The Dark Element - S/T (2017)

I kind of feel bad for Anette Olzon, she never really got a fighting chance when she replaced Tarja in Nightwish. Her time in the band was anything but pleasant, despite doing an alright job on two full length records. Sure, she was not a good fit (Nightwish needs a strong female vocalist, and Anette is more delicate), but I always hoped that she would bounce back into the metal scene some day to get her redemption.

Well, seems like she is getting an opportunity this year, because together with former Sonata Arctica guitarist (and co-founder) Jani Liimatainen, they have created The Dark Element, a new symphonic power metal band that tries to squeeze their way in to a genre that already has tons of talent. Looking from the outside, it is a project that certainly sounds interesting. Jani is a great songwriter and seems to know how to utilize those around him to make the product as good as possible, just look at the latest Cain's Offering album "Stormcrow" for proof.

Sure enough, this album definitely uses Anette's vocals better than Nightwish did, even if a lot of the music here is directly borrowed from the legendary Finnish band. "The Dark Element" is an incredibly melodic record with tons of catchy melodies and choruses, sure to leave an impact on you whether you like it or not. But for a band that is called The Dark Element, there is very little darkness in this record. We get some heavy riffs and some gloomy atmospheres, but this is a fairly jolly album, and that is honestly not a bad thing, just think it is false advertisement that your band have a name like The Dark Element (and an album cover as gruesome and disturbing as the one that is fronting said album), but play music that is pretty harmless in its nature.

As said before, this album has a good amount of Nightwish in it, like just listen to "My Sweet Mystery", that opening with the haunting keys and bone crushing riffs is literally stolen from "Dark Passion Play". Fortunately, I do not think it overshadows the whole album, because it does have more in common with Cain's Offering, but with some more symphonic moments sprinkled around. It feels very natural in a way, taking Jani's preferred style and incorporating Anette into it all, creating a nice fusion between the musicians.

And there are some really good music in here. The previously mentioned "My Sweet Mystery" is a fantastic, powerful song that certainly gets you going, "Here's To You" is simply loud and proud, "Dead To Me" have a really nice rhythm and a very satisfying chorus (even if it does steal from Nightwish again), "The Ghost And The Reaper" is nice and heavy, and even some of the calmer moments are really nice, giving some nice variety (although, I gotta say, the lyrics in "Someone You Used To Know" give off creepy stalker vibes, when I think it is supposed to be a lost love story).

Overall, I do not think The Dark Element will wow anyone with its simplicity, but it has enough good content to go around. This debut record is certainly very enjoyable despite it borrowing from other bands within the genre, the strength of the songs helps you get through the record with ease, and there is enough chemistry in here to really make this project last for some time. So if you are a fan of any of the two main contributors, you should definitely check this release out, even if it is a little brighter than the name and artwork suggests.

Songs worthy of recognition: My Sweet Mystery, Here's To You, The Ghost And The Reaper

Rating: 7/10 Halos

www.facebook.com/TheDarkElement/

Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)

So we have finally reached "Blackwater Park" in our discography review series of Opeth, the album that is considered to be the band's magnum opus. To most, this is a modern progressive classic, a must have in every metalhead's collection. It is also the album that elevated the band to the next level, from being an underground group that was getting some positive feedback, to being one of the biggest metal acts around. This record is monumental for the evolution of Opeth, and it has a place in many people's hearts, but is it really as good as the early material, or was it just lucky coincidence that this gave the band its big breakthrough?

Let us start with the basics, what separates "Blackwater Park" from its four predecessors? It definitely has a lot of the same elements that previous outings have, like the poetic lyrics and the guttural death metal moments, but what I think makes "Blackwater Park" a different album is that it is just much smoother around the edges. The production (made by legendary Porcupine Tree singer Steven Wilson) is cleaner, but it still has enough darkness in it to not hurt the album, helping to enhance all of those sweet melodies.

