Ghost Reveries - This is Opeth's eighth full-length album that was released in 2005. Usually people will start with earlier work, but I don't fucking care. This is by far my favorite Opeth album. It opens up with the 10:29 powerhouse, "Ghost of Perdition," which contains more beautifully composed and executed transitions than most bands' (I listen to) careers. It moves wonderfully into the second track, "The Baying of the Hounds" which also finds itself in excess of 10 minutes. Other songs on this album like "Hours of Wealth" do a superb job of showcasing the band's talents of not only being able to write extremely heavy songs, but also soothing and melodic tunes as well. All I really have left to say is that this album was produced to near-perfection, and that the sound quality is phenomenal. Opeth really demonstrates that they make every note count in Ghost Reveries.
Blackwater Park - Released in 2001, Blackwater Park is Opeth's fifth full-length album. This album opens with "The Leper Affinity," a monstrous 10:23 musical adventure composed of beautifully blended musical styles, transitions, pattern changes, and a soothing ending so flawlessly executed that is reminiscent of an Autumn landscape (I fucking love it, don't judge me). "Harvest" is yet another perfect example of Opeth's stunningly diverse musical capabilities, and it flows quite nicely into the following track, "The Drapery Falls" (which has more separate pieces than a goddamn Lego castle, all of which are miraculously amazing). "Dirge for November" is a hauntingly beautiful song that I can only imagine is a about suicide and the stages one goes through (beginning with hopelessness, moving to anger, and then ending with the act of suicide). It's both sad and chilling while still managing to be auditorily attractive. The mood quickly shifts with "The Funeral Portrait," but returns to a somber yet calming state through the instrumental "Patterns in the Ivy."
Orchid - Orchid is Opeth's debut album which was released in 1995. It's absolutely amazing to me that a band could make their debut with such a fantastic album. Every song is in excess of 10 minutes, with the exception of "Silhouette," a piano interlude played by the drummer and "Requiem," an acoustic track that started Opeth's career-long exhibit of 'better-than-your-band' music. Orchid is probably my least favorite Opeth album, but when speaking in terms of this band that still leaves this at an 8.5 out of 10. It certainly isn't as good as most of their other albums, but then again this was their first and the band was still in the stages of developing their style (both as a single entity and as individual musicians). None of the tracks on this album particularly pop out at me as exceptional, but I still find myself listening to it often.
So to effectively sum up my review of this band, I would most most definitely give them a 10 out of 10. I have not disliked anything of theirs I have heard, and their style is very unique and original. It's rare to find a band these days that makes their albums worth buying, but I can honestly say that I feel Opeth is within the elite core of those bands. Every one of their albums contains as much music as possible, and the quality of each is truly beyond expectation. This isn't your estranged second cousin's obscure Black Metal band that sounds like every album was recorded on a 4-track in a metal garbage being thrown down a rocky hill or another electro-grind band that packs over 90 songs onto a mini-disc. It helps that each member of this band knows their job and how to perform their duties to the fullest, and that they obviously care a great deal for the music they write. Opeth is easily one of the most amazing bands I've had the pleasure of listening to, and I can't wait to hear what Watershed (their newest album) sounds like. If their gradual and steady growth from incredible to prodigious continues, that could only leave Opeth in a marvelous utopian state.
-K
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