Here's my short n sweet take on the Opeth albums-

Orchid-a slighly disjointed and primitive form of Opeth, stuff doesn't always flow as well as their modern stuff but they definately could write great parts, some beautiful clean stuff on here

Morningrise-what Orchid should've been, although still a little disjointed in my opinion. Better riffs, BEAUTIFUL clean parts, but songs still meander about sometimes. Although Advent and Night and the Silent Water RULE

My Arms, Your Hearse-where Opeth started to really flow a LOT better, and contains what will forever be Opeth's freebird, Demon of the Fall. Has many other standouts and is just a good album. I think the production gives it a very cool feel, very bleak.

Still Life-continuing with streamlining their sound, still some amazing clean/heavy parts on here. When people say which album is Opeth's best, they usually go for Morningrise, MAYH, this one, or...

Blackwater Park-my first Opeth album and quite possibly still my favorite. Leper Affinity is a MUST listen. This album is INCREDIBLY consistent and there is hardly a moment on the album when it seems drawn out. Incredible.

Deliverance-another pretty consistent album, but not quite as good. More straight up death metal and less variance on the overall mood in songs. Still very good, but the production can even seem sterile at some points.

Damnation-I can dig this, but I would never buy it, this album seems to straightforward to me and when it's Opeth I need the heaviness

Ghost Reveries-next to BwP, my new favorite, great use of keyboards, very consistent songwriting, and a welcome change in mood from Opeth's usually bleak of fall/winter sound they had pretty much from MAYH to Blackwater Park.

I must say, I dig em all, but I think starting with MAYH Opeth really became a cohesive song writing unit. Prior to that, they could write parts, just not real cohesive songs. But that's just me, a lot of people LOVE Morningrise, and I do too. I just prefer their later style.

Thanks for those short reviews. I think you guys have convinced me to buy stock in this band! =)

Ghost Reveries is really reminding me of Dan Swano's Moontower album, especially when the Hammond kicks in!!

I was personally a litte dissapointed with damnationl. I like it greaty and it is definitely worth your money, but knowing Opeth's gorgeous and subtle acoustic numbers like "Benighted," I was expecting someting a little more gentle.... then out they come STRUM STRUM STRUM with their MOR songey songs and I was let down.... But it is good nonetheless, I just prefer their more delicate acousic moments.

I would consider Still Life to be the supreme Opeth album following Ghost Reveries. Blackwater Park is very close behind that but there is then a chasm in my mind between those three and the others. In particularly, I can't understand the praise heaped on Morningrise... I find it to be one of the more boring Opeth releases and strikes me more as a stepping stone to greatness than a masterpiece. But that's just my take on it...

[Blazingmonga]

Somebody here once described the sound of Opeth as "If nature could sing sadness"...which is probably the best description. However, I think that with their new release the mood is a little different. Blackwater Park and Still Life both had a really dark, earthy feel....like being surrounded by heavy metal trees. The new one still sounds quite similar, but it seems a lot more personal and human rather than bleak and organic.

Not sure how to describe what I mean here...but it just seems a bit different to me. Anybody care to explain me to me?

A definite WTFBBQ moment.

I love this phrase! Though I have no idea what it means.

Ghost Reveries is awesome but not all songs are great IMHO. Take the Grand Conjuration for example. This song is a lot like some other songs in Deliverance which I think is the weakest Opeth album. Other than that Ghost Reveries is the album that should've come just after BWP.

[djskrimp]

Ghost Reveries is awesome but not all songs are great IMHO. Take the Grand Conjuration for example. This song is a lot like some other songs in Deliverance which I think is the weakest Opeth album. Other than that Ghost Reveries is the album that should've come just after BWP.

Strange, because my opinion is that Opeth has finally learned to harness their INSANE musical ability and write a complete and cohesive album. Other than Blackwater Park and Damnation, I am of the opinion that they got lost in their own meanderings. I feel as though they've learned to focus on the song for the songs' sake these last few albums....but, as a human, I am consigned to the fact that I could be wrong.

Somebody here once described the sound of Opeth as "If nature could sing sadness"...which is probably the best description. However, I think that with their new release the mood is a little different. Blackwater Park and Still Life both had a really dark, earthy feel....like being surrounded by heavy metal trees. The new one still sounds quite similar, but it seems a lot more personal and human rather than bleak and organic.

Not sure how to describe what I mean here...but it just seems a bit different to me. Anybody care to explain me to me?

A definite WTFBBQ moment.

I love this phrase! Though I have no idea what it means.

I actually know exactly what you're talking about... that's one of the reasons I love Opeth so much. Bands that can create an atmosphere are just great.

Ghost Reveries is my favorite Opeth release because of the amazing melodies and musicianship that went into it, as well as a million other things I can't put into words. It's still Opeth, but it takes some good inspiration from bands like Porcupine Tree and Katatonia, both of which I love.

imo their best albums are Blackwater Park and My Arms Your Hearse. Still Life is good too, but the rest I don't listen to much.

I really like the new album. I think the more proggy sound works really well, and the addition of a full-time keyboard player has given them a more atmospheric sound. Also Ackerfeldt's clean singing is really strong and the rest of the musicianship is really tight. I can hear quite a few Zeppelin influences peaking through.

I really like the nwe album. I don't think it's ever giong to be my favourite, but similarly, I think this is the best possible album they could have released right now, especially in the context of all the other albums

Hmmm - it's interesting that Morningrise seems to be either people's favourite or least favourite Opeth album. It's rarely in the middle.

It's easily my favourite. I find the meanderings fascinating, the composition perfect and the atmosphere remarkable. I still get goose bumps listening to 'The Night and the Silent Water'. To Bid you Farewell is a stunning closer too.

I really like the new album. I think the more proggy sound works really well, and the addition of a full-time keyboard player has given them a more atmospheric sound. Also Ackerfeldt's clean singing is really strong and the rest of the musicianship is really tight. I can hear quite a few Zeppelin influences peaking through.

Have you heard Dan Swano's Moontower album?? If you haven't, you need to!

I can only imagine it must mean What The Fuck, Barbeque. That can't be right!

Hmmm - it's interesting that Morningrise seems to be either people's favourite or least favourite Opeth album. It's rarely in the middle.

It's easily my favourite. I find the meanderings fascinating, the composition perfect and the atmosphere remarkable. I still get goose bumps listening to 'The Night and the Silent Water'. To Bid you Farewell is a stunning closer too.

I hadn't listened to this album in a long time before yesterday, but I guess I sort of "rediscovered" it, and now it launched into one of my favorites. The clean melodies are amazing.

Hmmm - it's interesting that Morningrise seems to be either people's favourite or least favourite Opeth album. It's rarely in the middle.

It's easily my favourite. I find the meanderings fascinating, the composition perfect and the atmosphere remarkable. I still get goose bumps listening to 'The Night and the Silent Water'. To Bid you Farewell is a stunning closer too.

I hadn't listened to this album in a long time before yesterday, but I guess I sort of "rediscovered" it, and now it launched into one of my favorites. The clean melodies are amazing.

True, to me it's the most varied album of all. Some of the later albums are probably a little more predicatble in their fluctuations between death and clean passages. Morningrise offers a little more in between.