Another reason to why this album blew up might be because it is more accessible than its brethren. Yes, it is still a true progressive metal album, with a song span that could be everything from 6 minutes to 12, but the structures of the songs are more straight, giving off to some really catchy moments in this album, mostly thanks to the amazing instrumentation. It still has that Opeth vibe to it though, so the band is not selling out or anything, they are still the imaginative group that we got to know on all previous records.

Besides, let us be honest, the previous albums felt a little all over the place, having tons of influences from several different genres that did mash up well, but it is with "Blackwater Park" where Opeth perfected their sound, making it more fluid and cohesive. The band is truly hitting their stride with all of these fantastic, sweeping melodies that really helps in telling a story.

Yeah, there is not much else to say about "Blackwater Park" other than that it completely deserves all the praise that it has gotten over the years. It is a transcending album that just flows naturally through your ears, and it also have a cohesive sound throughout the album that set the band up for success. However, I do not think this is an all around perfect album. It could have benefited from being a little grittier in its production, and some of the lyrics here are not as good as in previous outings. Despite those minor issues, "Blackwater Park" is still an amazing record, a must listen for every prog metal lover. Is it the best Opeth record though? We will see eventually...

Songs worthy of recognition: The Funeral Portrait, The Leper Affinity, Bleak, The Drapery Falls, 

Rating: 9,5/10 Harvests

www.opeth.com/
twitter.com/officialopeth

More reviews of Opeth
Orchid
Morningrise
My Arms, Your Hearse
Still Life
Deliverance
Damnation
Ghost Reveries
Watershed
Heritage
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Sorceress

Amberian Dawn - Darkness of Eternity (2017)

I am not the last to admit that I miss the good old days, at least when it comes to the Finnish power metal group Amberian Dawn. Ever since they changed lead singer, the band has lost an edge in both originality and energy, making two fairly decent records in "Magic Forest" and "Innuendo", but they did not stay in my mind for very long. I still like the band, a single member change does not affect me that much, but it does feel like that their best work is behind them.

Which leads me to "Darkness of Eternity", an album that is very close to literally piss me off. You see, it opens up really nicely with "I'm The One", a more or less classic Amberian Dawn song that has power, drive, and a sense of wonder that you can only get from some kind of fairy forest. Yes, this is a track that breathes Amberian Dawn from start to finish, and so does the aggressive "Dragonflies" a little later in the album, another very good track with some crunchy riffing.

Unfortunately, it goes pretty much downhill from there, with almost the rest of the material being head scratchingly weird. No seriously, I am fine with the band and what they have done in the last couple of albums, but this is just awkward. Several of the songs in "Darkness of Eternity" sounds like, and I kid you not, ABBA songs. Yes, freaking Sweden's first international super star group, that is what Amberian Dawn sounds like today. Jesus Christ...

So what exactly is it with the music that makes me claim this statement. Well, a lot of the songs, like "Maybe", "Sky Is Falling", and "Breathe Again", are very bright and jolly, drenching in 70's glory. Add to the fact that the fantasy vibes that is the personality of the band is very toned down, almost missing completely. You can just take any famous ABBA song to compare with, then try to tell me with a straight face that Päivi "Capri" Selo would not fit in as the fifth member of the group. It drives me nuts, I may like ABBA, and I respect everything they have done for Swedish music, but a Finnish symphonic power metal group should not sound like them.

Okay, I am being a little too harsh, I do still think that "Darkness of Eternity" has some redeeming qualities. Production is nice, several songs are memorable, and we also get some really nice instrumental performances here and there, but this album is hurt badly by its incredibly uneven nature, it goes back and forth without settling for something to latch on to. I want more of "Dragonflies, "Luna My Darling", "Abyss", and "I'm The One", that is the Amberian Dawn I know and love, but we do not get enough of it in this record.

So this leaves me with this question, do I prefer "Innuendo", which is a solid, but easily forgettable album, or do I like the more memorable "Darkness of Eternity" better despite its inconsistencies? It is kind of a coin flip, but I do at least get a couple of songs here that will stick with me for some time. It does not mean I like the album as a whole, it is a very bumpy ride with strange decisions, but it is kind of interesting to see this band take this path, hearing them dive deep into their inspirational banks. So yeah, while "Darkness of Eternity" can be frustrating, it is still an intriguing listen, even if it does sound like 70's pop at times.

