Baying of The Hounds, again). I admit I had considered Mikael Akerfeldt a good, but not great vocalist – I was proved entirely wrong by this album, which is vocal-wise one of the best things I've ever heard. The metal side of the album is nearly perfect as well, and the aforementioned The Baying of the Hounds is one of the heaviest tracks, dominated by excellent death metal riffs, with a particularly great, heavy, chugging one around the 7th minute. Another one is the opener, Ghost of Perdition (which seems to have gained a nearly untouchable spot in the band's live setlist), also alternating a bit between heavier and softer moments, both being equally brilliant. Beneath The Mire is the most unusual and probably also the most prog-metal oriented track on the album, with a slightly more technical approach and some unconventional experiments (such as the opening riff), and also an amazing outro. And then, there's the song which has really possessed me. But hell, I'm happy with that.
It's called The Grand Conjuration, and it's hands down the heaviest and darkest piece on Ghost Reveries. It's the most focused on the theme of occultism and ritual, which is rather obvious, looking at the title, and the atmosphere is so dark and dense that it's capable of giving chills during most of its duration. On one hand, there's the particularly grim growling style, sounding like you really don't want to mess with him, and on the other – there are the quiet moments, with a repeating low guitar sound, and a clean, silent, nearly whispered vocal style... but the way it sounds is so incredibly discomforting (especially with the “ritual” whispers in the background here and there) that it manages to sound even darker than the heavy parts, which, by the way, are just filled with amazing riffs, from start to finish. And the outro... I've mentioned it when talking about keyboards, I'm mentioning it again, and it's still not enough. I'm listening to this song for around the twentieth time and it feels just as incredible, monumental and powerful as for the first time. I'm not the “if it's the heaviest, it's my favorite” type, especially on albums like this, but this is an exception... One more thing that shines on the album, in fact on The Grand Conjuration the most, is the drumming. This is the last Opeth album with Martin Lopez, and his performance here is excellent, with lots of finesse and feeling, but also a lot of punch in the heavier parts.
My ThoughtsGhost Reveries, whoo, it's amazing and it holds up as a unique experience and a masterpiece of progressive metal. An expansion upon the trademark sound presented in Blackwater Park, Opeth bring in new influences, hire a keyboardist, and step up their songwriting game. The result is a rather eclectic, atmospherically dark, and intense album – intense in composition without sounding cluttered, in technicality, in experimentation, in energy, and above all, it is ambitious.
Initially intended to be another concept album, Ghost Reveries has something to do with a man who kills his mother, and Satan is involved because gotta love those metal stereotypes. The idea wasn’t fully carried through with, resulting in the “concept” being no more than the repetition of a few words and phrases scattered throughout the songs (e.g. “the hounds” and “the mire” are repeated often during GR). Either way, the common words and lyrical themes create a unifying effect, helping to hold together an album that is already quite cohesive.
More importantly, the instrumentation is fantastic, Akerfeldt’s vocals a classic mix between clean singing and growls; neither of them have downhill after fifteen years. Martin Lopez’s versatile drumming never ceases to amaze as he works in excellent fills, rapid double bass, and engaging, original beats. The inclusion of ethnic drums in the album’s middle songs signifies just another influence in this incredibly diverse album. Ghost Reveries is teeming with great riffs, from the slow, soothing bass groove of Atonement, to the vicious, heavy assaults found during brief straight-up death metal portions of the longer songs, and The Grand Conjuration’s plain evil main riff. The keyboards add a new dimension to Opeth’s sound and provide more options for the band, notably that weird but catchy, enjoyable riff at the beginning of Beneath the Mire. The guitar solos are well-performed, technical, and impressive, though they tend to slide under the radar, not being the focal points of the songs.
The main appeal of Ghost Reveries is of course the songwriting. The five long/heavy songs rely not only the previously established interplay between death metal and acoustic passages, but span the gap between the two, while including other influences as well. The soft parts don’t always revert to acoustic guitars as done on previous albums; often they simply drop to quieter volumes, with some even containing hints of jazz. Songs such as the first two tracks are wildly unpredictable as Opeth fit more changes and variety into songs of ten minutes, already a standard length for them. Baying of the Hounds starts heavy, goes down, comes back up, enters an acoustic break, and then ends heavy, and I won’t even try to describe the structure of Ghost of Perdition. The transitions are seamless and come so often that the songs never get boring. Though a few of these songs seem anticlimactic (specifically Beneath the Mire and Harlequin Forest), it truly is in the journey, not the destination, and the dramatic, heavy Grand Conjuration provides enough of a peak to close the album (with Isolation Years akin to a short coda).
The soft songs on this album may not be as well-loved as others the band has written, though they fit on the album better. Atonement is a good track, providing a much-needed break for calmness following the heavy first three songs. The haunting chorus riff and beautiful piano solo simply make the song. Isolation Years is a mournful, ballad, and even the album’s weakest offering, Hours of Wealth, has a gorgeous beginning and is very much emotionally charged.
Opeth’s songwriting and instrumentation peaked here. Ghost Reveries is flawless.
Personally, my ranking for this album is:
1. "Ghost of Perdition"
2. "Isolation Years"
3. "Atonement"
4. "Beneath the Mire"
5. "The Baying of the Hounds"
6. "Harlequin Forest"
7. "The Grand Conjuration"
8. "Hours of Wealth"
Topic: The Opeth Discography Thread (Read 8371 times)
