Opeth - Damnation
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Free Music Notes for Damnation
Free Music Review: Incredible, intense, emotional, exquisite!
Hit: 5 Stars
I have been a fan of most kinds of rock music since 1965, but I have always had a particular fondness for progressive rock. During the past five or six years a good friend introduced me to the music of Porcupine Tree, and that band has become one of my favorites. I became curious about Opeth when I noticed Porcupine Tree was opening for them on a tour during the last couple of years. Apparently PT's leader Steven Wilson had been influenced by harder sounds, including some of those of Opeth, and it showed on PT's "In Absentia" album.
When I discovered that Wilson produced "Damnation" and provided assistance on keyboards and vocal harmonies, I immediately ordered the CD. I was not disappointed at all, as this is simply one of the best discs I have purchased in a long while, including some of my Porcupine Tree CDs.
The songs smolder... something is bubbling beneath the surface in each and every number. Opeth has a reputation as a "death metal" band, and this album conveys a sense of quiet desperation, sometimes agony... but all the instruments have a "clean" sound. There is nothing fast, nothing sounds muddy, and there is no screaming. Instead, what you get is a fairly quiet but tense album full of emotions that are barely concealed, like in an aching heart ready to burst... with a band that displays remarkable patience in the musical arrangements.
The crisp drumming and Wilson's use of the mellotron (particularly on the album-opener "Windowpane") make me think of those aspects of King Crimson's sound in the Seventies. Mikael Akerfeld's vocals are nothing short of incredible in that he can reveal so much emotion when he sings. He has a beautiful voice, and it is wonderfully complemented by Wilson's harmonies. The guitar-playing and bass-playing are solid, and the instrumental piece "Ending Credits" is outstanding. The way the intense guitar lines snake around throughout the album lends the whole production a rather crawly feeling, as if something is about to explode.
While I wouldn't say this is an uplifting CD, I think it is a great one, a very satisfyingly organic work. There is strength to be found in the way all parts work together to create a solid whole. The result is a complete, mature, determined, fully realized work of art.
Now that I know more about Opeth, I intend to explore their louder side as well. It is good to know Wilson has produced other albums of theirs, too. Thanks to Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson for helping me discover a great new band! And thanks to Opeth for changing some of my conceptions about what makes a band what it is.
Free Music Review: The way mainstream modern rock should be.
Hit: 5 Stars
A friend of mine recommended I check this CD out, saying it was one of the best he had heard in a while. Being familiar with Opeth's previous works, I was expecting a torrential downpour of progressive death metal. What I encountered was an album that made me angry; angry that music like this isn't getting radio play, while no-talent idiots rule the mainstream rock arena supreme.
With the music turned down a notch and the vocals being a bit more understandable, Opeth managed to capture their sound without deviating from writing good music. In an era where most metal bands write a soft album to "get big" and forget about whatever originality they previously had, Opeth wrote a softer album in homage to their progressive influences and came out with an astonishing album that not only highlights their exceptional song writing ability, but also fills even the most novice music listener with a euphoria commonly associated with a religious experience.
Despite being eight songs deep, each song carries itself rather well. Windowpane, In My Time of Need, and Death Whispered a Lullaby bring through a wave of deep, ambient energy, which suits to build up Closure, which may be the heaviest sounding track on the CD. It almost feels as if these songs build the introduction to the theme of the album, whereas the final four songs seem to establish the resolution of the album, especially the instrumental near the end, appropriately titled Ending Credits.
There is one track which I personally feel goes above and beyond the level that would be considered exceptional. The song Hope Leaves is absolutely beautiful and hypnotic, unveiling singer/guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt's ability to demonstrate a part of their music that can relate to the core of the human experience. While a poetic love song about losing that "special someone" might sound contrived when many others write a song on that topic, few can truly capture the feeling the way that Opeth does during this song.
I feel sorry for the Opeth fans who've turned their back on this album, claiming that it should be as "metal" as their previous efforts. They're truly neglecting a work of excellence due to the fact that it doesn't fit into the conventional context of what is expected of a "metal" band. Lesser bands have achieved platinum status.
Please stop at nothing to get this CD. You owe it to yourself to make this a part of your collection. Hopefully, radio will open its eyes to this type of work, and a new standard will be set for exceptional song writing once again.
Free Music Review: Haunting Electric Folk Rock
Hit: 5 Stars
"Damnation" is one of the best and most unique releases in Opeth's ever growing resume of impressive recordings. Originally planned as a mellow companion piece for the experimental death metal of "Deliverence," the material proved to be strong enough to stand on its own two weary feet. By no means the standard thrown together soft songs one would expect from a metal act, the band and genius producer, Steve Wilson, put as much effort and ambition into the recordings as they did on the heavier counterpart. Oddly enough, what could have been their most limited album ends up being perhaps their most adventerous.