Songs worthy of recognition: Luna My Darling, I'm The One, Dragonflies

Rating: 6,5/10 Golden Coins

http://amberiandawn.com/
https://twitter.com/amberiandawn

More reviews of Amberian Dawn
Magic Forest
Innuendo

Live review: In Flames + Five Finger Death Punch at Scandinavium, Gothenburg

In later years, the whole Co-headline concept has become more popular, with two or more bands joining forces throughout a tour, sharing the work load to bring a great experience to the fans. I think it is a great way to get a lot of value for your money, getting to watch two fantastic acts in the same evening to make your night complete. So I was obviously excited when In Flames and Five Finger Death Punch decided to tour together through Europe, giving me a chance to finally get to see two bands that are known for explosive shows.

It also made sense that exactly these two got together, because they are sort of in the same spot in their careers (even though one of them has been active for a longer time). Both are insanely popular acts that have released several big hits over the years, but they have also been receiving a lot of hate for various reasons, even to the point where some do not even consider these band to be metal at all (which is ridiculous, what else are they? Techno?).

Anyway, I was not alone in wanting to watch them, the show in the indoor stadium Scandinavium (located in central Gothenburg) was completely sold out, bringing some warmth in this cold Autumn evening. Let me tell you how the night was.

Opening act: Of Mice & Men

Opening up for the two big guns were Of Mice & Men, a metalcore group from Orange County, California that I have heard of before, but have never digged deeper into... which is also why I did not see these guys.

Now, it would have been pretty difficult to get in time for them anyhow because I live close to two hours away from Gothenburg and I cannot leave work how early I want. Besides, the group of guys I went to the show with did not really want to see them, so... yeah. It is nothing against the band, I simply did not have the time/peer pressure got to me.

I did more research since and I even listened to the songs that they did play, and to be completely honest, I do not think I missed much. While I believe most music does become better when you experience it in a live setting, I think I would be pretty bored with the band's predictable and unoriginal brand of metalcore (although I do have to admit that the new single "Warzone" has a really nice groove to it). All of the songs were nothing special, maybe heavier than your average metalcore band, but still fairly bland, it is close to just being needless noise infact. And once again, it is unfair of me to judge them solely by studio efforts, who knows, they might have killed it on stage. I will probably give these lads another chance when their fifth album comes out next year, but I doubt that the music will make me do backflips out of shear joy.

Setlist:
Unbreakable
Public Service Announcement
Pain
You Make Me Sick
Warzone
The Depths

Five Finger Death Punch

After all of what has happened with this band during the year, I was a little afraid that I was going to witness another massive meltdown, Fortunately, that did not happen, instead we got a band that was obviously pumped up, ready to kick some metal ass. And you could clearly tell that singer Ivan Moody was the happiest of the bunch, coming in wearing the jersey of the Swedish national ice hockey team Tre Kronor. Ivan was soaking in every moment of the show, really enjoying himself and playing with the crowd, despite very minimal small talk between songs.

The energy is obviously the band's biggest strength, but they tried to make it a very visually appealing show as well, and they did succeed... to some extent. There were a lot of lighting and lasers that tried to make the show more colorful, and while I do like lasers, it became pretty tiring after a while, being more of a gimmick than any real help. Then we had the huge prop that hung behind the band, which depicted their mascot Knucklehead and a couple of baseball bats crossing behind, making some kind of an urban Jolly Roger. It looked cool and all, but the way it was shaped and assembled made it look more like Vic Rattlehead from Megadeth, and that was an image I could not get out of my head. Why did they not just paint a hand palm on the right side of the face, like in the album covers? So yeah, it looked cool, but it did not look like it belonged with the band.

