Ghost Reveries is the eighth studio album by Opeth, released on August 29, 2005, through Roadrunner Records. It returns to the Progressive Metal sound that was dropped on Damnation, but with more prominent keyboards than on previous releases.
It is their first album with keyboardist Per Wiberg, who joined the band two years earlier as a touring member, but the last with guitarist Peter Lindgren and drummer Martin Lopez. The music video for "The Ground Conjuration" did not feature Lopez, who was dealing with health issues, but instead had then-Strapping Young Lad drummer Gene Hoglan, who briefly filled in for Lopez for live performances in 2004. Martin "Axe" Axenrot was brought in as a substitute for Lopez for the album's tour and joined the band full-time in 2006 after Lopez announced his permanent withdrawal from the band. Lindgren left the band in 2007 after being burnt out from performing and was replaced by then-Arch Enemy guitarist Fredrik Åkesson.
Ghost Reveries is considered to be the darkest Opeth album. It was initially intended to be a Concept Album about a man's turmoil after doing something horrible and having him kill his mother in a symbolic act. However, the concept was abandoned as some songs got moved around and the unrelated track "Isolation Years" was added. The concept is still evident in some songs having a recurring occult theme stemming from frontman Mikael Akerfeldt having developed some interest in exploring the subject too see what he would make of it from the perspective of an adult, as opposed to being an edgy teenager.
Opeth played the album in full on their 25th anniversary tour, which also took place in the year of the album's 10th anniversary.
Track list:
- "Ghost of Perdition" (10:29)
- "The Baying of the Hounds" (10:41)
- "Beneath the Mire" (7:57)
- "Atonement" (6:28) note
- "Reverie/Harlequin Forest" (11:39)
- "Hours of Wealth" (5:20)
- "The Grand Conjuration" (10:21)
- "Isolation Years" (3:51)
Principal members:
- Mikael Akerfeldt - Vocals, guitar
- Peter Lindgren - Guitar
- Martin Mendez - Bass
- Per Wiberg - Keyboards
- Martin Lopez - Drums
Tropes of Perdition:
- Artifact Title: The title of "Reverie/Harlequin Forest" only makes sense on a CD player that will display "Reverie" as the pregap before track 5. In all other cases, track 4 should be called "Atonement/Reverie" but isn't. Putting the CD in a computer will have "Reverie" tacked onto the end of "Atonement". The digital and vinyl editions have it appear this way as well. This was rectified on In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, though some outlets (setlist.fm et al) include "Reverie" in the title when documenting live performances of "Harlequin Forest".
- Darker and Edgier: This is the darkest Opeth album, featuring occult themes on some songs.
- Dying Alone: "Isolation Years" has Rosemary outright state she would die alone in her letter. The narrator notices the pen slipped to the side by her lover's name, implying she died just as she finished writing the letter. It's unclear how the narrator got hold of the letter, but he is moved by it nonetheless.
- Epic Instrumental Opener: Some songs take more than a minute for the vocals to come in. "Hours of Wealth" takes more than two.
- Epic Rocking: The heavier songs are more than seven minutes long. This is also so far the last Opeth album to have more than one song exceed ten.
- Hellhound: The titular hounds of "The Baying of the Hounds""Pest ridden jackals of the earth
Diabolical beasts and roaming the forests" - Hidden Track: "Reverie" is an instrumental pregap interlude between "Atonement" and "Harlequin Forest". Digital and vinyl versions tack it onto the end of "Atonement".
- Jump Scare: The band and the growls in "Ghost of Perdition" jump in right after a short clean guitar intro.
- Limited Lyrics Song: "Atonement" only has two short stanzas.
- Matricide: The protagonist of the scrapped story killed his mother in symbolic act pertaining to him doing something horrible. This is hinted at in "Ghost of Perdition".
- My God, What Have I Done?: The abandoned story is about someone having a huge guilt trip after doing something horrible. He appears to come to terms with it in "Hours of Wealth". He vows never to speak to anyone anymore but will rise again when he is sure of what to do.
- New Sound Album: Essentially a hybrid of the two parts of Deliverance & Damnation, this album returns to the then-usual Progressive Metal and Technical Death Metal sound but with more prominent keyboards.
- Satan: "The Grand Conjuration" is about summoning Satan, who appears to be the one behind the hellhounds chasing the protagonist of the scrapped story.
- Textless Album Cover: Text only appears on some editions of the album, such as the US HDCD edition and the 2018 Music On Vinyl reissue.
- Vocal Evolution: Mikael's clean vocals are more pronounced here and have a more gothic feel compared to previous releases.
