- Dec 30, 2004
- 709
- 1
- 18
I actually wrote this review a long, long time ago, and it was written for a non-metal forum, so you'll have to excuse some of the mistakes with dates and just general bad knowledge. Well here it is, in all of it's copy-pasted glory.
If you'd ever heard these Swedish Progressive Death-metallers 1995 release Orchid, nothing on here would be a new surprise and this would just seem like an improvement on the debut. Also, if you own Orchid, you'd wonder what new whacky cover these would have, considering in the black/death metal prime these put a pink flower on their debut cd. Finally, if you own Orchid, you'd know that for 5 years Opeth were between labels, therefore being unable to release their debut album. And when it finally was released, they couldn't fit all of the material on it. And that's where Morningrise came in.
After having a look at the interesting cover, and reading the track-list (also noticing the ridiculous length of the songs), the cd would enter your cd player, and the magic begins.
Track 1, named Advent, starts with a fade in of a simple, clean guitar riff, and with 4 clashes of the hi-hat the guitar duo of Mikael Akerfeldt and Peter Lindgren enter with a fast, heavy yet melodic riff. You can already tell that this album is going to be special. However, about 30 seconds into this, it all slows down, and eventually stops. "What is going on?" you may say, but a second later you realise. Opeth aren't called progressive for nothing. This little acoustic interlude is one of many to come, but it is quite short-lived. In comes another heavy riff, which lasts about another 30 seconds (now you're about 2 minutes in) and there is a short guitar harmony that leads into a faster drum beat, and a third riff. This fits with the harmony so well, yet it would also sound perfect as the beginning to the song itself. This is when Mikael's voice comes in - considered by many as the most versatile, solid and "evil" death metal voice on the planet. The next 5 minutes is a mix of evil, melodic heavy riffs and beautifully creepy acoustic interludes. About 8 minutes in, after a rather long acoustic section which also introduces Mikael's amazing singing voice, the song returns to it's heaviness and speed. These next 3 minutes are probably the heaviest, most brutal part of Morningrise. To end the song there is a long, eerie acoustic section which ties off with a beautiful 10 second riff which fades out, ending the 14 minute masterpiece.
Track 2, The Night and the Silent Water, takes a totally different approach to the intro, bursting in with a heavy riff played by both guitars, and a short acoustic section which fades into a very melodic riff which Mikael's evil vocals blend perfectly with. Again, Mikael's beautiful singing voice is used in an acoustic part, which explodes into another heavy riff. However, this riff is closed off perfectly with a sudden change in mood with acoustic guitars. These then stop, 7 minutes into the 10 minute track, and the outro begins. Opeth seem to try very hard to make their outros as big a part of the music as the song itself, and it certainly shows with this. Pounding drums set the scene while a simple acoustic riff of 2 chords switches into an explosion of distortion. Somehow, you can just tell that this is an outro and nothing can follow it.
Nectar, the third track, enters with drums. I can't really say much about this song that hasn't been said about the first two - it is basically the same. The first of only two differences is the fact that there is a solo. Orchid had many solos, showing off Mikael and Peter's great abilities to write 2-man solos. However, this album only has Mikael playing lead, which is a bit of let down. Despite that, this solo is still amazing and has a great feel and melody to it. The second difference in this track is the end. Once again, there is an outro. But this time it's a sudden change - a beautiful riff repeated by heavy and acoustic guitars is suddenly blown away by a high, screeching, yet "moshable" riff to close the song, ending at 11 minutes.
I am not going to review track's 4 and 5. Not only because Black Rose Immortal is a 20 minute opus which would take too long to review, but there are just no words that can do these justice. All I can say is that Opeth certainly have saved the best till last.
Morningrise is an "album". Many albums nowadays are just collections of songs written by the band put onto a cd. Unlike these, Opeth have managed to write songs which play off eachother so perfectly that seperating them would be like removing a part of somebody's body. The beginning track sounds like a beginning. Track's 2, 3 and 4 all fit together so well and are the heart and soul of the record (ie the middle). And the closing riff of To Bid You Farewell is so beautifully crafted that, by the end of it, you will actually be upset that the Morningrise experience is over.
