GHOST REVERIES

I could do without the death metal growls (though I must admit, I can actually understand the lyrics!), this band shows so many sides of themselves--of their talents and chameleonic stylistic abilities--within the course of a single song that it's mind-boggling. They're like shapeshifters! Mikael Åkerfeldt is such a talented singer, while appreciate all of the forms he can shape his voice into, it's too bad he just doesn't sing in his normal voice (he's better than Steven Wilson.) The band is so tight, following each and every turn of each and every composition with such ease and facility that it, again, boggles the mind.

Four of the eight songs here are over ten minutes with each shapeshifting multiple times, making it extremely difficult to rate much less decide if I overall "like" or "dislike" each particular song. There are parts of all four that I adore; there are parts of each that I would prefer to skip. I guess "Reverie / Harlequin Forest" would be my favorite because of the more straightforward vocals and instrumentation. (I get tired of too much machine gun kick drums.)

I really like "Atonement" and "Hours of Wealth"--could dig more like these. "Soldier of Fortune" is okay, a little too bluesy for me.

The production is excellent--especially in that I can always easily distinguish each instrument within the walls of sound. This really helps me when listening to metal music, otherwise I just get lost and/or overwhelmed by the barrage. As a metal album, this is a good one. As a progressive rock album, I'm not sure I'd rate it a masterpiece.