Go home Vic, you are drunk

Anyway, the music is still the main thing in a concert, and without a new album in recent time, the setlist was pretty well versed between all of the band's releases. I was a little surprised to hear that their latest single "Trouble" (from the upcoming best of record "A Decade of Destruction") was not in the setlist, because even if I think the song is pretty meh, it is kind of a missed opportunity for the band to not market it. It was also surprising that the band went acoustic on two songs, with also Ivan sincerely apologizing for his behaviour the last year. It was a touching moment for sure, but when you think of 5FDP, you do not think of slow songs that you can play around the camp fire. No, you think of adrenaline pumping songs that gets you incredibly hyped up, and that is what I wanted to see, so that acoustic part was kind of a buzz kill.

Oh well, I got enough macho metal to go around anyway, and the band did a fantastic job in getting the crowd going (seriously, the front mosh pitted during songs like "Bad Company" and "Wash It All Away", how is that possible?). So despite some weird things here and there, it was a pretty good show the Americans presented us with. No matter if you like them or not, you gotta admit, their energy is extremely contagious and exhilarating.

Best: "Burn MF" certainly has a lot of power to it

Worst: I did not come to see this band for their acoustic bit

Rating: 7,5/10

Setlist:
Lift Me Up
Never Enough
Wash It All Away
Got Your Six
Hard To See
Bad Company (Bad Company cover)
Jekyll And Hyde
Burn MF
Wrong Side of Heaven (acoustic)
Remember Everything (acoustic)
Coming Down
Ain't My Last Dance

Encore:
Under And Over It
The Bleeding

In Flames

Going into this show, I was not worried that In Flames were going to phone it in or not give it their all. After all, Gothenburg is their city of origin, and for a band that travels the world year after year, there simply is no place like home. Sure enough, one of Sweden's biggest metal exports surely gave their home crowd a lot to cheer about with a show that a lot of people are not gonna forget in the near future. Simply put, In Flames love Gothenburg, and Gothenburg loves In Flames.

So instead of lasers and tons of lighting, In Flames put their chips on more technological stuff, putting together several screens and creating two pillars for the keyboardist (who I could not find out who it was) and drummer Joe Rickard. This allowed a lot of really cool and some times disturbing imagery to play around with the songs, feeding both your ears and eyes of course. We also got a big puppet prop as well that was revealed during "Alias", a recreation of that human with the bird head from the "A Sense of Purpose" record. It was pretty cool, but it just stayed the for the rest of the show, not doing anything besides staring at everyone with its glowing eyes. Kind of creepy if you ask me.

Damn Jesterheads, please leave the little guy alone

The setlist was mostly based around the last year release "Battles", and no matter what your opinion is on that album, it does show that the band knows how to make incredibly memorable sing along choruses. Songs like "Save Me", "Drained" and "The End" all work extremely well in a live setting, giving the crowd an excuse to sing their lungs out. Otherwise, there were few surprises in this setlist. All of the band's biggest hits were in here, mixed in with some old favourites. To be completely honest, the only real surprise was "Everything's Gone", the only representative from "Siren Charms" (thank god for that). It was placed in the first half of the setlist, where the band just went full on mad mode, almost burning off all of their heaviest materials with "Take This Life", "Trigger" (renamed this evening as "Twitter"), and "Only For The Weak".

While I did enjoy myself during the entire show, and I saw that the chemistry between the crowd and the band was good, there were more or less no small talk in between, even less than in the 5FDP show. The songs were fired with a machine gun, bam bam bam bam bam, close to no break at all. At the very end we probably got the answer to why it was so, because they had to be done before a certain time (because of Swedish law), and they wanted to maximize the time as much as possible. So that explained it, but it still felt weird the way the band handled it.

Oh well, no matter what, In Flames still delivered an impressive performance that echoed out into the Gothenburg night. The band were in their element all night, they simply felt like they were home, playing for all their relatives and friends. They were comfortable, but they made sure to not relax all to much, keeping laser focus. It is no wonder why this band is considered as one of Sweden's biggest bands, they delivered big time here in Scandinavium.

