Opeth

Though this is a much more brutal album than "Morningrise", Opeth's signature sound is still here. Heavy guitars and growling vocals mixed with acoustic guitars and clean singing. This time there are some added vocal harmonies, which foreshadow Opeth's later albums. And though the clean parts are more rare, they are exceptionally good this time. I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is probably Opeth's heaviest album, but in my opinion has their most beautiful moments as well. On "Morningrise", the vocals sounded kind of thin and screamy. Not so here. Here the death vocals are more deep and powerful. Peter's lead guitars are surprisingly good. He takes his time, playing lyrical blues patterns, rather than shredding down every harmonic minor scale he knows, as many metal guitarists do. There is lots of melody in Opeth's music. Mixed with death metal vocals, it's beautiful, in some sick and twisted way. Mixed with clean vocals, it's beautiful in a pure way. The drums are often harsh with double bass, but there are not blast beats here. The album starts off with a soft piano part, before kicking it up into the heavy opener "April Ethereal". This song starts out with that line I put in the title, and is an extremely powerful opener. These songs are epic, and one song can bring you through several sections. The next song, "When", has many changes from acoustic to electric, before bringing it to a close with an ending of clean vocals over electric guitar. "Demon of the Fall" is probably the most dark and unrelenting on here. Terrifying vocals, with some kind of effect on them for the first minute or so. "Credence" is all acoustic, and an extremely nice break. The "Epilogue" is a slow and moving guitar solo to close the album.