I love the whole thing. It has maybe most tasteful use of keyboards (as a main instrument) in a metal album that I've ever heard. I keep finding new things when I listen to it. I can't really rate it among the others except to say it's "up there with the rest" whereas Deliverance wasn't.
Opeth.com Members' Opinions/Reviews of GR
- Thread starter T-Rat
- Start date
Hubster
...
buchkoba00 said:
Serious music fans always apply their own expections to an album by a band they have followed for years. Its a natural thing to do, it's not something you plan on, and neither am I saying it's right. It just happens. Look at reactions to the Star Wars prequels for further example.
Your comment about "metal elitist snobs" is totally irrelevant. I'm simply saying what I am as a very passionate lover of music. You're obviously not open-minded enough to see what I have really tried to say.
I'm not saying the album is bad. For what they've done and the direction they're going it's great. The album is a good eye opener for newer fans of metal and progressive music, where as the back catalogue serves as a more serious collection of ideas for listeners who can handle much more dense structures and complexity (I'm not saying dumb listeners, simply stating that some people cant handle complexity in music, it does take more effort to appreciate entirely). In short, GR is a diluted representation of what Opeth can REALLY do with their powers.
(Generally speaking) for people who have followed them, and metal overall for some time, they will find themselves getting bored. There's nothing "classic" about this record, all songs are of very average standard. I've noticed that even those who proclaimed it amazing are getting bored of it!
6 months from now, people will still talk about Orchid, Morningrise, MAYH and SL. GR won't even be mentioned... just wait and see.
As another post in this thread states "Average for Opeth, but exceptional for music". This is how I feel as well, the album is more "acessible" to listen to.
Can you imagine all newer people who are listening to GR everyday, listening to SL and feeling the same way? NO. Compare the complexity of both albums. SL is like a PhD in complexity, no energy by the band is spared on that record, and look at the results of it, an amazing and outstandng piece of art which has stood the test of time.
Hubster
...
gatedropper
Prince of Peace
- Jul 19, 2001
- 2,684
- 2
- 38
I think GR will stand the test of time/mabey not to you Hubman but to a few of us "Still Life" peeps who want the band to go in new and different directions and mabey to the new converts. Tell me this, what % of metal sounds the same? It is hard to write heavy music nowadays cause there is such an oversaturation of the same-old same-old heavy riff/scream/heavy riff/blastbeat/heavy riff/scream formula. It is no wonder why there are so many opinions of who is the 'best' metal band out there. Hell, just take your pick, you can't go wrong.
That is why when a band that is comfortable with change, no matter what their so called "fans" think , can put out something new and know in advance that they will take shit from those "fans".
As far as complex goes, at least they went way more complex than Deliverance and Damnation. There are good songs here that took a lot of thought to put together.
I have to rate GR pretty much even with Still Life(my favorite cd) and BWP/MAYH.
Don't listen to music to tear it apart to find what is lacking/wrong/boring/ect., try to get into the mindset of the musician that wrote/recorded this thing. Enjoy this record for what it is:Songs that are meant to be enjoyed.
That is why when a band that is comfortable with change, no matter what their so called "fans" think , can put out something new and know in advance that they will take shit from those "fans".
As far as complex goes, at least they went way more complex than Deliverance and Damnation. There are good songs here that took a lot of thought to put together.
I have to rate GR pretty much even with Still Life(my favorite cd) and BWP/MAYH.
Don't listen to music to tear it apart to find what is lacking/wrong/boring/ect., try to get into the mindset of the musician that wrote/recorded this thing. Enjoy this record for what it is:Songs that are meant to be enjoyed.
The Hubster said:
Just because it's natural doesn't justify it, as you say. I think, though, that everyone's missing the issue here. If a person doesn't like a particular piece of work, that's fine. It's not a personal attack on your opinion if someone else holds a contrary opinion. It simply means that you are not that other person. Hooray. [Edit: I don't mean to imply that I think Hubster doesn't like GR--I read his post, and I understand his view of GR. I'm just using this to create a contrast to effectively illustrate a point. God, why do I bother?]
