Whoa, here we have an album that is a complete contrast to their normal metal sound.
Opeth have seeped into a more mellower, progressive sound where the focus is on the mood of the album rather than the normal rush of heavy guitars. But by no means is this record a bad album, it is f**king awesome.
On their last album,
Deliverance, you might remember all those breaks of a more mellow, laid back sound that would be placed in between the wall of guitars, well her is an album filled with it. There are almost no distorted guitars, with the exception of the occasional solo, mostly just clean electrics played through very warm amplifiers as well as bright sounding acoustics. Vocals on
Damnation are clean, with no growling, being very melodic, not to mention the vocal harmonies used are done in perfect pitch.
Accenting the mood on the album is the use of the Mellotron, which adds ghostly string and choir sounds (think of the way many of the prog-rock bands use it). Other keyboards such as Fender Rhodes Electric pianos and guitars played through the Leslie Speaker Cabinet, add a neat effect while grand acoustic pianos mixed in with an abundance of reverb add a huge ambience to the rather dark album, making you feel like you are in a cathedral.
The albums overall sound could be compared to some of Rainbows earlier mellow stuff (like the song "Catch the Rainbow"),
Porcupine Tree and RWPL due to the progressive backdrop, Anathema, late period Amorphis, and the mellow mood on some of the more laid back cuts on OSI's recent release. Lets maybe say that there are hints of early
King Crimson (especially with the use of the Tron) and even more experimental Radiohead. Lots of different studio effects used really add to the album's sound, used discretely without muddying up the albums mix or production value.
For the songworthy stand out tracks include
"In my Time of Need" with the glistening guitar intro and tin can radio tone vocals standing against the spacious vocal harmonies.
"Closure" is the most progressive song on the album, complete with world music percussion. This record in general has a dark sound to it, with most songs being at slower tempo.
The fact that this record has a clean sound to it showcases
Opeth's musicianship, being able to go beyond your basic plethora of loud guitars and pounding bass drums. Word has it that this album is not the permanent step that the band will take, obviously returning to their regular metal sound in the future, these songs were apparently ones written during the Deliverance sessions, just not released due to the fact that they obviously fit on release unto themselves, so don't let this scare you. This album is not heavy by any means, but it will please any of the
Opeth fans as well as progressive rock fans as well.
Written by
Hashman Thursday, May 22, 2003
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