MORNINGRISE

Opeth's second opus was a dramatic improvement in song structure, mature songwriting, and just plain beauty. Each of the only 5 songs on this album are long, complex, and changing in mood/tempo.

I found this album to be leaps and bound better than Orchid, which was in its own right a great debut, but quite unrefined. However, Morningrise also retains the rawness and originality of Opeth in their early throes, before the technicality and high-end production would take over (not that this was entirely bad).

This album and Blackwater Park are standouts in the Opeth discography to me, both for the abovementioned qualities, and for the perfect balance of light and dark, energy and beauty that they embody. My Arms Your Hearse was an unfocused album in my opinion, lacking in fluidity and grace, and Still Life was a great concept album, just a little off- balance with some of the heavier tracks (e.g. White Cluster, Serenity Painted Death, etc.). Still Life remains a distant third place for me behind Morningrise and Blackwater Park. The two newer 'twin' albums are an anomaly in Opeth's repertoir, but both have their strong and not-so-weak points.

Morningrise is given 5 stars because its only flaw (in my book) is the weak production of a wonderful band before they had the means to perfectly express the art and inherent greatness of their music. This album and Blackwater Park, to me, represent the pinnacle of balance, songwriting, and dualistic majesty that is Opeth. After quite a few albums now, Opeth still leave one anxious in anticipation for their next musical endeavor.