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Opeth - Morningrise
Opeth - Morningrise
Candlelight Records - 1997
By Glen Winters
So far, it seems every Opeth album I hear takes some time to fully get the full effect and to appreciate the album. The first time through Morningrise, I was already putting some songs on repeat to listen to them a second time (and some a third time). With Morningrise only in my cd player for five hours, I had already realized that this album was a masterpiece. Most people will say that the only reason they aren't an Opeth fan is because of their epic songs, well if your one of those people, with songs reaching from 10:09 to 20:14 you surely won't be interested in this album.
Morningrise is by far one of Opeth’s softest albums, yet at times seems to be the most aggressive. The guitars are more harmonized, making it sound more complicated and at times confusing. The vocal work (Mikael Akerfeldt) is not perfect, but when he sings, he does it so emotionally that it's almost like he's about to cry. The imperfections in Mikaels voice makes this album stand out (in its own way) from the other Opeth albums; when I listen to it now I pay special attention just to hear the parts were he almost goes out of tune, it makes those parts unique (although it's not like opeth's not unique enough as it is).
As it says on the booklet, Morningrise was recorded during the month of March 1996 at Umsound Recordings, and was produced by Dan Swano with Opeth. As for myself I disliked the production of Umsound Studio around that time, but as for this album, well let’s just say it was different. If Morningrise had been recorded in a more advanced studio like Fredman, it wouldn't have the same effect as it did in Umsound. Umsound makes Opeth’s sound seem like it was recorded in the late 70's (in a good way), and makes the album feel more like a time piece then a masterpiece.
Overall, minus the drums (which are good, but I didn't like them), this album is a great way to get introduced to Opeth, with the great epic songs, which seem to last forever. Unless you personally had something against the members of Opeth, you'd have this cd in your player for months, or even years.
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