Opeth - Damnation (Reissue)

While doing my research in preparation of this review, I noticed that this album seems to catch a lot of shit. And I don’t mean that like, the odd old school Opeth fanboy just blasts it for no good reason either. I’m talking about pages long arguments as to why Damnation is Opeth’s worst album. I mean, these things look like they were written by Ivy League professors. I have to ask, “why”? Why the extreme hatred? Why the surprised reaction? Wasn’t Opeth kind of building towards something like this?

Thing is, I can kind of see why so many felt betrayed. Even if you noticed that they were heading in this particular direction, even if momentarily, it’d still end up being a kind of shock to the system. It’s actually pretty crazy if you think about it; Not a single song on this album is trying to be anything except for progressive rock. Nothing even remotely extreme. Yeah, I can see how some felt alienated by this change. Lucky for me, I have little to no expectation for these albums since I’m fairly new to the whole Opeth deal. And in my opinion, Damnation is my favorite re-issue of the three.

Everything about this album is dead center on the Perfect Progressive Album bull’s eye! Mikael’s voice is right were it needs to be, when it needs to be there. He doesn’t have the best voice in the world, but it’s exactly what is called for here and now and in this album. His progressive structure throughout Damnation is occupying Floydian genius territory! Yeah, there’s a HUGE Pink Floyd influence hanging around here too. You can really hear it in the misty and almost purely atmospheric tones and chillin’ out tempos that populate this album. It should also be said that the incorporation of a grand piano and the creative, ivory ticklin’ mastermind, Steven Wilson is a perfect addition to this line-up of already top-notch musicians in this delicious prog pie.

I also love how even though, not every musician gets a huge slice of said pie (time wise), nobody seems to be underplayed or underused. It’s like I said earlier, where they need to be and when they need to be there. It applies to everything about this album. Not a single note feels like it could of been longer or possibly cut short. None of the lyrics feel forced or even slightly hacked. There’s a perfect balance between vocals to instrumental ratio so that it won’t harsh your mellow (maybe that’s speculation…). There’s not a damn thing that I could say about this album that’s even remotely negative.

Overall: Hate it as an Opeth album or love it as a monumental step in creative direction, either way you have to give it up to Damnation for being a juggernaut of a progressive rock album. I’m even willing to go as far as to say that this album earns a spot towards the very peak of my Best Progressive Albums.

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Opeth - Blackwater Park (Reissue)

I’ve never fully cared either way about Opeth. I mean, I know that these guys are one of the more polarizing bands in all of metal (and one of the biggest reasons for this is today’s subject of review, Blackwater Park) but I’ve just never cared all that much. It’s not that their brand of melodic death metal/progressive metal was a turn-off or anything, it’s just that I never gave them a chance. I think the closest thing to that “chance” would of been when I took a few extra seconds to figure out what the clerk at the 7-11 was listening to one night. Turns out it was this album and I’m not going to lie, it sounded pretty tempting. I just have a shitty memory and forgot to look it up when I got home. Oh well, if it was really something that amazing, it’d find me later on down the road.

And it did. YEARS later, but it did. The fine folks at The End Records (for some fucking reason) sent me a box of CDs, including the re-releases of Blackwater Park, Deliverance and Damnation (watch for those reviews shortly). So thanks for that!

Anyway, on to the review!

The album itself comes in a glossy case with a fairly thick booklet of liner notes and lyrics! That’s some snazzy stuff right there! Also included on the audio disc is a live rendition of The Leper Affinity that fairs pretty well in the grand scheme of things.

Let’s skip over to Disc 2 (a DVD) for a second. You get the 5.0 Surround Sound version of the album album that, I’m sure sounds fucking amazing on a Bose sound system but not all that great coming through my stock speakers in my $200 Magnetbox. Next up, is the Making Of Blackwater Park documentary. Wow… you may as well of watched them record this album in real time because you learn just as much from the documentary. Very in-depth! The boys Opeth talk about how just about every riff was thought up, every lyric was dreamt of and you walk away learning how every moment was genius.

And with that a little too on the nose segue, let’s go back to the main attraction! Since I never got to listen to Blackwater Park beforehand, I can’t tell you if this version is superior to any of the earlier recordings. What I can tell you is that the sound quality is excellent, period. Starting the album up, I was pretty damned excited. I get to listen to an album that I’ve been unconsciously dodging for a couple of years now (it also helped that since it was for review, I had no choice)! About a quarter of the way into the first track, I knew I was in trouble. Aggressive, progressive, melodic death metal? I messed ‘em…

Lyrically, Mikael Akerfeldt’s words are hauntingly beautiful and terrifyingly surreal at times. They’ll take you all over the goddamned place and drag you through murky waters and barbed brier to get you there. But it’s done in such a way that you’ll ask to go again when all is said and done.