Best: "Everything's Gone" and "Take This Life" is an amazing one two punch

Worst: The setlist was way too predictable

Rating: 8,5/10

Setlist:
Drained
Before I Fall
Everything's Gone
Take This Life
Trigger
Only For The Weak
Dead Alone
Darker Times
Drifter
Moonshield
The Jester's Dance
Save Me
Alias
Here Until forever
The Truth
Deliver Us
The Mirror's Truth
The Quiet Place
The End

VUUR - In This Moment We Are Free - Cities (2017)

Ever since leaving The Gathering in 2007, vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen has been hard at work, showing off the different styles that she can perform. She has done a good job of displaying herself to the world, being a part of The Gentle Storm, Lights Off, her own solo project of course, and also appear in various albums of the effervescent Devin Townsend Project. But with her new band, the entirely Dutch ensemble VUUR (Dutch for fire), she has a goal to really solidify and narrow down her musical directions when it comes to metal.

With "In This Moment We Are Free - Cities", Anneke has created a progressive metal record that does have a lot of similarities with The Gentle Storm, but instead of recapturing the spirit of the 17th century, VUUR is firmly planted in present day, while still having the delicate emotions that "The Diary" presented. It is some of the heaviest stuff that we have heard from Anneke, but that is not really saying much, this album is still fairly soft, focusing more on beautiful melodies than crushing riffs.

Each of the 11 tracks in this record is inspired by a city that has left Anneke with some kind of impact during all the years she has been on the road, and while it is a neat idea, I do not really see much of a point with it, because I do not think the songs represent their cities particularly well. There is no song in here that you can easily connect with its city, like what does "Sail Away" have to do with Santiago, or how much of Rio De Janeiro is in "Freedom"? Maybe there is a deeper meaning to the songs that I am missing, but it does not come out strong either way.

Actually, the entire album was kind of underwhelming at first. The songs where nice and all, but through the first few spins, it did feel a little sluggish and not dynamic enough to grab my attention. It was about as grey as the cover. But just like the cover, there was something shiny that was waiting to burst out into the darkness, and yes, this album did grow eventually and became more and more interesting for each new listen. It is still not a super original album, but it kept my interest.

The first couple tracks are pretty meh, nothing ear catching. It is by the third track, "The Martyr And The Saint - Beirut", things are starting to get interesting, with some nifty riffing and clean melodies that fits Anneke's voice like a glove. The songs keeps on coming, all in different shapes, from haunting opera and beautiful ballads, to quick hitters and oriental influences. It is a solid mix of songs that together make a very solid record, but while most of the focus is obviously on Anneke, I would like to lift up guitarists Ferry Duijsens and Jord Otto for delivering some great guitar work all throughout the album, taking it one step higher.

In the end, VUUR might have something interesting going for it, but it is clear that it might take an album or two for this band to really get going. This debut record is nice and has several neat ideas, but it is an underwhelming record. It does not jump out at you, making a statement that it is here to entertain. No, it instead quietly and politely informs you that it is available now. Fans of Anneke will definitely enjoy this record, but as said, their true "vuur" might not show up until the next release.

Songs worthy of recognition: Days Go By - London, The Martyr And The Saint - Beirut, Sail Away - Santiago

Rating: 7/10 Valleys of Diamonds in Mexico City

www.vuur.band/
twitter.com/vuur_band

Ne Obliviscaris - Urn (2017)

I do not mind when band keeps it minimalistic when it comes to naming new releases, but Ne Obliviscaris please, this is close to ridiculous. Three letters, that's all? I swear to god, when I first read about this album, all I saw was that it was named "Um". Then I saw that itty bitty tiny space between the r and the n, and it all made sense... but it still felt strange with such a small title. That is Ne Obliviscaris in a nutshell, simplistic in titles, complex in sound.

So this is the Australian band's third release, and at this point in their career, you kind of know what you are going to get from them. It is just what you would expect, it is six tightly packed songs that are filled to the brim with extreme technicality, a healthy mix of soaring clean vocals and brutal harsh vocals, and let us also not forget the generous use of violins, a registered trademark for the band. It is a style that does not suit everyone, but I have been down for the ride ever since their debut "Portal of I".

