We could sit here all week and argue as to why we think it is a concept album, and there may be a song or two that do correlate with each other; but as the whole album is concerned, Definitely not a concept album.
Ghost Reveries: Concept
- Thread starter EternalMetal
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you can make any fucking album into a concept album if you look into it enough.. it doesnt matter really, this is a strange topic.. I think music is what it is to the listener, a personal connection 
froghawk
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- Feb 18, 2006
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wrong.
This IS a concept album, and it couldn't be any more obvious. I was looking for the quote brotherman just said, which proves it. Just read the words; it's obvious!
I certainly can't make Deliverance or Damnation into concept albums. Those songs contain isolated stories. These are obviously connected, and I don't get how anyone could miss that. You can't really take any album and make it as obvious as this.
Fredy_Brown
The Line Begins To blur.
Fredy_Brown said:I love how people search for connexions that don´t
exist
Exactly. How can you make any album into a concept album? You can make assumptions about how some stuff can relate but you sure as hell can't label something a concept album just because you think you see some similar concepts between songs. A true concept album has a recurrent theme or idea throughout the entire album. This is definitely NOT thew case with Ghost Reveries. So, Ghost Reveries Rules!!!! But, it isn't a concept album.
Fredy_Brown
The Line Begins To blur.
I start to think about a concept album when it´s creator says "this is a concept album" never before that.
Anyway I love concepts in albums, it feels like you can find more than "just a music"
The Fragile by NIN is the best so far, to me.
Anyway I love concepts in albums, it feels like you can find more than "just a music"
The Fragile by NIN is the best so far, to me.
perhaps those who believe this is not a concept album can try to explain to why they think so.
if you're saying that its not a concept album because it lacks the finer details like in MAYH or SL then i guess i could respect that. your wrong, but i won't care so much. but if you're saying its not a concept album because you can't find the storyline in their then you're obviously wrong.
ghost reveries may not have the deeper elements like the seasonal theme in MAYH or the anti-religious theme in SL. but it does have a storyline about a man who is tempted by satan and is always confused about his own life. and in my book that is a concept album.
and again if isolation years keeps it from being a concept album then i guess circle of the tyrant and remember tomorrow keeps MAYH from being a concept album.
if you're saying that its not a concept album because it lacks the finer details like in MAYH or SL then i guess i could respect that. your wrong, but i won't care so much. but if you're saying its not a concept album because you can't find the storyline in their then you're obviously wrong.
ghost reveries may not have the deeper elements like the seasonal theme in MAYH or the anti-religious theme in SL. but it does have a storyline about a man who is tempted by satan and is always confused about his own life. and in my book that is a concept album.
and again if isolation years keeps it from being a concept album then i guess circle of the tyrant and remember tomorrow keeps MAYH from being a concept album.
Pain While Urinating
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froghawk
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How the hell is that a concept album? I mean, yeah, TDS is, but The Fragile? It's just a bunch of ambiguous angst. I'm sure Somewhat Damaged, The Fragile, Please and Starfuckers are part of the same story. >.<
Regarding Ghost Reveries, let's examine some common themes which recur through the first 7 tracks:
Satan/The Devil
Hellhounds
Drowning in a mire/Running away and hiding/Resisting a pull
Just because they're not all from the same perspective doesn't make it a non-concept. I'm pretty sure GoP is the intro/narration, then the rest of the songs are from the same perspective.
Fredy_Brown
The Line Begins To blur.
Entire album is a story - one story. TDS is also concept album...you can clearly see it in the Mr.Selfdestruct lyrics...look at this:froghawk said:
"I am the lie that you believe"
Piggy ("you left me here i'm all alone")
"I speak religion's message clear"
Heresy (to obvious)
"I am the prayer of the naive"
March of the Pigs ("they can all sleep soundly and everything is all right")
"I am the sex that you provide"
Closer ("i wanna fuck you like an ..." you get the idea)
"I am denial, guilt and fear"
Ruiner ("maybe there will come a day when those that you keep blind will suddenly realize")
"I am the voice inside your head"
The Becoming ("goddamn this noise inside my head")
"I am the need in you for more"
I do not want this ("i wanna know everything, I wanna be everywhere, I wanna fuck everyone in the world...")
