DAMNATION

I am a rather latecomer to Opeth, only coming to them after Mikael Åkerfeldt dropped the death metal monster growls and were going for a heavy prog approach, so naturally it was Heritage that I bought first, then going for their next effort Pale Communion. Damnation, I realized was a stark contrast to its sister release Deliverance. Both recorded at the same time, supposed to have been a double CD, but instead released separately several months apart. Damnation really has much more in common with the likes of Heritage and Pale Communion a decade later. A more proggy approach, not as so heavy guitar playing, more acoustic, and no monster growls. While Heritage and Pale Communion had alienated many fans, at least with Damnation, the fans felt this was a one-off effort and it was back to heavy stuff (and it would be until Åkerfeldt felt he was no longer improving on his growling vocal technique), but it did bring in some of the prog faithful who was otherwised put off by the death metal approach. In fact, many, both its supporters and detractors felts that Opeth was turning into Porcupine Tree. It helps that Steven Wilson not only produced the album but even appears on the album even sings, so the Porcupine Tree sound could not be avoided. After buying their two recent albums, I was totally flattered how similar Damnation was to their recent material. If you want Opeth to be heavy, this isn't it, if you want to hear the more mellow side of them, the more prog oriented side, just like the recent efforts, then this comes recommended.