Ghost Reveries

Product Information

Blabbermouth.Net". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2005 . Retrieved 14 January 2012.

Let me start by stating the obvious: Opeth isn't exactly the most accessible metal band around. Too boring for those who only need METAL!!!1 and too extreme for the fans of lighter genres, it takes either a fair amount of patience, or an unusual enough taste to appreciate. Ghost Reveries doesn't change this at all, with five large, complex compositions and three shorter, calmer songs working, as great as they are, as interludes more than anything else. Still, there's plenty of those, including the one writing this, who really enjoy thorough digging into the creations of Mr Akerfeldt and co., and the reason is simple enough – it's extremely rewarding in every way. The journey we're taking on Ghost Reveries isn't exactly an optimistic nor a simple one – we're dealing with ghosts (in the more spiritual meaning rather than the fantasy one), solitude, guilt, and even occultism at more than one point. It takes time and patience to fully get into the world presented here, but the way it is presented makes it worth the effort entirely. At first I will admit, Ghost Reveries didn't strike me straight away. I don't think disappointment is the right word to use, but I will use it anyway. It then came to me that I am like this with every Opeth album on first listen. They always have to grow on me, and once they grow on me, I realise that this is truly incredible stuff. This is exactly how I feel about GR. Once again, musically, this is a masterpiece. The album closer, and shortest song on display, is a nice little quiet piece called "Isolation Years". Basically, if you like "Hours Of Wealth", you will like this one. Quiet, acoustic, with a bit more bass guitar, and more mellotrons and more emotional singing. The final synth and acoustic guitar fadeout closes the album beautifully. Peter: Sadly, I couldn't really tell how much Peter added since both him and Mikael play guitar on the albums BUT the guitar sound on this album, the riffage and the general atmosphere sent by this album is beyond comparison. Because of this... Peter.. we salut you :thumbsup:This album really disappointed me with The Grand Conjuration. The reason is the heavy use of keyboards. This could have been a very evil, atmospheric and heavy song if it wasn’t for the influence of that blasted instrument. Instead, it oozes cheesiness and sounds like warped church-music. Compare it to their earlier songs such as Advent and Demon of the Fall, where they take you for the ride of your life, and develop an excellent atmosphere using only traditional heavy metal instruments. The Grand Conjuration only conjures up regret that they don’t display their prior use of composition on this album. In my opinion, keyboarding really weakens the songs during many points. Although it does juice up the atmosphere of the soft songs such as Hours of Wealth, it should have been left out of the heavy songs.

Mikael. "Opeth Chapter 8". Opeth.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2008 . Retrieved 12 January 2008. Lee, Cosmo (13 September 2005). "Opeth – Ghost Reveries – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021 . Retrieved 1 March 2021. Anyways from a production standpoint this album is among the best I have heard... ever (from any genre). You really hear and predicted the emense amount of care, time and dedication it took to create this album. The one thing that really caught my ear was that the guitar sound is huge. Also this is the first album with their new keyboardist Per Wilberg and his additions to the band are spectacular. Now for the songs:The Grand Conjuration is an example of how the drumming is so good, I mean, Lopez doesn't try anything ultra-technical there, but the drum work sounds so EVIL, if you know what I mean. Mikael remains respectfully reticent on the subject, but it’s clear Martin wasn’t in the best physical or mental state when Ghost Reveries was being assembled. Ghost Reveries is the first album by Opeth to include keyboardist Per Wiberg as a "permanent" member (although Wiberg contributed keyboard work to Opeth's live performances starting around the time of Lamentations), and it is the last Opeth album to include drummer Martin Lopez and long-time guitarist Peter Lindgren. [4] Oficjalna lista sprzedaży:: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 February 2014.

The screams we're a blast. I can't wait to see the footage (Yes, documentary again courtesy of Fredrik Odefjärd) of me screaming my balls off. As (nearly, there's Damnation after all) always in case of Opeth, the music is a combination of straightforward death metal with a progressive edge, more melodic and melancholic sections, and the calmest, mostly acoustic parts. On Ghost Reveries, all three are executed and combined with perfection and finesse, as the music can pass from crushing riffs and deep growling to acoustic guitars and clean vocals within 30 seconds, and it feels entirely natural. However, this time the focus is definitely on darker parts, even though there are four songs feeling – more or less – lighter than the others. The longest one of them, and actually also the longest composition of the album, called Reverie/Harlequin Forest, is an impressive work with a more melodic approach, some beautiful guitar leads and solos, and also an amazing combination of clean vocals and heavier riffs in the first part. It's still not void of heavier parts with growls, which are very nicely combined with the rest, but this time it's not the main part. This song also perfectly displays another strength of the album – the incredible use of keyboards and mellotrons. This is the first Opeth album recorded with Per Wiberg, and also the first “normal” album using the keyboards so extensively - they're present pretty much from start to finish of Ghost Reveries, they hardly ever take the lead, and greatly add to the whole sound. They're used to great effect in the heavier sections, just as the first half of The Baying of The Hounds and intro/outro of The Grand Conjuration, but obviously, it's the lighter parts in which they have more space and importance. 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". First of all, Opeth isn't a commercial band. I feel like my stomach is burning when someone says that. The music Opeth produces is unique. It can be pretty aggressive, very mellow or a mix of both. After all, all this mix of styles is a true trademark of progressive music.. why people call the band sell-outs when they compose gorgeous breakdowns inside the songs is beyond me. What elevates all the aforementioned strengths to soaring heights is the performance aspect. While everyone is demonstrating great prowess and finesse, the shining star of Ghost Reveries is frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt. Even to this day, I’m baffled by the man’s vocal delivery. His clean singing voice is soothing, even ethereal at times. His growls are second to none. I mean, across the extreme musical spectrum, there are very few who come close but don’t quite reach such a level of demonic rendition.Ghost Reveries Special Edition". Archived from the original on 17 July 2010 . Retrieved 7 August 2010. Still, some songs don’t even get anywhere. “Reverie/Harlequin Forest” begins with a haunting, atmospheric siege of Opeth originality. However, almost in the blink of an eye, the song changes to a monotonous, palm-muted, pseudo technical riff near the end and fades out that way. “The Grand Conjuration”, proclaimed by many to be their biggest hit off the album, is a complete waste of genius. Overall, this album has a load of awesome sections, a couple great sections, and a very few only mediocre sections. Mostly the problems are stretching songs out too much and clean vocals where deathy ones woulda worked better.