GHOST REVERIES

This is Opeth's masterpiece and as said by songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt, the first album without any "holes". It is also a great starting point, along with Damnation, for new Opeth listeners. This is the final Opeth album with drummer Martin Lopez and guitarist Peter Lindgren.

As promised by Mikael, the album starts heavy with Ghost of Perdition. With the first few chords struck, you might be lulled into believing that the album is starting with a ballad or one of their lighter songs. The guttural vocals and heavy riffing that immediately follow, disprove any such notion. The track soars "higher" and higher with solos, vocal hooks, and the deep growls and haunting riffs that we have all come to know and love with Opeth

The second track, The Baying of the Hounds, is the weakest of the heavy tracks on the album, but is still a great song by any standards.

The third track opens with a mellotron melody that it could have done without, but is excellent afterward. There is also a possible reference to Dream Theater's masterpiece "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory" in the line "Lost. love. of the heart in a holocaust scene memory".

Atonement is a great clean track about coming to terms with one's self. It includes some cool drumming, distorted vocals and a beautiful closing piece.

Reverie/Harlequin Forest is probably the standout track of the album. The album switches from heavy riffing to beautiful acoustic passages and closes with an instrumental similar to the ending of A Fair Judgement from Deliverance.

Hours of Wealth is a beautiful clean track. Unlike many Opeth songs, you can appreciate it on the first listen. The track combines clean electric guitars, acoustic, and a piano melody that is followed by standout vocals by Mr Akelfeldt with some mellotron in the background, and closes out with a nice solo.

The Grand Conjuration is the only single of the album. The single is a cut down version of the song, which suits it just fine, because the song is longer than it needs to be. It is still an enjoyable track with a slightly disturbing video with a couple of sexy ladies :)

The album closes with a sad, melodramatic track called 'Isolation Years'. It is about a letter written by an old woman whose lover died many years ago, and realizes that she will die alone. The vocals are clean in this track and is accompanied by a simple melody.

This is a must listen for Opeth fans, progressive metal and death metal fans alike. The following album, Watershed, is a great album but not a masterpiece, but these guys are human afterall.