GHOST REVERIES

This was my first OPETH album, I was recommended them by a friend and this was the cheapest cd at the time of buying it (the special edition that came out a year later) and they quickly became my favorite band, so now finally deciding to actually write a review and thought i'd start at GHOST REVERIES, to start off the cover of the special edition is kinda basic but i do like the look and feel of it (its slightly odd to comment on how it feels but hey). The actual cover (which is on the front of the manual) is very nice the smokie candle and the shadowy figure near the window. I like the artist Travis Smith's work its always very nice, as all of Opeth's artwork stuff is very aesthetically pleasing if not in a strange eerie way.

GHOST OF PERDITION, starts of quiet and they the growls begin, I like the drumming on this song by the great Martin Lopez, Mikael's vocals are as always really well done, the transition between growls and clean vocals are really nice. 4 stars

THE BAYING OF THE HOUNDS, quickly goes into the riff and the drums etc. follow its lead seemingly continues on from the prevoius song with this almost a concept album, album. I prefer this song to the last, maybe its just because of the lyrics i like when it first goes into the mellower part, also like the quiet keyboard and soft drums mixed with the soft overtones of the vocals, which continues onto the heavy part which is very nice. 5 stars

BENEATH THE MIRE, continues with the masterful playing this band can pull it together and make magic happen. The story continues and the fantastic vocals as always. 5 stars

ATONEMENT, this lovely song is the best of the three mellow songs (at least in my opinion, not until recently have I begun to appreciate it) a tasty riff, sometimes odd distorted vocals and soft drumming. 5 stars

REVERIE/HARLEQUIN FOREST, is my favorite Opeth song. From the ending of ATONEMENT it really sets up for this wonderful song which superb throughout. From beginning to end I love this song, everything about it screams brilliance. 5 Stars

HOURS OF WEALTH, a soft guitar song (i'm not sure if it's mikael or peter who does it but its really nice to say the least) with clean vocals from michael, a nice stop gap to the next song. 4 stars

THE GRAND CONJURATION, a quite heavy song, probably my least favorite on the album but i do love the guitars on this song and that weird interlude near the beginning is very nice. 4 stars

ISOLATION YEARS, if i'm honest this song didn't impress me at first but after a couple of listens i learned to like it. A sombre melancholy way to end an excellent album, with its quiet guitars, mellow keyboards and sad vocals. 4 stars

SOLDIER OF FORTUNE, a cover song (originally wrote and performed by Deep Purple) which in my opinion I prefer over the original but its not one of the best songs on the album, then again its only on the special edition. 3 stars

The special edition also comes with a 5.1 surround sound mix of the album which is really crisp and clear and adds a little more to the music, i recommend listening to it this way unless you can't, the normal mix is excellent anyway. Also a video of The Grand Conjuration, which is okay and a documentary of what happened during the recording of the album, which is quite intresting and worth a watch.