Anyways, I myself don't like to look at singular albums like GR in the sphere of other things--I try to limit context to that which I deem relevant. I think Hubster does too, it just so happens that his sphere of relevancy is quite a bit larger than mine. I keep mine to MAYH thru D&D, and select parts of Orchid and Morningrise (read: maybe a few riffs from both collectively). Quit flaming this guy so much, my goodness. I happen to disagree with most of what he's saying, but sheez.
Wait, what was the topic?
[I'm putting this in a seperate reply to avoid confusion.]
I think GR is great. I can tell after listening to it for about a week that I won't like it as much as BWP or MAYH (still their best IMO), but this album does have standouts. Song by song:
Ghost of Perdition: Perhaps their strongest song, and the one you should listen to if you want to get a good cross-section of Opeth right now. To me, this song feels the most like an Opeth song.
The Baying of the Hounds: Rather heavy and resonant of...SL? There's a recklessness in the song that really brings me back to tracks like White Cluster and Serenity Painted Death. I'm not a big fan of SL, to be honest though. I love The Moor and Face of Melinda, but the rest of the album has never really captured me like MAYH and BWP.
Beneath the Mire: Wow, the keyboards really come out here. You will hopefully notice them on the previous two tracks, but they just hit you in the face at the beginning of this song. The harmonies are excellent in the opening sections, as well, especially when the keyboards fade out for the first time. Great blending of acoustic strumming/riffing under heavy yet melodic guitars. I don't want to go on into more details, I'd rather just use this one part as a sort of snippet.
Atonement: The first light track on the album. It really reminds me of Damnation. If you ask me, this is just a progression of Opeth's light side in a song. It shouldn't be a suprise that it sounds so much like Damnation.
Reverie/Harlequin Forest: Reverie is a nice little instrumental piece, and it leads into Harlequin Forest nicely. It actually feels like one is wandering into a forest, due to the little riff in between the chord strumming along with the keyboards. I love those keyboards. Harlequin Forest itself is definetly my favorite Opeth song at the moment. It rocks like Bleak rocks for me. Whenever Mikael sings with his clean voice over the kind of riffing I hear at the beginning of this song, I get chills. Some may criticize this song, saying it sounds too much like a BWP song with a bit of D&D thrown in, but that's just a part of this song. It's not the song itself. The transition around 1:36 is great, too--one of my favorite moments of the whole album. In short:
Hours of Wealth: There's not a whole lot to say about this in my view. It's a great song, but it's rather simple. I could be mistaken here, though, as there really aren't many "simple" Opeth songs. It's a good one.
The Grand Conjuration: I heard this one when it was released on the listening lounge, and in my opinion it's not a really good aggregate of the album as a whole. It's not exactly the sort of song I love, so I won't go on about it. Don't take this as a negative comment, though. I guess I may just need to listen to it more.
Isolation Years: I really like the time structure of this song. The switching between 5/8, 6/8, and 3/8 time really fit together well, and as a result I guess you could label this as the most "prog rock"-ish track of the album. I've never been much for labels, though.
Overall, I'd put it as the #3 Opeth album, behind MAYH and BWP (redundant, I know). I'm really really liking the overall direction the music is going, though. Can't wait for opus #9.
I think GR is great. I can tell after listening to it for about a week that I won't like it as much as BWP or MAYH (still their best IMO), but this album does have standouts. Song by song:
Ghost of Perdition: Perhaps their strongest song, and the one you should listen to if you want to get a good cross-section of Opeth right now. To me, this song feels the most like an Opeth song.
The Baying of the Hounds: Rather heavy and resonant of...SL? There's a recklessness in the song that really brings me back to tracks like White Cluster and Serenity Painted Death. I'm not a big fan of SL, to be honest though. I love The Moor and Face of Melinda, but the rest of the album has never really captured me like MAYH and BWP.
