GHOST REVERIES

I first got hooked on Opeth when i picked up Blackwater Park a little while back. i was completely blown away by this "death metal/prog" coming out of my speakers and very soon after that made another purchase. Still Life. Once again i was amazed. so naturally when Opeth put out a new album (with some pretty cool cover art i might add) i had to buy it. Well driving home from the store i popped it in and turned up the volume. Bad idea. the first song Ghost of Perdition nearly blew my ears off, first in a bad way (i think my ears are still ringing) then in a good way as after i turned it down i heard the "awesomeness". the same was true for most of the rest of the CD and i was once again hooked by the majesty of Opeth. and now, ill get on with it...

Ghost of perdition: As i was saying, a sweet song and my favorite on the disc.The short and mellow yet menacing guitar intro quickly leads into crushing guitar and death metal vocals done opeth style. very nice. this heavyness, for lack of a better word, flows nicly into the mellow part of the song which is very catchy and gets stuck in my head every time. the rest of the song is very nice with a beautiful accoustic section begining at around 2:45. top notch song writing and execution.10/10

Baying of the Hounds: Damn good song. i really liked the keyboard (is that an organ?) coupled with the guitar. the growled heavy sections at the begining ar'nt my favorite, but the clean vocals mare than make up for that. from "everything you believed is a lie..." on, the Baying of the hounds is an excellent song.10/10

Beneath the Mire: Great song although not up to par with the previous two. The intro gets boring after a while but it picks up the pace and quickly gets a lot better. harsh, smooth, gutteral, angelic, it is very typical Opeth and very good.9/10

Atonement: Very very nice song. beautifully done. The vocals are pretty interesting and once again Akerfeltd shows his incredible talent. its a track to kick back and read to, or do some Yoga while your at it.9/10

Reverie / Harlequin Forest: Not a BAD song by any meens, and in fact if done by pretty much any other band, it would be a great song. Unfortunatly Opeth does it. It doesnt flow very well with most of teh album and at times gets, dare i say it, borring. 7/10. like i said, not bad, just not Great.

Hours of Wealth: Very nicely done. different style than most of their other stuff, but sounds like it would fit nicely on damnation. 8.5/10

The Grand Conjuration: Fantastic song. the haunting, ghost like vocals and guitar that follow the intro is some of my favortite opeth to date. the growled sections could use some work i think, but overall its a wonderfull song. neat little solo, leads into some more growling that also need some work. In that, however, lies the only problem with this song. complex and beautiful. 9/10

Isolation Years: Amazing. I really love this song. Beautiful beyond my words which do it no justice.... yeah just listen to the song please... 10/10

In all.. Great.. but not a masterpiece. Ill leave that label for Blackwater Park. However, THis disc more than lives up to expectations and sounds very experimental, which i like, and includes all the aspects that make Opeth Opeth. Bravo boys