22. Opeth- Ghost Reveries

It's amazing to see the progression of this bastion of Swedish death metal-force to an innovative metal act that has wowed and converted many fans of the progressive metal-scene. Even though albums like 2001's Blackwater Park set the template for what was to follow, it was with the twin-releases of Deliverance and Damnation that crystallisation of this change in style started. Both those albums were produced by prog-rock wunderkind Steven Wilson who brought a whole new sense of melancholica and style of composition to the piledriving rhythms the band has used for so long and are utterly different from each other- the first another brilliant assault, the latter a moody, down-key masterpiece that barely employs any of the strong arm-tactics Opeth earlier exploited. Ghost Reveries now shows the next step up- using their technical nous, Mikael Akerfeldt's growl-'n-shrieking vocals and his tales of sickness, isolation and desperation in more prog-rock surroundings- seven long tracks (and one short), the walls of speedy metal interspersed with strings and contemplative passages, poetry and brutality waxing and waning. This is one of the most innovative and interesting metal-albums of the year with Opeth at their compository and musical best, especially in the brilliant Reverie/Harlequin Forest which is a complete suite in 11 minutes and even at that length is almost too short.