Beneath the Mire: Wow, the keyboards really come out here. You will hopefully notice them on the previous two tracks, but they just hit you in the face at the beginning of this song. The harmonies are excellent in the opening sections, as well, especially when the keyboards fade out for the first time. Great blending of acoustic strumming/riffing under heavy yet melodic guitars. I don't want to go on into more details, I'd rather just use this one part as a sort of snippet.
Atonement: The first light track on the album. It really reminds me of Damnation. If you ask me, this is just a progression of Opeth's light side in a song. It shouldn't be a suprise that it sounds so much like Damnation.
Reverie/Harlequin Forest: Reverie is a nice little instrumental piece, and it leads into Harlequin Forest nicely. It actually feels like one is wandering into a forest, due to the little riff in between the chord strumming along with the keyboards. I love those keyboards. Harlequin Forest itself is definetly my favorite Opeth song at the moment. It rocks like Bleak rocks for me. Whenever Mikael sings with his clean voice over the kind of riffing I hear at the beginning of this song, I get chills. Some may criticize this song, saying it sounds too much like a BWP song with a bit of D&D thrown in, but that's just a part of this song. It's not the song itself. The transition around 1:36 is great, too--one of my favorite moments of the whole album. In short:
Hours of Wealth: There's not a whole lot to say about this in my view. It's a great song, but it's rather simple. I could be mistaken here, though, as there really aren't many "simple" Opeth songs. It's a good one.
The Grand Conjuration: I heard this one when it was released on the listening lounge, and in my opinion it's not a really good aggregate of the album as a whole. It's not exactly the sort of song I love, so I won't go on about it. Don't take this as a negative comment, though. I guess I may just need to listen to it more.
Isolation Years: I really like the time structure of this song. The switching between 5/8, 6/8, and 3/8 time really fit together well, and as a result I guess you could label this as the most "prog rock"-ish track of the album. I've never been much for labels, though.
Overall, I'd put it as the #3 Opeth album, behind MAYH and BWP (redundant, I know). I'm really really liking the overall direction the music is going, though. Can't wait for opus #9.
buchkoba00
Member
The Hubster said:
lol
The Hubster said:
OK now hold on a minute here. Since when is metal more intelligent or complex than prog? Now obviously they are apples and oranges, and *I'm* not saying one is better than the other, but how can you claim metal is more complex than prog? Do you even know what progressive rock is? (seriously)
The Hubster said:
You think so. How about people that enjoy music for .... music, not self imposed genre expectations.
The Hubster said:
You think it's less complex, I disagree. Just becuase you think it's more complex doesn't make it so. Then again, you generally think metal is more complex then prog...
gutrot
New Metal Member
- Sep 8, 2005
- 9
- 0
- 1
I think (wich I dont do much of) Its an Opeth Album like it or not its here and there genius with all their albums is clearly present. Its not fuckin metal its not fuckin prog its not.... SHUT THE FUCK UP ITS OPETH!!!!!!!! there is no label for them. Sorry if I offend but I love every album they have done and not one fucking band out there sounds even remotley close to these guys. Yes I have my faves but this is a new chapter!!! And Im reading and listening on... To me music is music dont label listen.
p.s. If you happen to read this Peter The car you signed the seat of in cincinnati ohio I still have it and drive it on a daily basis. That was one of my fondest memories hangin with you guys in the parking lot til 2 thanks and come back soon we love ya!!!!!
p.s. If you happen to read this Peter The car you signed the seat of in cincinnati ohio I still have it and drive it on a daily basis. That was one of my fondest memories hangin with you guys in the parking lot til 2 thanks and come back soon we love ya!!!!!
I ran into Peter 3 years ago and he told me he was thinking that the new album was going to be a light jazz opera. IT FUCKING ISNT AND IM FUCKING PISSED! For a metal-prog-folk-core album its the greatest thing ever recorded though.