So we got a collection of 6 songs at our disposal... well, technically there are only 4 songs, but two of them are split into two parts each. Still, they are certainly meaty songs that fill up some time (45 minutes to be exact). During that time, the band flex their muscles and show off all of their abilities, from the intense drumming of Daniel "Mortuary" Presland, to the beautiful strokes of Tim Charles' violin. They once again show that they are among the elite when it comes to pure playing ability, creating such fantastic melodies with both the simple and difficult techniques.

But there is a big problem with "Urn". No matter how much I rave about the technicality of the record, and how much work and effort has been put into it, I just do not get the same angelic feelings that I received from "Citadel". Why? Because "Urn" is not showing that the band has evolved, they are still in the same spot as they were last time we heard from them. You can easily hear the same patterns as in their predecessors, which makes "Urn" very predictable. You know when they are going soft, or when they are turning up the tempo, it is so god damn predictable, and it annoys the hell out of me.

With that said though, it is hard not to get enchanted by the music, because it is still made with some really good precision. When the album reaches the most epic bits, you can just feel your skin crawl from how good it sounds. And while I do not really think there are any songs here that matches the level of the best Ne Obliviscaris songs has to offer, I still get a lot of enjoyment from such epic pieces as "Eyrie" and both parts of the title track.

So even if "Urn" is same same, but different, it is still another proof that Ne Obliviscaris is a true elite band. There are no other band out there like them, with a sound that really stands out in the metal sphere. These guys are too talented to be stuck in one place, and I hope that they can see that. I do not want to see this band becoming the technical extreme progressive symphonic death metal answer to Motörhead. So yeah, "Urn" is no revolution for the band, but it is still a damn good record that fans of the band will absolutely love.

Songs worthy of recognition: Eyrie, Urn (part 1 and 2)

Rating: 7,5/10 Saturnine Spheres

neobliviscarissom.bandcamp.com/
twitter.com/NeObliviscaris3

More reviews of Ne Obliviscaris
Citadel

Keldian - Darkness And Light (2017)

The Norweigan duo Keldian blew me away like a supernova in 2013 with the record "Outbound", an album that quickly became one of my favourites of the year with its infectious and nostalgic power metal that had a clear sci-fi theme going with it. But this band is more than a single genre can explain. The love child of Arild Aardalen and Christer Andresen taps in to a lot of 80's rock, as well as that decade's synth movement. It is a strange combo, but when all comes together, it becomes a very uplifting experience.

So "Darkness And Light" is their fourth release, and it is not too far off from their previous efforts, it is unmistakeably Keldian in this album. The way that they can take such simple components and still make such compelling music is just astounding, it never gets tired or stale. You will never hear this band steer out into complex solos or perform any impressive drum fills, it is basic music at its finest.

With that said, "Darkness And Light" might be one of the more underwhelming albums of the band's discography. Do not get me wrong, this is an enjoyable album, but I do not feel like the magic that their previous releases had is here. It is hard to pin point why, but it might be that they rely a little too much on the 80's sound here, and that the space vibe does not get enough room to shine. There are several parts of the album that just feels too nostalgic, too dated to be released in this millennium, and that is normally a line they have balanced pretty well, but does not do that quite as well this time around.

There are also some songs in here that just feels off, not coming out as bright stars. The giant epic in the middle, the close to 13 minute long "I'm The Last of Us", has some neat ideas, but it is just way too long for its own good. I love long songs, but they have to have a purpose to be long, and I do not see any reasons for this track to be this long. Then we have both "Broadside!" and "The Haunting", two songs that are just drenched in 80's AOR goop, and it just becomes too much for me to handle. Maybe my mother will like this tracks, she absolutely loves 80's music.

