Opeth - Damnation
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Free Music Notes for Damnation
Free Music Review: In My Time Of Need
Hit: 5 Stars
Ok, so I go through a major break-up with this girl and what is the first CD I buy...DAMNATION. Talk about putting me in a bigger depression than I already was in...I felt like drawing all the blinds in my house, sitting in the corner in complete darkness and ending it all...well not exactly, but this disc is pretty depressing if you aren't in good spirits.I played this disc non-stop for the last two weeks. It's a really awesome CD...not like anything Opeth has released to date...there are no Cookie Monster vocals on this disc, it's fairly mellow, yet still with a hard/metal edge to it. I just suggest if you are bi-polar or suffering from major depression to stay clear of this CD.
I can't say there really is a bad track on the disc. Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree/no-man fame produced Damnation. Steve brought along a lot of his 70's influence to these songs and I believe has taken Opeth to a new level courtesy of the Mellatron. Mikael Akerfeldt vocals are incredible, so full of emotion and passion. Martin Lopez, Peter Lindgren and Martin Mendez also do an incredible job making this a truly original album.
This is a bittersweet album for me...very emotional...it's a masterpiece.
Favorite tracks are Closure, In My Time Of Need, To Rid The Disease and Death Whispered a Lullaby.
Free Music Review: Amazing!
Hit: 5 Stars
I am fairly new to Opeth. I got into them by "stalking" Steven Wilson, the front-man of Porcupine Tree. It appears that most of what he touches somehow turns to gold (even though Procupine Tree is quite different from Opeth in their style). He produced this record and some other Opeth albums. I checked out Porcupine Tree's friends on their My Space, and Opeth was one of them. One thing led to another...
Anyway, this album is a masterpiece. It is Opeth's most accessible work to casual fans. It is not even a heavy metal album. It is psychadelic to a degree, but not quite like early Porcupine Tree or Pink Floyd - it has its own very unique sound. In My Time of Need is my favorite, but this entire album is a masterpiece. Yes, it is only 42 minutes of music, but all 42 are awesome! It is easily one of the least known awesome albums out there.
Also, if you're new to Opeth, don't rush and buy everything else they have released based on this album, as the rest of it is much different. Their other work involves heavier guitars and very heavy vocals. Although I would much rather have Mikael sing clean vocals, I have come to appreciate their other work as well, because the musicianship on all of their albums is phenomenal. I just wish I could play them all at work. :)
Free Music Review: Aha finally...
Hit: 5 Stars
...the most hotly anticipated Opeth ablum.This album is a dramatic change from all the earlier works of Opeth not because they entirely left out death vox and heavy metal sections but because the songs don't have the build ups and changing melodies that truly set them apart. This album has a more Floydish ambience ( probably due the Porcupine Tree influence). The difference is highlighted if you hear songs like To Bid you Farevell (from the Morningrise album) or Face of Melinda(Still Life) along with Death whispered a Lullaby.
Closure is the only song that has that Opeth feeling. I like this album better than Porcupine Tree's In Absentia, which means it is still pretty good, but it isn't Opeth.
Standout tracks are To Rid the Disease (this has that extruciating feel that Opeth are so good at creating), Closure and Windowpane. The remaining songs too are quite good but not so great but that still makes the album one of the best that has been released in 2003. This album probably has the least staying power when compared to the rest of the Opeth albums.
I hate what Steve Wilson is doing to Opeth. With him they are making albums with better production but lesser Opethian greatness. With him we will never get to hear another Morningrise.
Free Music Review: Forget labels, just call it a great album!
Hit: 5 Stars
I am not a "death metal" fan at all and believe me there is no album out there in that genre that will get an "outstanding" rating from me. Still, I think within that genre Opeth stands out due to the complex music and their use of transitions between the profane and the sublime keping things interesting. But "Damnation" is no death metal album. Instead it sheds signatures of that genre and concentrates on what I think Opeth really does best: the textures within the music. This album is incredible. The vocals are expressive and melodic, and the musicianship is fantastic.
The thing is, some say that with this album Opeth has lost their use of contrasting heavy with light music. Perhaps in volume and tone, but the contrast is there. The music is melodious and beautiful, but listen closely and the sentiment in them is dark and disturbing, and occasionaly feels like a punch in the gut. Listen to "Closure" for example; first time through you enjoy the interesting eastern influences of it. Second time through you catch what the song is about and your heart skips a beat. I'd say that rather than losing the constrasting elements, they've fused them. This is powerful stuff, give it at least two listens to really begin to feel it.
Free Music Review: The softer side of Opeth
Hit: 5 Stars
Even though "Windowpane" is the only song that truly stands out here, I find the whole album to be quite enjoyable. I very much like the heavy, intricate Opeth (as do the people on here who gave this album only 1 star) but I still find this album to be excellent. To all those 1-star reviewers who can't handle any type of change or variety in life, all I have to say is thank god that every song on the planet is NOT death metal. How boring would that be? It would do my head in. I dig death metal and like Akerfeldt's growl as much as the next guy, but I don't want to listen to that 24-7.
Personally, I am glad Opeth took the chance to record something like this. I think it came off quite well with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson co-producing it. My only critique is that there are a few spots on the album where Akerfeldt hits the limits of his clean vocal range and misses a note or two. I'm actually surprised they let these instances through to the final cut and didn't overdub them. But despite that, I find this album to be eminently listenable, and give it 5 stars, and recommend it.
No, it's not standard Opeth prog/death metal, it's not straight death metal, and it's not Tool, and that's the whole point....