If you'd ever heard these Swedish Progressive Death-metallers 1995 release Orchid, nothing on here would be a new surprise and this would just seem like an improvement on the debut. Also, if you own Orchid, you'd wonder what new whacky cover these would have, considering in the black/death metal prime these put a pink flower on their debut cd. Finally, if you own Orchid, you'd know that for 5 years Opeth were between labels, therefore being unable to release their debut album. And when it finally was released, they couldn't fit all of the material on it. And that's where Morningrise came in.
After having a look at the interesting cover, and reading the track-list (also noticing the ridiculous length of the songs), the cd would enter your cd player, and the magic begins.
Track 1, named Advent, starts with a fade in of a simple, clean guitar riff, and with 4 clashes of the hi-hat the guitar duo of Mikael Akerfeldt and Peter Lindgren enter with a fast, heavy yet melodic riff. You can already tell that this album is going to be special. However, about 30 seconds into this, it all slows down, and eventually stops. "What is going on?" you may say, but a second later you realise. Opeth aren't called progressive for nothing. This little acoustic interlude is one of many to come, but it is quite short-lived. In comes another heavy riff, which lasts about another 30 seconds (now you're about 2 minutes in) and there is a short guitar harmony that leads into a faster drum beat, and a third riff. This fits with the harmony so well, yet it would also sound perfect as the beginning to the song itself. This is when Mikael's voice comes in - considered by many as the most versatile, solid and "evil" death metal voice on the planet. The next 5 minutes is a mix of evil, melodic heavy riffs and beautifully creepy acoustic interludes. About 8 minutes in, after a rather long acoustic section which also introduces Mikael's amazing singing voice, the song returns to it's heaviness and speed. These next 3 minutes are probably the heaviest, most brutal part of Morningrise. To end the song there is a long, eerie acoustic section which ties off with a beautiful 10 second riff which fades out, ending the 14 minute masterpiece.
Track 2, The Night and the Silent Water, takes a totally different approach to the intro, bursting in with a heavy riff played by both guitars, and a short acoustic section which fades into a very melodic riff which Mikael's evil vocals blend perfectly with. Again, Mikael's beautiful singing voice is used in an acoustic part, which explodes into another heavy riff. However, this riff is closed off perfectly with a sudden change in mood with acoustic guitars. These then stop, 7 minutes into the 10 minute track, and the outro begins. Opeth seem to try very hard to make their outros as big a part of the music as the song itself, and it certainly shows with this. Pounding drums set the scene while a simple acoustic riff of 2 chords switches into an explosion of distortion. Somehow, you can just tell that this is an outro and nothing can follow it.
Nectar, the third track, enters with drums. I can't really say much about this song that hasn't been said about the first two - it is basically the same. The first of only two differences is the fact that there is a solo. Orchid had many solos, showing off Mikael and Peter's great abilities to write 2-man solos. However, this album only has Mikael playing lead, which is a bit of let down. Despite that, this solo is still amazing and has a great feel and melody to it. The second difference in this track is the end. Once again, there is an outro. But this time it's a sudden change - a beautiful riff repeated by heavy and acoustic guitars is suddenly blown away by a high, screeching, yet "moshable" riff to close the song, ending at 11 minutes.
I am not going to review track's 4 and 5. Not only because Black Rose Immortal is a 20 minute opus which would take too long to review, but there are just no words that can do these justice. All I can say is that Opeth certainly have saved the best till last.
Morningrise is an "album". Many albums nowadays are just collections of songs written by the band put onto a cd. Unlike these, Opeth have managed to write songs which play off eachother so perfectly that seperating them would be like removing a part of somebody's body. The beginning track sounds like a beginning. Track's 2, 3 and 4 all fit together so well and are the heart and soul of the record (ie the middle). And the closing riff of To Bid You Farewell is so beautifully crafted that, by the end of it, you will actually be upset that the Morningrise experience is over.
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