Still, we do get several fantastic moments and songs that makes the album worth its staying. The typical ultra catchy, single worthy tracks are here, like the ultra epic "Life And Death Under Strange New Suns" and the very joyful opener "Nightfall". Both are easily likeable and very addictive sing along songs that gets you going. And then we have "Crown of Starlight" that is just pure magic in a bottle, relying on simple, but effective, riffing, together with a steadfast tempo that keeps the blood of the song pumping to a scream worthy chorus that keeps going on and on in the end. It ends the album in a fantastic way, leaving you with an ear to ear grin on your face.

So while "Darkness And Light" has its share of problems, and it could even be considered the weakest album Keldian has put out to this date, it is still a very enjoyable experience that fans of the band are gonna love. The usual Keldian magic is here, and they have not lost their ability to create something magnificent and epic from simple ingredients. This album has some dark moments, and some light moments, but it is still Keldian, it is sci-fi music that Starlord should be considering when he creates his third "Awesome mix", just in time for that infinity war.

Songs worthy of recognition: Crown of Starlight, Blood Red Dawn, Life And Death Under Strange New Suns, Change The World

Rating: 7,5/10 Nightfalls

www.keldian.com/
www.facebook.com/Keldian-133028643515879/

Opeth - Still Life (1999)

It has been a while since we checked on the Opeth discography, and there are reasons for why that is so. First off, Manic Movie Month happened. Second off, Super Mario Odyssey happened. And third off, a bunch of new music happened. In short, my busy side took over a little too much of my life, but the time has come to go back to the progressive Swedes and take a look at their fourth studio release, entitled "Still Life".

Just like the last release, "Still Life" is a concept record, about a man that has been shunned from his village for not following along with their religious beliefs. He returns years after to get back together with his loved one, which leads to several problems along the way, both for our main character and the "council". It is an album that Michael himself has called "anti-christian", not satanic in anyway, and I think it is a very interesting way to give critique to religion as a whole, doing it in the poetic way that only Opeth can do.

The sound of the album is a lot like "My Arms, Your Hearse", a blend of the soft prog rock and the more guttural and dark death metal vibes. But with better funding from their new record company, Peaceville records, the band had an opportunity to take their music to the next level, which of course starts with the production that is a lot more clear cut than its predecessors. It can be seen as a positive or a negative thing, depending on who you ask, but to me, it gives the music a chance to stand out more, to reach out further to the listener. There is no question to me that the production helps elevate "Still Life".

This is the start of the Opeth 's golden age, the era where they find themselves as one of the great genre defying bands that changes metal as we know. While "My Arms, Your Hearse" did sort of show it, "Still Life" perfected the Opeth sound that we all know and love, the sweeping, haunting melodies that blends so well with the brutal aggressiveness of the drums and Michael's harsh vocals. They also put in some real slow moments too, like the acoustic "Benighted" that is just so beautiful and soothing.

But this album is not about the songs in my opinion, it is about the whole picture, how all of the songs match up to create a smooth flowing album that translates to an amazing experience. It also has a very long lasting effect too, for I have listened to "Still Life" about 15 times now, and I am still not tired enough to stop myself from another listen. It knows when to go soft, when to go heavy, and when it is time to shift momentum. It is a well oiled machine that runs smoothly without any hitches, and the band all helps out to keep it running perfectly.

"Still Life" has a lot of life to it, and it is a spiritual album that just feels right in every way. From the concept, to the performance, this album is fantastic for many, many reasons. The only real grief I have with it is that some songs do pad some of the run time (especially the ending song "White Cluster"), but it is not by much, it is something you can easily look past. All in all, go listen to it already, it is the start of the prime era of Opeth, and what a start it is.

Songs worthy of recognition: Godhead's Lament, Benighted, Moonlapse Vertigo, Serenity Painted Death

Rating: 9/10 White Clusters

www.opeth.com/
twitter.com/officialopeth

More reviews of Opeth
Orchid
Morningrise
My Arms, Your Hearse
Blackwater Park
Deliverance
Damnation
Ghost Reveries
Watershed
Heritage
Pale Communion
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