"I am the Bullet in the Gun"
Big Man with a gun ("Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!")
"I am the Needle in your vein"
A warm Place (when you're in hell, ask Cobain what his warm place used to be)
"I am an exit"
Eraser ("Kill me! Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!")
"I am the lover in your bed"
Reptile ("she..." you know what this song is about)
"I am the truth from which you run"
The Downward Spiral ("Problems do have solutions, you know")
"I am the end of all your dreams"
Hurt ("my empire of dirt", "broken thoughts", "everyone... goes away in the end")
- Mar 31, 2004
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Im gonna take a stab at the concept, seemingly something nobody has done before. I am not going to claim any validity to it, but I feel as though this could be just one interpretation of what the story is about.
Obviously, this concept is about a woman. She is married and living with her husband. One day, an evil spirit attacks her, trying to take her over. Finally the "ghost" takes over the woman and starts to run away, slowly becoming a part of the woman that the ghost is inhabiting. Of course their is a following after the ghost. They are called the "hounds." They could be either metaphorical hounds (aka ghosts inhabiting animals to try and kill the woman and bring the evil ghost soul to hell) or just wolves and coyotes trying to attack the innocent looking woman who is running away from everything. The evil ghost cannot inhabit someone and live their same life, so he has to run away. The woman inside is scared, and is starting to believe that she is destined to be with this ghost, alone forever. Sacrifices need to be made, and she is contemplating them. But then she realizes that she is too weak to take control over her life, and needs to realize that the ghost has fully taken her over. The journey to be alone takes a while. The unresisting woman, sleep deprived and tired, becomes sick and finally leaves the past behind her. Once she lets the ghost take control, she clears the fog and can now realize what she has become. But she cannot control herself as she is now fully taken over. All this woman is is a spirit that lives inside the body that this evil ghost has fully taken over. They are still running away now, into the forest. The hounds are still after them, but are way far behind. Their is no hope for the ghost to be killed now. She starts to dream of her past, and in her dreams she realizes that she will never have her past life, and that deep down inside she is sick. At last she reaches her destination, but is all alone with the ghost. She is no longer sick, but is lonely. She is now brainwashed and her soul is dead. Memories may still remain, but she is just a body now. The spirits taking people over like this is part of satan's plan, which is unknown. Then a concluding letter is finally sent out addressed to her husband to say that she is going to die alone.
This is my take, it really does seem to tell a story imo. But a concept album really doesnt have to tell a story. Even if each song is a seperate entity, they all seem to tell a ghost's reverie. An experience that a ghost could go through that he is reminiscing about.
Obviously, this concept is about a woman. She is married and living with her husband. One day, an evil spirit attacks her, trying to take her over. Finally the "ghost" takes over the woman and starts to run away, slowly becoming a part of the woman that the ghost is inhabiting. Of course their is a following after the ghost. They are called the "hounds." They could be either metaphorical hounds (aka ghosts inhabiting animals to try and kill the woman and bring the evil ghost soul to hell) or just wolves and coyotes trying to attack the innocent looking woman who is running away from everything. The evil ghost cannot inhabit someone and live their same life, so he has to run away. The woman inside is scared, and is starting to believe that she is destined to be with this ghost, alone forever. Sacrifices need to be made, and she is contemplating them. But then she realizes that she is too weak to take control over her life, and needs to realize that the ghost has fully taken her over. The journey to be alone takes a while. The unresisting woman, sleep deprived and tired, becomes sick and finally leaves the past behind her. Once she lets the ghost take control, she clears the fog and can now realize what she has become. But she cannot control herself as she is now fully taken over. All this woman is is a spirit that lives inside the body that this evil ghost has fully taken over. They are still running away now, into the forest. The hounds are still after them, but are way far behind. Their is no hope for the ghost to be killed now. She starts to dream of her past, and in her dreams she realizes that she will never have her past life, and that deep down inside she is sick. At last she reaches her destination, but is all alone with the ghost. She is no longer sick, but is lonely. She is now brainwashed and her soul is dead. Memories may still remain, but she is just a body now. The spirits taking people over like this is part of satan's plan, which is unknown. Then a concluding letter is finally sent out addressed to her husband to say that she is going to die alone.
