Pros: Beautiful, mellow, and very different from Opeth's other work.
Cons: Lags in a few key areas, some songs aren't as great as they could be.
The Bottom Line: Although Opeth's natural style is very heavy and harsh, Damnation is a wonderful break from the insanity. Try it; you'll almost definitely enjoy it.
I really wish I could still appreciate Opeth’s style of music. As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve moved on in a big way from my metal phase, and I just can’t listen to really any of their other music without flinching or cracking up anymore. Damnation, however, is different. This beautiful, mellow album was the follow-up to 2002’s crushingly brutal Deliverance, and the two were intentionally released as companion albums. The former contained some of the band’s heaviest and most unforgiving music to date, but Damnation is closer to Porcupine Tree (not surprisingly, the singer produced several Opeth albums, including this one) than to Death.
The album kicks off with the stellar Windowpane. Seriously every time I hear this song I restart it at least twice to listen to that stupidly perfect lead riff; simple as anyone could ask for, and yet so delicate, so beautiful. The rest of the song continues in turn; though there is some return to the classic Opeth guitar solos and some of the dissonance that characterizes much of the band’s music, this is so much more straightforward prog-rock than any of their other work. In My Time of Need takes the pace even slower and more minimalist, beginning with only guitar and one of the signature features of the song being the verse vocals: Akerfeldt chants desolation on a monotonous pitch, and then breaks into an absolutely moving chorus, featuring some absolutely incredible lyrics. Just great.
Death Whispered a Lullaby introduces acoustic guitar as the instrument of choice, and continues the Damnation trend of beauty, mellowness, and fantastic vocals and lyrics. It’s seriously hard to pick out a standout on this album; every track is similar, and yet they all jump out while listening, due to the subtle differences that characterize this album. Closure is one of the few that never really jumped out at me; the vocal harmonies are really something in this one, and the musicianship is no less impressive or enthralling, but by personal preference, I often skip this one over.
Hope Leaves is possibly the greatest Opeth song ever written. A simple, stunning guitar riff enters, followed by produced Akerfeldt singing depression in music form:
There is a wound that's always bleeding
There is a road I'm always walking
And I know you'll never return to this place
Just… this song is seriously something. The ending even leaves off with a synthesizer floating into the atmosphere, leaving you wondering what could have possibly sparked such a masterpiece of despair.
To Rid the Disease feels more like a Katatonia ballad than an Opeth song. The use of piano is grealy effective here, as well as the sudden rise and fall of dynamics to produce a stunning effect. Ending Credits, interestingly enough, is not the last song on the album, but it is the only instrumental; somewhat demented and disturbed, this is again more akin to Katatonia than to Opeth, yet it’s quite good at what it’s meant to do. It even has musical refrains from songs in the half-hour before it; Opeth masterfully worked these musical motifs into the song to bring the album a sense of conclusion before…
Weakness, the most minimalist song Opeth has ever produced, and the ending point of the album. Literally a synthesizer, a guitar, and Akerfeldt, the song has a chromatic feel to it that’s quite unsettling, yet calming and relaxing at the same time, giving you a very mixed feeling about what you’re listening to. This song also features probably the best vocal/lyric combination of Akerfeldt’s career; I can’t honestly pick a favorite stanza of this song, because they’re all so great.
I’m sort of biased because I can’t stand really any harsh vocals any more, but to me Damnation remains Opeth’s best work. The calm beauty of this album is unmatched in Opeth’s discography, and although the album may lag at a few key moments, all in all it’s incredibly decent. Just check it out, even if you don’t like metal at all; you could be pleasantly surprised.
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