As for the overall musicianship… do I really have to say anything here? Most of you already know that this album owns in just about every aspect. Akerfeldt’s voice is simply perfect for the task at hand. Mellow and clean when needed and an oceanically deep growl for when the moments arise. Mikael and Peter Lindgren’s guitar work is also on par with that of some kind of actual guitar Wizard! It’s all so magical! Every riff (that on occasion are played ad naseum, I’ll admit) sounds like a happiness spell that was cast on my eager, prog loving ears. The acoustic stuff is especially pleasing since it’s not overused and punctuates the ends of the better tracks.

Skinman Martin Lopez dazzles on his set with spellbinding rhythms and manic foot work that pops up out of nowhere. I was incredibly happy to learn that the talent didn’t just reside in the vocals and guitars like everyone I knew tried to make me think. This album HAD TO have a competent drummer to be half as good as everyone says it is. I’m also glad to know that I was right, as I always do. And finally, we have bassist Martin Mendez and his speedy bass lines. Seriously, you don’t catch bass rumblin’s like that in progressive metal all too often (and that’s not often enough if you ask me). This guy might be my favorite progressive/melodic bassist next to Ed Vink.

As I mentioned before, some of the riffs are repeated to the point of me being able to point out that they can be a bit repetitive. But they’re great riffs and maybe they deserve to get pounded into your head! No, forget that. They can get to be kind of irritating. So there you naysayers go. I smudged this album a tiny bit. Ya happy?

Overall: I can honestly say that this album deserves all of the hype that’s been surrounding it for eleven years. It is everything you could possibly ask for in a progressive/melodic experience and more. Sure it’s a bit on the repetitive side, but I think that that is a pitfall that every progressive outfit falls into every once in a while. Aside from that, this re-release of Blackwater Park is a “Must Have” if you don’t already have it and if you do, then I beg you to consider this version if not only for the documentary.

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Opeth - Deliverance (Reissue)

Ah! And here we are again with Opeth and their distinct brand of melodic metal! Unlike their previous album, Deliverance is more on the heavy, melodicly death metally side of the spectrum. And this particular re-issue doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles that Blackwater Park re-issue did. Just a shinny new finish to the overall sound quality. Much appreciated as it once again, sounds fantastic.

The sonic assault that awaited me as I switched out my Blackwater Park album for this one left me in somewhat of a daze. It’s pretty obvious that this is the same band as before, but only slightly. All of the uber tight musicianship is still there and Mikael’s voice is still a perfect match for what’s being played all over. The big difference, as stated before, is that Deliverance is heavy as balls! Speedier beats and a hell of a lot more aggression flows from Martin Lopez and this sticks. Especially in those extended blast beats!

The guitar work is top notch once again! Masterful riffs machine gun and chug their way across your eardrums, tearing anything that may resist into hole riddled husks in the process. That is, when they crank up the arggo. Overall though, the guitar tones are still fairly chill if not a little bit fast in some spots. That’s kind of an odd description, but those of you who’ve heard this album before know exactly what I’m talking about. And once again, we have bass work that begs to be acknowledged for the genius that it is. It’s not very often that the murky bass lines of a melodic album get called out front to beat the audience into submission. I’m sure Martin Mendez doesn’t mind answering that call though.

With the brilliance that is Opeth beginning to grow on me, it’s getting harder to pick out things to be unhappy with (normally, it’s not nearly as big a problem if you know what I mean). All I can really say is that apparently, it’s a habitual problem of Opeth’s to be found recycling the same riffs over and over and over again. Sure guys, I we know their great. You know they're great! But that doesn’t mean you should bludgeon us over the collective head with them! Geez…

Overall: Even if there’s not much to report back on about the re-issueness of this re-issue, the album itself is still a powerhouse of a release! Speedier, melodic, minimal prog (meh. I could of use more just to keep up the flow. But you can’t fault a band for exploring the directions they wish to) and a whole lot of heavy! Opeth are scoring two for two with me so far and something tells me that I’m going to love Damnation just as much as these two previous albums... 

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