This is my take, it really does seem to tell a story imo. But a concept album really doesnt have to tell a story. Even if each song is a seperate entity, they all seem to tell a ghost's reverie. An experience that a ghost could go through that he is reminiscing about.
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froghawk said:
I agree with you here.
Lyrics are meant to be analyzed. They are always open to suggestion, and everyone is allowed to get out of it what they think. Nobodies interpretation of the album is necessarily wrong. I dont care if it was or wasnt intended to be a concept album, but I definitely se a concept. Even with Isolation Years. It is a reminicent letter, it doesnt mean she actually wrote it, but it is still a metaphor for her eternal aloneness.
Every artist writes their lyrics in a poetical manner (almost every artist). Poetry is an art form of itself (the lyrics of Ghost Reveries are an art form of themselves also, they are excellent), and was written by the writer not to mean a specific thing, but is open to interpretation. I can read a poem and get a whole other meaning out of it than someone else. Both could be totally different than the "original" purpose. This is the beauty of poetry. I get multiple ideas from Ghost Reveries as a concept, and as a metaphor. I can also see it the way Opeth wrote it, a few songs relate, others dont, and their was no planned concept. I can "make up" a concept for the album, but it doesnt mean im wrong. So for all of you thhat think im a dumbass, I am certaintly not. I obviously have more of a knowledge of what lyrics really are than many of you people do. Only a few people agree with me, and they even made up their own idea of what the concept is. Goood for them, they are thinking. Unlike the other sheep on the forum who say "they said it isnt, now fuck off."
xXBraveMurderDay
...
Okay well..
"
Concept
Ghost Reveries was initially intended to be a concept album, with numerous tracks linking together a story of a man's turmoil after killing his own mother. However, Mikael Äkerfeldt claims he wanted the track "Isolation Years" on the album despite its irrelevance to the plot. Thus, the album only partly portrays a concept, not fully arranged in the poetic manner as previous opuses such as Still Life. "
Taken from Wikipedia. Now, I know alot of people are gonna complain that Wikipedia isn't usually correct. But I think this isn't another mistake on there.
"
Concept
Ghost Reveries was initially intended to be a concept album, with numerous tracks linking together a story of a man's turmoil after killing his own mother. However, Mikael Äkerfeldt claims he wanted the track "Isolation Years" on the album despite its irrelevance to the plot. Thus, the album only partly portrays a concept, not fully arranged in the poetic manner as previous opuses such as Still Life. "
Taken from Wikipedia. Now, I know alot of people are gonna complain that Wikipedia isn't usually correct. But I think this isn't another mistake on there.
wankerness
Member
Fredy_Brown said:
Yeah, I think most people know The Downward Spiral is a concept album, he asked about THE FRAGILE! Explain that one!
Fredy_Brown
The Line Begins To blur.
Just like you imagined...read the lyrics and you will get astory about a man and woman...wankerness said:
it starts by Somewhat damaged....they met yeach other
then there is a story about their divorce
ending by Underneath It All...he will never forget
Ripe (with decay) is him laying on the flor after the all
I am not friend with verbatim explanation of the story, so I just made a line, you can find your own.
Some people say, that there are two stories (CD1 and CD2) but I think this is a bullhit, Reznor said that he always intent a double CD to express his intention clearly.
Critical song is Starfuckers, inc. I personally don´t like it and I don´t know what role plays Marilyn Manson and Marilyn Monroe in that story, it has been never said, I am one of those that don´t want to have S. on the CD, cause it´s simly doesn´t make a sence. Reznor just added some idea that he obviously had during pre-The Fragile. I guess it has something to do with Mechanical Animals and nothing records and the fact that Manson started posthuman records.
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Fredy_Brown said:
Charles Manson?
I still think that the Ghost Reveries concept has to do with a woman, not a man. Everything is refered to as a female in the cd.
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