THE GRAND CONJURATION

While the presence of a radio edit is never a good sign, 'The Grand Conjuration' remains one of the band's most evil and aggressive tracks. Filled to the brim with tri-tones and heaviness, the track falls into an atmospheric acoustic segment when the vocals come in, although things still sound heavy as ever. The tension slowly builds, and the music finally explodes in a furious bout of death metal.

I find it dissapointing that the band/label found it necessary to cut this song in half, which I find affects the build of the music and atmosphere. This version of 'The Grand Conjuration' however, still has the memorable guitar solo that made the song so powerful to me. Coupled with a typical death metal video, this song won't be appreciated by all progheads; but moreso the metalhead.

A great track from 'Ghost Reveries,' although there are certainly more involved tracks on that album that I have gotten more enjoyment out of.

The Grand Conjuration is easily one of my favorite tracks off Opeth's fantastic albums Ghost Reveries. The song is easily one of the evilest, heaviest, angriest, fiercest, and most dynamic Opeth song on the album (if not in general) and I hold it in great esteem. Akerfeldt had crafted a truly magnificent piece of music, and it truly adds amazing light to the album. But, this is not the album. This is a single. And the song here is only 5 minutes long.

What? It's 10 minutes on the album!

Yes, the band decided to radio edit the song, to my dismay. Roadrunner Records, the bastards, thought it appropriate to make some pretty music videos, and although those in their own right promote the band to many new fans and make the band a living, they kind of botched the song in the process. They cut out half the song! Of course the song is still good in its own right, but is nowhere near the power and glory of the studio record. The subtle dynamics appearing in the full version are not given their full ardor and feeling on the edit, and the incredible power of the full version has been compressed and trimmed to fit the bill for your average metal radio (with obvious fantastic Opethian overtones). Overall, this single really isn't necessary for anyone to get. Go on youtube, watch the music video, and you can hear in it's trimmed state. But other than that, the single is a waste of energy. Get the album, imbibe in its wonderful glory, and you shall be satisfied. 2- stars.