Yicjdic
Member
Hubster
...
Rossaroni said:
Many thanks for this. I appreciate someone who doesn't agree with what I'm saying, but at the same time will understand where I'm coming from.
Cheers to you Rossaroni
The Hubster wrote (in some other forum): I'm not trying to be elitist here, I just have a high standard in my musical tastes.
Hubster
...
Yes, that's right, and I don't see how it's wrong for my personal taste to be that way.
It's not about me being some awesome kind of musicologist (which I'm so far from it's not funny), I just like music which is well written and well performed, and that can be anything from low-fi produced Black Metal, mid 80s Boston punk through to French Baroque of the 1600's.
Passion, that's all it is.
It's not about me being some awesome kind of musicologist (which I'm so far from it's not funny), I just like music which is well written and well performed, and that can be anything from low-fi produced Black Metal, mid 80s Boston punk through to French Baroque of the 1600's.
Passion, that's all it is.
buchkoba00
Member
The Hubster said:
Trying again....
"OK now hold on a minute here. Since when is metal more intelligent or complex than prog? Now obviously they are apples and oranges, and *I'm* not saying one is better than the other, but how can you claim metal is more complex than prog? Do you even know what progressive rock is? (seriously)"
MetalManCPA
Papa Opeth
In simple terms, Ghost Reveries is Opeth being Opeth. I sense no immediate change in the band, or any sort of "sell-out" in their music. Unless I'm totally naive, I believe the band is doing what they want to do, and I am happy with the results. I never thought I would hear an Opeth song that eclipsed The Drapery Falls as my all-time favorite song, but Ghost of Perdition did just that.
The album flows quite nicely to these ears. Each song has a flavor of it's own, and I find it difficult to put the album down without listening to the whole thing. My personal weak spot of the album is Hours of Wealth. And contrary to much I've read on the internet, The Grand Conjuration is probably my 2nd favorite song on the album (maybe tied with The Baying of the Hounds).
Although I've played piano since I was five, I'm truly a music listener and not a musician. Therefore, I do not find myslef deeply analyzing music. Instead, I listen, and if I feel good about what I hear, that's all that matters. GR makes me feel great, thus, I love the album. I don't waste my own time comparing the structure of a GR song to Opeth's earlier works. That was then (all prior albums), this is now. I take each album/song I listen to and let it stand on its own merits without comparison. It's how I personally enjoy music. I have no problem with a band changing over time. I've never considered change or success being a sell-out. I feel straight pop music is where all the sell-outs are.
The album flows quite nicely to these ears. Each song has a flavor of it's own, and I find it difficult to put the album down without listening to the whole thing. My personal weak spot of the album is Hours of Wealth. And contrary to much I've read on the internet, The Grand Conjuration is probably my 2nd favorite song on the album (maybe tied with The Baying of the Hounds).
Although I've played piano since I was five, I'm truly a music listener and not a musician. Therefore, I do not find myslef deeply analyzing music. Instead, I listen, and if I feel good about what I hear, that's all that matters. GR makes me feel great, thus, I love the album. I don't waste my own time comparing the structure of a GR song to Opeth's earlier works. That was then (all prior albums), this is now. I take each album/song I listen to and let it stand on its own merits without comparison. It's how I personally enjoy music. I have no problem with a band changing over time. I've never considered change or success being a sell-out. I feel straight pop music is where all the sell-outs are.
Manbient
Queer Old Man
3 out of 5 stars A Ho-Hum Opeth album, September 16, 2005
Reviewer: Michael Smith (Grande Prairie, AB, Canada) - See all my reviews
Now take that as you will, since Opeth is a band of extreme quality. I know a lot of us were a bit aprehensive about this album, with Opeth snowballing into this giant metal mammoth whom everyone who knows anything about metal has heard, and the signing to Roadrunner (same label as the plague known as Nickelback). Thankfully, nothing too drastic has happened because of this in terms of Opeth's songwriting.
