• Voto:
Gli Opeth sono un gruppo che ha fatto del loro particolarissimo sound un marchio di fabbrica. Un incrocio tra chitarre death, motivi progressive, parti melodiche alternate a frustate metal, il tutto condito con la magnifica voce sia clean che growl del leader Mikael Akerfeldt. Questa mistura genera il cosiddetto Opeth style unico ed inconfondibile.
Dopo l’acerbo esordio (Orchid) e il successivo, ottimo, Morningrise i nostri si buttano nella realizzazione di un concept album, ovvero un lavoro incentrato su di un unico tema (come anche il successivo Still life). La storia alla base del disco è una ghost story parecchio inquietante, ottimamente scritta (le lyrics sono incredibili!) e magistralmente arrangiata.
A sottolineare l’unicità del tema dell’album tutto il disco risulta essere molto più omogeneo e, contemporaneamente, “duro” rispetto ai precedenti, concedendo all’ascoltatore poco spazio per le comunque immancabili parti acustiche. Qui l’anima death degli Opeth viene finalmente a galla regalandoci l’album più serrato (e massiccio) creato dalla band di Akerfeld. Canzoni come Deamon of the fall (incredibile il growl di Mikael), o When (forse la migliore canzone dell’album che, dopo una mini intro acustica, ti stordisce con un urlo disumano accompagnato da una batteria ultrasonica), per non parlare di April Ethereal ed in generale tutte le canzoni di questo ghost-concept, sono qui a dimostrarcelo.
In conclusione questo risulta essere l’album più metal degli Opeth e, bisogna ammetterlo, quando vogliono in nostri riescono davvero ad essere cattivi.
Quindi: ottimo sound + ottimi testi + grande storia = magnifico album! (per me il loro migliore)
Ultima chicca è la titolazione dei brani. Il nome di ogni traccia risulta essere l’ultima parola della canzone precedente, dando così l’idea di un unico racconto (anche nel booklet i testi sono scritti senza soluzione di continuità, come se fosse un racconto, come, difatti, è!).
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Prologue (00:59)
A morning in magenta, The petals fed from the dew
She held her breath for a moment, To pause off the stream
Still clinging to vast, Old memories
And I would marvel at her beauty, Playing through the rain
The coffin is beautifully engraved
Stained by soil, Symbols of death
All of which are stared upon, With porcelain eyes it seems
Some spoke, And it was my turn to go
In death entwined, I could not believe
But it hangs around my neck
A soft breeze passed me by, Somewhat warmer for a second
I knew it was the coming of spring, Thus our April Ethereal
02 April Ethereal (08:41)
It was me, Peering through the looking-glass
Beyond the embrace of Christ
Like the secret face within the tapestry,
Like a bird of prey over the crest
And she was swathed in sorrow,
As if born within its mask
Her candlelight snuffed, The icon smiled
Emptiness followed by her wake
I could clasp her in undying love
Within ghostlike rapture the final word was mine
She faced me in awe
It was a token of ebony colour
Embodied in faint vapour
Wandering through April's fire
Compelled to grasp and to hold the one that was you (2x)
I will endure, Hide away
I would outrun the scythe, Glaring with failure
It is a mere destiny I thought,
A threshold I had crossed before
The rain was waving goodbye,
And when the night came the forest folded its branches around me
Something passed by, And I went into a dream
She, laughing and weeping at once: "Take me away"
I don't know how or why, I'll never know ''When''
04 Madrigal (01:25)
Our abode 'mongst the stars is waiting,
Long enough for our last breath of life
You stare at nothing, Right through me
At times resembling the Devil's concubine
And me, I am the idol that would long,
To caress our eyes until they would open no more
I would comfort you if I only could
But as we all know by now, I am just thin air
Unaware as you are of my presence
You are losing yourself
Hiding within ''The Amen Corner''
05 The Amen Corner (08:43)
White summer.
So far I have gone to see you again.
Hiding your face in the palm of your hands.
Finding solace in the words I do despise.
You snatch at every sound.
And even though you believe that I am shackled within death,
memories are tainted with paleness.
Crestfallen still.
Those eyes... empty like a barren well.
It was the only task I would undertake.
To reap the harvest that was mine.
The seed that had sprung into a florid meadow,
and left me helpless in your embrace.
The bond we never spoke of, once stark and enticing,
now slowly smoldering to dust.
The celestial touch, from grey to black.
A fathomless void enclosing.
Unwritten secrets beneath the cobwebs.
I can not endure.
And so I rose from my sleep.
The moon turned away its face.
Overture of the long, black night begins...
something you said: "Eerie circles upon the waters".
Until now we have shared the same aura.
My ashes within your hands.
My breath in the sepulchral mound.
You know that your night is my day.
The final spark that blew life into me,
the DEMON OF THE FALL.
07 Credence (05:25)
Deserted again
You speak to me through the shadows
Walking in closed rooms, Using cold words
Captured by the night
The yearning escapes from my embrace
Strange silhouettes whisper your thoughts, Scream your sadness
And they all turned away, Unable to face more of this death
Credence in my word, Written in dust, Tainted by memories
I confess my hope, Recognize my loneliness
Your laughter weeps the truth
Push me into corners,
Confirming the epitaph of my soul
And displaying the once unknown ''Karma''
08 Karma (07:52)
And as they say, Grief is only able to possess
The rotting body, clad in ancient clothes
Is left behind with a wave of the hand
I have gone away, The bed is cold and empty
Trees bend their boughs towards the earth
And nighttime birds float as black faces
It was the hand, reaching out through the mirror
Unknown and scarred by life,
The luring eyes, You had never seen
You have nothing more to find
You have nothing more to lose
You have nothing more to find
You have nothing more to lose
The cold season drifts over the land
They huddle in the brown corners
Some would settle for less
The castles were all empty, Asleep
Long awaiting their king,
Beckoning round the bend
Amidst the forest one would hear that I had been there
Draped within a fate I could not change
And always welcoming Winter's ''Epilogue''
09 Epilogue (03:59)
There it was
The final destiny
A sunrise that never came
Still the night lamp that never faded away
Farewell was the word
And the afterglow was the brave morning
Rising and telling everyone
About the beauty of its ''Prologue''
Carico i commenti... con calma
