Opeth
Morningrise

It's 1996... it's a golden period for global doom/death. The albums that will make history in this genre have just been released: Anathema's "The Silent Enigma," Paradise Lost's "Draconian Times," Katatonia's "Brave Murder Day," My Dying Bride's "The Angel and the Dark River"... it's time to bloom for these young and shy Opeth as well.

A Swedish band (once again, Sweden, home to the most transcendental and melancholic metal, stands out), which I consider one of the pillars of music in general and metal specifically. Their ability to play with high-level technique and an even more extraordinary creative vein catches the eye, allowing them to produce new songs that are increasingly longer and more diverse without ever drawing from the past but only looking towards the future.

Now I will talk about "Morningrise," their most significant work in my opinion. Even more than "Blackwater Park" and "Damnation," the ivory pearl in their discography.  It consists of only 5 songs but lasts an hour... an hour of rhythm changes, abysmal suites coordinated by majestic solos and growls that slowly thin out, transforming into the warmest and most seductive voice our beloved Mikael can evoke from his vocal cords.

It can be described as a progressive/death record, but interpretations of doom and, I would add, black in "Nectar" are not lacking. It begins with a graceful arpeggio that plunges into a monolithic riff... it's "Advent," which continues with a succession of emotions in The Night and the Silent Water: perhaps the most beautiful of the batch, also for the emotional value it conveys as it is dedicated by Mike to his father.

"Nectar," which I mentioned earlier, presents us with very fast and intense sounds that give a heavy twist to the record, thus far cradled between raw melodies and delicate arpeggios. "Black Rose Immortal"... just one word: IMMORTAL! This song, yes, is immortal. It continues to provoke thoughts throughout its 20-minute duration, an ecstasy of music never experienced before (perhaps in Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink, but that's from another era). At first listen, you might perceive it as a tedious song, too long and dense for a young and adrenaline-hungry ear... but it is blatantly (poetic license of a drunk idiot such as myself) the opposite.

If you sit on your home sofa, close your eyes, and create a space of your own where you can be alone to listen to this song without anyone disturbing you, and during the day it is very difficult for this to happen, you can fully enjoy the beauty of this creation! After experiencing so many emotions that you no longer want to try the bungee jumping organized by your friends, you reach the end, with the analgesic that will make this gloomy and dark pill sweet.

"To Bid You Farewell." A slow song, damnably prog, in which you try to apologize for the mistakes made, naively and unconsciously, and that have profoundly changed our lives... forever.

Like this CD!

Once you've listened to it, you won't regret it, maybe there are other shorter and more easily assimilable works by Opeth, but I wonder why we always choose the easier path when the other, though more steep and dangerous, is more satisfying once traveled.