GHOST REVERIES

This is certainly a great album,and certainly very different from others Opeth's album. After Damnation something seems changed,three acoustic tracks on a Opeth recors it's pretty unusual (and a song like Atonement seems too much like a filler) but the final solo of Hours Of Wealth deserve the entire price of the disc,Akerfeldt's style reminds of Andrew Latimer but in a dark vein,Isolation Years it's the sad outro of the record,very emotional. The rest of the album it's very difficult to analyse,it's very similar to their previous album,we have traces of Morningrise,My Arms Your Hearse,Stll Life and Deliverance, and they are well balanced and mixed together,in the the longest track Reverie/Harlequin Forest,they explore all the sonic universe of Opeth,moment of great brutality,great acoustic pieces and melodic and growling singing at their top. The differences from a classical Opeth album are off course keyboards and also a new way to approach to melodic singing by Mikael,really emotional,but less malinconic,and by saying this I'm not saying it's better,but is really staggering at first. I think that what makes Opeth so special it's the fact that they don't need anything apart from guitars and drums to create what they've created in the past, I don't dislike keyboard on this album but simply if they were'nt there I will surely don't miss them. A part from all those things the album sounds really great,there are great moments of music,and the group's style has evolved once more,mixing Death,Thrash,70's Prog,Folk and Jazz,this is trully the best album of the year,not only in prog music. I can't listen to this record and don't think it is in fact a masterpiece,you must hear this album,it's definitely something you have to listen,and not once. The swedish act confirm themselves as one of the best group nowdays