Akerfeld and Lindgren's expressive electirc guitars weep and moan like melancholy ghosts, while the folky acoustics are seductively dark and mysterious. Lopez(drums) and Mendez(bass) form the backbone of the album with tight tragic grooves you can tap your foot to. Eerily filling out the background Wilson uses spooky organs, keys, piano and other subtle effects to enhance the bittersweet rainy day atmpshere. While the music could be described as mellow there is often a nervous, suspenseful energy as well as not so vague hints of something more sinister perhaps even evil lurching beneath the surface. In top form, Akerfeldt convincingly croons the gloomy lyrics like a long dead phantom longing for the return of a lost love that will never come back; his weary voice frail but incredibly rich in understated emotion.
Despite the group's progressive rock roots and influences, most of the songs are tightly structured in a digestable pop format complete with tension building verses and releasing memorable choruses you can sing a long to.( Though the music is a great deal more busy and dense than most pop structured rock obviously.) The urgent but lengthy opener "Windowpane" is the exception with it's tasteful solos and instrumental passages. Other exceptions include: the mourning guitar led instrumental "End Credits" and the quiet bluesy Avant Garde of "Weakness ". Other highlights include the climatic "Closure," which is the only time the band really breaks lose and goes into a lengthy, menacing freak out jam that makes the heavier moments of their other albums sound like child's play; even without the benefit of distorted guitars and growled vocals. "Hope Leaves" might also be the band's most beautiful if not sorrowful moment with it's chiming autumn rain melodies and moving vocals.
Free Music Review: Opeth delivers again....and again and again
Hit: 5 Stars
I've heard 'Damnation' being called folk metal, progressive rock, psychaedelic rock a la the 70's, and a few other labels that don't do Opeth's latest release a bit of justice. The first word that comes to mind when listening to Damnation is 'beautiful'. If sound is nothing more than the arrangement of sound waves into patterns that create harmonies which are pleasing to the ear, then Opeth has succeeded in mastering the art of creating beautiful sounds. A complete break from Opeth's previous releases, Damnation features little distorted guitar and no growling death metal vocals. The vocals always carry a harmony that is well thought out and fits perfectly with the guitar work. No instrument dominates the recording and the atmosphere created by the haunting subtlety of each song's melody combined with the gloomy art work and title of 'damnantion' makes this cd a near-perfect listening experience. Damnantion was recorded at the same session as Deliverance, but I feel that Damnantion is the true jewel that arose from the recording session. The theme of the cd seems to be loss, as in the loss of a loved one, but the theme of death never seems to leave the picture with Opeth as is seen in many of their previous releases. The only part of the cd that I will dare to criticize is the drum sound. The actual performance on the drums is excellent and demonstrates Opeth's drummer's ability to switch between blazingly fast metal drumming to calm percussion that sits in the background of the music. However, the drum sound leaves something to be desired. The toms do not have the sort of sound I enjoy and nor does the snare. drums are not only a beat keeping insturment, but also an insturment that produces a tone through resonance of the drum skins, and the drum tone on Damnantion sounds more like pieces of plastic than anyhting else. I was able to move past this 'problem' and it bothers me no longer. If anyhting, I was simply searching for some flaw in this cd which seems about a perfect as one can imagine. If you are expecting fast, thrashy metal with hints of folk-like melody that can be heard in Opeth's previous releases, do not be disappointed when you hear no such genre of music. Damnation might be calssified as acoustic rock/metal/progressive/whatever you want to call it, but I think that the only worthy way to classify 'Damnantion' is by using the word 'beautiful'.Free Music Review: Another masterpiece from the Almighty Opeth.
Hit: 5 Stars
As I write this, I am listening to "Windowpane," the dream-like opener to this work of art. It's Opeth man, what else can I say? If you're reading this review it means you're a fan and should've already bought the album. This is by far Opeth's most experimental album to date, gone are the demonic drumming and crushing guitars and growling death metal vox, instead all of the focus is put on the melody and mellow parts of the music. Remember songs like "Benighted" and "To Bid you Farewell?" This whole album contains songs within that style, and an instrumental track that's great too. ("Ending Credits.") Steven Wilson continues to produce Opeth, giving the music a super-glossy production - it sounds like they recorded it in Carnegie Hall. Definately shows you how far they've gone since the raw sounds of Orchid and Morningrise. Since there isn't insane amounts of heavy metal distortion going on anymore, the emphasis is put on Mikael's godly singing and Mendez's thick bass. This entire album is a soundscape, something that sounds like it couldn't be done within our reality. It creates its own world, just like all the other brilliant albums done by this band. It doesn't hit you as hard as its predecessor, rather, it slowly grows on your soul like Morningrise did. The first listen, you'll enjoy it and appreciate the fantastic melodies. The second time you'll find your favorite songs. The third time you'll be hooked.
People who like Opeth mostly for the death-metal style onslaughts will be dissappointed, but surely will find something to like here. The guitar work is still amazing, though there's much less solos on here than any other album. Keep your mind open, for Opeth isn't all about being insanely brutal. (Though heavyness is a great thing!) Basically if you've enjoyed the acoustic ballads on any of their previous albums, you'll love this. Also, the songs are all around four minutes long, minus the opening song. In fact the album's total clocking time is 44 minutes. Definately a trimmed down time for Opeth, usually barely squeezing the last drop of their music on the CD.
So basically, this is another masterpiece from the metal gods, and will stretch all of our expectations on how amazing metal can be. Buy it. Now.