Opeth - Damnation
	Released: 2003 Label: Koch Records Cat. No.: KOC-CD-8652 Total Time: 43:18
	Reviewed by: David Cisco, July 2003 For the second time this year, I’m slack-jawed. First, NiL dazzled me with their marvelous Quarante Jours Sur le Sinai; now, Opeth has knocked me out with Damnation (the “companion” album to last year’s Deliverance), a darkly beautiful album that shows there’s more to the group than just pounding death metal. Opeth has always shown a real knack for the softer progressive moments, normally including them as movements within the structures of fearsome metal epics. On Damnation, Opeth eschew death metal in toto, opting instead to explore a more subtle approach using acoustic guitars, mellotron (courtesy of producer Steven Wilson), and Mikael Akerfeldt’s emotive vocals. The combined talents of Opeth and Wilson are put to the test here, balancing layers of instruments and vocals to create a deceptively simple, melancholy atmosphere, and both succeed admirably. Plucked-string guitar melodies serve as the framework for most of the songs; underneath the two Martins (Lopez and Mendez) construct alternately simple and complex rhythmic foundations, while Akerfeldt and Peter Lindgren adorn the acoustic lattice with mournfully elegant electric solos. Akerfeldt’s wondrous vocals hang clearly in the fore, like shimmering water droplets suspended on a spider’s web, while producer Wilson adds spot-on (uncanny?) harmonies and lends a somber gloom with accents from the mellotron and synthesizer. Oddly dynamic arrangements demand strict attention from the listener, especially during “Closure”, which dances to a tabla-driven, Middle-eastern style conclusion. A daring gamble on the Opeth’s part, Damnation is a huge winner that pays off handsomely for discriminating rock listeners. Diehard death metalheads may hate it, but progressive rock fanatics will find plenty to love and should definitely give Damnation some serious attention. Rating: 5/5 [See also Karyn's review -ed] More about Damnation: Track Listing: Windowpane (7:45) / In My Time of Need (5:49) / Death Whispered A Lullaby (5:49) / Closure (5:15) / Hope Leaves (4:30) / To Rid The Disease (6:21) / Ending Credits (3:39) / Weakness (4:10) Musicians: Mikael Åkerfeldt - guitars, vocals Peter Lindgren - guitars Martin Lopez - drums Martin Mendez - bass Contact: Website: www.opeth.com Note: will open new browser window Email: info@opeth.com Discography Orchid (1995) Morningrise (1996) My Arms Your Hearse (1998) Still Life (1999) Blackwater Park (2001) Deliverance (2002) Damnation (2003) Lamenations: Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire (2004)
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