MORNINGRISE

Morningrise was my introduction to Opeth and while it took me a few listens to truly grasp the intricacies that envelope this masterpiece it eventually became one of my favorite albums of all time.

Like most great music, Morningrise takes a while to completely comprehend. For example; the first acoustic passage on the opening track "Advent" absolutely astounded and inspired me the first time I heard it but I couldn't quite get past some of the longer distorted guitar harmonies and, at times, out of pitch clean vocal melodies. I think it was somewhere between my eighth and fiftieth listen to the album as a whole that it truly clicked how masterful and wonderfully organic it all was.

To this day, when I spin the needle on my Morningrise record I am taken back to that awe inspiring moment I heard the bass groove over that beautifully crafted, yet simple, acoustic guitar moment on "Advent."

From that aforementioned opening song until the last clean vocal on "To Bid You Farewell," Opeth's Morningrise is an album that should not go unheard by any fan of progressive heavy music.

I recently revisited Opeth's entire catalog with the intention to review each album and every individual song fairly. So, as a fair result this record gets a 49/50. My only imperfect song score went to "Black Rose Immortal" as I felt it was a tad (and I mean tiny) bit drawn out. In conclusion, I think a 49/50 definitely warrants a perfect 5 star review.

Morningrise: Advent - 10/10 The Night and the Silent Water - 10/10 Nectar - 10/10 Black Rose Immortal - 9/10 To Bid You Farewell - 10/10