I always throught Opeth were an out and out Death Metal Band - bleak musical scenes and unintelligible grunted roars for vocals. But this album is not at all like that, even if this is the direction Opeth have come from!

While there are still some "death metal" vocals on some tracks, most of the vocals are clean and clear - he ahs a good voice when he tries! Overall this album has real depth and a quality quite unexpected considering their previous releases and my limited understanding of the death metal genre! I thought their type of songs were alweayts short and punchy - the first 2 tracks on this album clock in at over 10-minutes each! and there are only 8 tracks here on a superbly well produced album of over an hour!

From the thundering opening of "Ghosts of Perdition", I did wonder what on earth I had bought - but this gives way to some almost prog rock-type rhythms and even a Hammond (or Mellotron) in their somewhere to add texture to the overall soundscape. The… more »

I always throught Opeth were an out and out Death Metal Band - bleak musical scenes and unintelligible grunted roars for vocals. But this album is not at all like that, even if this is the direction Opeth have come from!

While there are still some "death metal" vocals on some tracks, most of the vocals are clean and clear - he ahs a good voice when he tries! Overall this album has real depth and a quality quite unexpected considering their previous releases and my limited understanding of the death metal genre! I thought their type of songs were alweayts short and punchy - the first 2 tracks on this album clock in at over 10-minutes each! and there are only 8 tracks here on a superbly well produced album of over an hour!

From the thundering opening of "Ghosts of Perdition", I did wonder what on earth I had bought - but this gives way to some almost prog rock-type rhythms and even a Hammond (or Mellotron) in their somewhere to add texture to the overall soundscape. The excellent "The Grand Conjuration" with its staccato beat will get into your head, and the soft/heavy changes mid-tracks are even reminiscent of the way in which System of a Down (of all comparisons!) tend to switch on and off the electric in their songs!

While this is still far from a love album, it is very deserving of a listen, and has certainly opened my ears to a genre I thought I had alredy pigeonholed as unlistenable - no longer!

Unexpectedly brilliant - cannot wait for the next studio album (and already looking at getting their back catalogue!)