Damnation
It’s well known that Opeth may be one of the most amazing metal bands ever formed. In a sentiment that sounds so much like a quote from Office Space, I can honestly say that, yes, I do celebrate their entire collection.
That said, April gave us something incredible (besides the 22nd birthday of yours truly). The gods of metal smiled upon us all and gave us something so out of the ordinary, so unexpected, and so damn good, that you just can’t help but think that life is beyond wonderful.
I’m of course referring to their most recent release, Damnation. The title is of course the other half of their late 2002 release, Deliverance; the obvious genius here is that the titles are reversed. Deliverance is heavy, biting, raw, and gorgeous, while Damnation is light, airy, and yet so close to perfection that it could make you ask for a tissue.
The real genius here though is the complete 180 degree turn that Opeth performed in order to give us this album. Their previous albums, while all very well received by a death metal audience, really can’t extend past that genre. Metal albums they are, and metal albums they’ll stay. Damnation falls short of that classification, giving us 8 tracks of distortion-free guitar, vocals free of growling, and even a nice jazz-inspired sound from the drums. It’s such a radical step away from the entire genre that exhalted them.
And it’s absolutely brilliant.
Few bands, especially of the metal genre, could release something so different, and not have it just flat out suck. Others have tried, and others have failed. Opeth, it seems, is just not vulnerable to the same cosmic laws of music.
The inspriration for this album is easy to pick out; it’s clear that groups like Camel and Barclay James Harvest had a big impact on the melodies and songwriting. However, that’s not to say that this album is anywhere near retro. Lyrically, it’s not even in the same ballpark.
You could call this folk metal, progressive folk rock, or any other twisted concoction of genres, and you’d still be wrong. Damnation hovers in a plane above the grasp of pigeonholing, and rightly so. Go ahead, try and classify it; It will deftly slip out of whatever corner you place it into.
If I were to try to make complaints about this album, I’d be reaching to find any. In fact, the only one I can even remotely think of is that it’s just not long enough. It comes and goes so quickly, and leaves you wondering why there isn’t more. It leaves you crushed that there isn’t a second disc, or more tracks. Track 4, Closure, especially does this. The ending is so powerful, full of layers of percussion and atmospheric keys, and it stops dead in it’s tracks. The title of it is its antithesis. However, unlike their previous attempt at this on their Still Life album, this time it’s executed perfectly.
So where can Opeth go from here? I honestly don’t know. But it’s clear at this point that they would really have to try their hardest to put out a bad album. I’m not even sure if it’s possible.