The album opens with Ghost Of Perdition, which is to my ears the most consistently good track on the album, and fits right alongside other later-day Opeth album openers such as The Moor, The Leper Affinity, and April Ethereal (well.. you know what i mean). With a strange "happy" jingle of a melody early on, a lot of people were eager to cry SELLOUT which is absolutely rediculous, as though Opeth was never allowed to have fun and lighten up the music from time to time. I like it. Reminds me of a Glad Clingwrap commercial, or the new Dirt Devil ON SALE NOW AS SEEN ON TV... ahh... anyway, from there comes one of my favorite "moments" of the album, and that's the cadence to the clean section of the song, with an absolutely gorgeous vocal melody backed with the acoustic Opeth sound we've grown to love. So good. Now on to the bad stuff...
Besides this opening song, the album lacks the consistency of greatness typical of Opeth. The songs have "boring" sections, and the pieces don't seem to take you somewhere like they did (especially) on the first 3 albums. Too flat and samey throughout. Many fans felt a bit unstatisfied with the previous 2 Opeth albums, Deliverance & Damnation, and indeed something DID seem to be "missing", particularly with Deliverance. The riffing style changed from a multilayered, subtley dissonant and harmonized sound into a more straight forward power chord festival. Now i don't know about the rest of you, but i liked it more when Opeth's guitar parts sounded unique. I was also hoping they would leave behind this sound and go back to something that was more "them", akin to MAYH or Still Life. Unfortunately, this syncopated, chug-chug-chug riffing is back and nearly as prominent as on Deliverance. I guess some people like that sound, but i'd prefer to let the 45467678964 other bands doing it continue on, and Opeth do something not so "regular" with the guitarwork. Luckily, this isn't always the case, but they resort to the "chug chug" far more often than i would like.
Besides the opening track, there are other Highlights to the album. The middle section of Harlequin Forest is as beautiful as anything Opeth has done, though the song does drag in a lot of places. There's the closing track as well which is definitely a great "clean" song. There are other experiments on the album (Atonement, which is unlike anything they've ever done, almost middle eastern in feel, as well as Beneath The Mire's proggy carnival first half) and they come off rather well, but i still can't help but feel "unmoved". Opeth used to bring me to my knees with the beauty they could create. Now granted, my tastes have changed, and it may well be ME that is the problem, but it seems to me that this album was more going through the motions than creating something forever memorable and moving.
All in all, this isn't a bad album, and i'd say maybe a little better than Deliverance, but it ranks in the bottom half of the Opeth catalogue. It's definitely not a sellout album, and Opeth's integrity hasn't changed at all. The band is trying a few new things while keeping the sound they've essentially kept the same since MAYH. Unfortunately for me, it feels as though these little experiments didn't pay off when it comes down to it. I'll take my Ghost Of Perdition, but the rest... meh. I've got the first 5 Opeth albums to keep me happy. Honestly, i don't see Opeth ever reaching that level of brilliance again anyway, no matter what direction they take.
PS: All you new fans need to stop ignoring Orchid and Morningrise... easily among the best Opeth has ever done, just very different in approach.
Reviewer: Michael Smith (Grande Prairie, AB, Canada) - See all my reviews
Now take that as you will, since Opeth is a band of extreme quality. I know a lot of us were a bit aprehensive about this album, with Opeth snowballing into this giant metal mammoth whom everyone who knows anything about metal has heard, and the signing to Roadrunner (same label as the plague known as Nickelback). Thankfully, nothing too drastic has happened because of this in terms of Opeth's songwriting.
