No band in metal today generates such passionately polarized views as Opeth. Even other bands in the love em or hate em club like Dream Theater and Meshuggah have at least some fans that stand on less zealous ground, or metal fans that never generate much of an opinion either way. But it seems as though there isnt a metal fan alive that doesnt have a closely held opinion on the subject of Opeth. All eyes will be on Ghost Reveries, regardless of whether their owners regard Opeth as thieving, genre-watering sellouts or ground breaking, genre-bending master craftsmen. In order to provide a balanced dissection of one of the most anticipated albums of the year, we have offered not only a traditional review, but also several additional abbreviated opinions of Ghost Reveries.
Any new Opeth release is enough to create fervor amongst the metal community, but several factors make Ghost Reveries a pivotal album for the band. For starters, this is the bands first album after their freshly landed deal with Roadrunner, and metal fans are interested to know whether the band has pushed for a more accessible sound in light of their new opportunity for increased exposure. Compounding that is the Damnation factor, and the curiosity of if and how well the band will return to a heavier style. Then there is the absence of producer and collaborator Steven Wilson, who produced the bands last three albums. Finally, the band added a full time keyboardist in Per Widberg. These and other contextual factors are manifested in different ways, and some more pleasingly than others, but Ghost Reveries is without a doubt very much a product of Opeths career path and current circumstances. Put another way, they couldnt have made this album at any earlier time in their career, and couldnt have made a substantially different album this year. Unfortunately, few of the adjustments made for Ghost Reveries have contributed to the overall strength of the band. While no means poorly written, Ghost Reveries will nonetheless disappoint many Opeth fans upon first listen. Some of what rubs the wrong way comes from stylistic changes, and some from moments that evidence the bands growing pains. Much of the uncertainty over the stylistic changes fades after repeated listens, but in general its difficult to argue that the band has made a change for the better.
News of the absence of producer and collaborator Steven Wilson (involved since 2001s Blackwater Park) was celebrated by some fans, as many felt that Wilsons influence was too pronounced on the bands last three albums. However, his absence hasnt resulted in any shift back to a pre-Blackwater Park mentality, and in truth, such a hope was naïve. Drawn up on the blackboard, the game plan for Ghost Reveries makes some sense. The bands intent seems to have been to find a way to bridge the dichotomy between their death metal and mellow sides by upping the proggish quotient and adding more midrange clean vocals. In theory, this reformulation would result in a more seamless integration of styles. Theory is different from practice. In practice, what theyve done is further reduced their ever shrinking death metal elements by spacing them out more and in some cases reducing the heft of their delivery. And besides, the stark dichotomy between their harsh and ethereal styles was a part of what worked so well for Opeth. The other implementation issue results from the band still learning how best to integrate Per Widbergs keyboard work into their sound full time. Although well used during the mellow tracks and many of the quieter portions of the heavier songs, during the heavy passages of music the keyboard work often serves as an unwelcome distraction. This is painfully apparent during the intro to the second track, Baying of the Hounds, when the Hammond bangs along with the heavy riff work, and much worse, on the keyboard driven intro of Beneath the Mire, a song that doesnt recover until its second half. But there are also countless occasions when Widbergs work is well utilized as a more subtle support to the music, contributing to the mood without overwhelming the melody or compromising the intensity. One perfect example of this is during a clean passage of Reverie/Harlequin Forest, when he compliments the vocals and clean picking guitar pattern with a more restrained, No Quarter-like melody.
Opeths music has always been about moments. Their long songs and complex arrangements are difficult to absorb after a single listen, and so becoming enthralled with an Opeth song is a process that usually occurs in a step by step manner. An initial focus on a transition, riff or outro gradually expands as the listener grabs hold of other favorite segments, until eventually the composition becomes whole by becoming strung together by a collection of moments. Despite some less successful moments the songs of Ghost Reveries all contain enough strengths to hook fans of Opeths recent work. Lets be clear though--Ghost Reveries is the least of Opeths highly impressive catalog. But it does have enough of what Opeth does right to be a worthwhile and even impressive album. The heaviness, tone, style, and personality of Opeth are still present, despite being reorganized. These guys have tremendous talent, and even though some the stylistic changes are unwelcome, its hard to argue with a straight face that most of Ghost Reveries is not well executed. Although the album seems very flat after a listen or two, soon enough plenty of classic Opeth hooks emerge and keep the listener returning for subsequent spins.
The album begins with its strongest track, Ghost of Perdition, a heavy, epic song that would easily fit in with Deliverance-era material. As on that albums title track, the band uses quite a bit of bursting, stop-start riffing that is somewhat reminiscent of a portion of the title track of Tools Lateralus. Åkerfeldt wastes no time in breaking in his new, midrange clean vocals, which take some getting used to, but work well in most places. The poor quality mp3 of The Grand Conjuration thats been floating around the net certainly didnt serve the song well. Hearing a full strength version in the context of the album makes a substantial difference, and although the song is less consistent in its early stages, it recovers into a decent, if unexceptional track. Martin Lopez drum work is more interesting than the riffs, although overall the drums play a less prominent role on Ghost Reveries than they did on Deliverance, when Lopez crushing rhythms were typically right up front. Aside from the aforementioned clumsy keyboards during the intro, Baying of the Hounds is a well executed and primarily heavy track. The melancholy Reverie/Harlequin Forest fills a role similar as A Fair Judgment and The Drapery Falls, although its somewhat heavier than both. Each of the heavy tracks on Ghost Reveries is about ten minutes long, allowing them room to develop into the winding, dynamic journeys that are the bands signature.
Three of the eight songs on the album are Damnation-like mellow tracks. These songs are spread evenly amongst the second half of the album, and include closer Isolation, the hazy, ethereal throwback Atonement, and Hours of Wealth, which is the pick of the bunch. Its an incredibly somber, percussionless song that deals with the aching desolation of isolation and loneliness, and it simply radiates intensity. The end of the song consists of an extended Åkerfeldt solo and sparse keyboard accompaniment, and its pure fucking class. The slow, almost bluesy solo sounds like it could have easily come from the seasoned hands of a Mark Knopfler or David Gilmore. The tone and phrasing is flat out magnificent.
Ghost Reveries probably isnt the album you were hoping to get from Opeth, but is proof that an album can be both disappointing and enjoyable. Despite some occasional misfirings, it is difficult to criticize the quality of the album. Compared to the majority of releases, a 4.5 for songwriting seem a little harsh, but is fair considering this album is a little below the bar set by their back catalog, which are all 5s and above in my book. Opeth are in a situation quite similar to where Iron Maiden were when they released Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Although some fans had jumped ship before that time, most considered the bands back catalog rock solid. At the time, Seventh Son
was considered by many to be a stylistic and creative letdown. History remembers that album differently now, although most would say its still not the bands best work. Over time, Ghost Reveries will grow on some listeners that may be on the fence. If nothing else, it will provide endless fodder for debate.