The album opens with Ghost Of Perdition, which is to my ears the most consistently good track on the album, and fits right alongside other later-day Opeth album openers such as The Moor, The Leper Affinity, and April Ethereal (well.. you know what i mean). With a strange "happy" jingle of a melody early on, a lot of people were eager to cry SELLOUT which is absolutely rediculous, as though Opeth was never allowed to have fun and lighten up the music from time to time. I like it. Reminds me of a Glad Clingwrap commercial, or the new Dirt Devil ON SALE NOW AS SEEN ON TV... ahh... anyway, from there comes one of my favorite "moments" of the album, and that's the cadence to the clean section of the song, with an absolutely gorgeous vocal melody backed with the acoustic Opeth sound we've grown to love. So good. Now on to the bad stuff...
Besides this opening song, the album lacks the consistency of greatness typical of Opeth. The songs have "boring" sections, and the pieces don't seem to take you somewhere like they did (especially) on the first 3 albums. Too flat and samey throughout. Many fans felt a bit unstatisfied with the previous 2 Opeth albums, Deliverance & Damnation, and indeed something DID seem to be "missing", particularly with Deliverance. The riffing style changed from a multilayered, subtley dissonant and harmonized sound into a more straight forward power chord festival. Now i don't know about the rest of you, but i liked it more when Opeth's guitar parts sounded unique. I was also hoping they would leave behind this sound and go back to something that was more "them", akin to MAYH or Still Life. Unfortunately, this syncopated, chug-chug-chug riffing is back and nearly as prominent as on Deliverance. I guess some people like that sound, but i'd prefer to let the 45467678964 other bands doing it continue on, and Opeth do something not so "regular" with the guitarwork. Luckily, this isn't always the case, but they resort to the "chug chug" far more often than i would like.
Besides the opening track, there are other Highlights to the album. The middle section of Harlequin Forest is as beautiful as anything Opeth has done, though the song does drag in a lot of places. There's the closing track as well which is definitely a great "clean" song. There are other experiments on the album (Atonement, which is unlike anything they've ever done, almost middle eastern in feel, as well as Beneath The Mire's proggy carnival first half) and they come off rather well, but i still can't help but feel "unmoved". Opeth used to bring me to my knees with the beauty they could create. Now granted, my tastes have changed, and it may well be ME that is the problem, but it seems to me that this album was more going through the motions than creating something forever memorable and moving.
All in all, this isn't a bad album, and i'd say maybe a little better than Deliverance, but it ranks in the bottom half of the Opeth catalogue. It's definitely not a sellout album, and Opeth's integrity hasn't changed at all. The band is trying a few new things while keeping the sound they've essentially kept the same since MAYH. Unfortunately for me, it feels as though these little experiments didn't pay off when it comes down to it. I'll take my Ghost Of Perdition, but the rest... meh. I've got the first 5 Opeth albums to keep me happy. Honestly, i don't see Opeth ever reaching that level of brilliance again anyway, no matter what direction they take.
PS: All you new fans need to stop ignoring Orchid and Morningrise... easily among the best Opeth has ever done, just very different in approach.
MasterOLightning
Optimator
I agree with some who say that this album just isn't as moving as BWP or MR, and that may be due to the lack of discovery involved at this point. There are hit songs, but not the consistency found on previous releases. The production is sharp, but doesn't really create a mood. It doesn't sound evil at all, which is part of what made BWP and MAYH great. On the plus side, it displays excellent work by the rhythm section. At this point I still rank the album about on par with MAYH, and ahead of D1, D2, SL, and Orchid.
I wouldn't say the whole thing is evil, but for me, there are evil sounding moments. TGC sounds evil, a few moments there in The Baying of The Hounds and in Ghost Of Perdition.
I still think this album is consistent, I mean, for me, musically this is a masterpiece. So its consistent with all the others.
For me, GR is their best work since Still Life. Arguably in my top 3.
Ikil
I still think this album is consistent, I mean, for me, musically this is a masterpiece. So its consistent with all the others.
For me, GR is their best work since Still Life. Arguably in my top 3.
Ikil
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