Ghost Reveries

Opeth returned home in 2004 to start writing new material for its eighth album; by the end of the year, they had finished writing it.{{cite web| author=Åkerfeldt, Mikael |url=http://opeth.com/biography/chapter8.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205072419/http://opeth.com/biography/chapter8.html |archive-date=February 5, 2008 |title=Opeth Chapter 8 |publisher=Opeth.com |access-date=January 12, 2008}} For the first time since Still Life, the songs for Ghost Reveries were written for the album before going into the studio. This gave Opeth three weeks to rehearse and perfect the recording in the studio. The band had to decide whether to record the album at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden, or at Sonic Ranch. They eventually chose Fascination Street Studios, as it was closer to their homes.

Opeth's European label, Music for Nations, closed its doors in 2005. After negotiations with various labels, the band signed with Roadrunner Records.{{cite news|title=Opeth Sign With Roadrunner Records |work=Blabbermouth.net|date=March 10, 2005|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/it-s-official-opeth-sign-with-roadrunner-records/|access-date=March 12, 2008}} Åkerfeldt said the primary reason for signing with Roadrunner was the label's wide distribution, ensuring the album would be available at larger-chain retailers. When news leaked that the band was signed to Roadrunner, who predominantly worked with trend-oriented rock and metal, some fans accused the band of selling out. "To be honest," Åkerfeldt said, "that's such an insult after 15 years as a band and 8 records. I can't believe we haven't earned each and every Opeth fan's credibility after all these years. I mean, our songs are 10 minutes long!"{{cite web| author=Åkerfeldt, Mikael |url=http://www.opeth.com/biography/chapter10.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120003030/http://www.opeth.com/biography/chapter10.html |archive-date=January 20, 2008 |title=Opeth Chapter 10 |publisher=Opeth.com |access-date=January 12, 2008}}

The album marks a return to the progressive metal styles of the previous albums and features death growls. However, it still includes some of the progressive rock elements of Damnation.

Ghost Reveries was initially intended to be a concept album, with numerous tracks linking together a story of a man's turmoil after committing an unconscionable act, symbolised by killing his own mother. However, Mikael Åkerfeldt commented:

{{blockquote|"I had intended to do a occult concept piece lyrically and got off to a great start with some downright evil lyrics like "The Baying of the Hounds" and "Ghost of Perdition", then I did "Isolation Years" which had nothing to do with the intended concept but I liked it so much I decided to ease up on the concept idea in favour of this one lyric. Why I decided on a occult theme? Well, I've always been intrigued by it, especially Satanism and stuff like that. I studied some books that oddly enough my wife had in her collection like "Servants of Satan" as well as "Witchcraft and Sorcery" + some more. I figured it'd be interesting to see what a mature 31 year old mind would make of this subject as opposed to the 16 year old kid who used to pose in front of his Bathory poster. I'm quite happy with them to be honest, and they're ... evil!"{{cite web |url=http://www.opeth.com/home/chapters/chapter-x |title=OPETH - Official Website - Biography - Chapter X |access-date=2013-02-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130110724/http://www.opeth.com/home/chapters/chapter-x |archive-date=2013-01-30 }}}} The album only partly portrays a concept, not fully arranged in the poetic manner as previous releases such as Still Life and My Arms, Your Hearse.

Many of the album's tracks make use of an unusual open Dmadd9 guitar tuning, in contrast to the rest of the band's material, which is largely played in standard tuning.{{Cite web |title=The guitarguitar Interview: Opeth's Fredrik Akesson {{!}} guitarguitar |url=https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/140881/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=www.guitarguitar.co.uk |language=en}}

"The Baying of the Hounds" is partially inspired by lyrics from the song "Diana" from Comus's album First Utterance.

The artwork was created after the completion of the album. Åkerfeldt commented on the artwork, saying:

{{blockquote|"I'd been looking for one of the old medieval looking woodcuts, me and Peter went to the Royal library here in Stockholm looking for a evil (yep!) picture, but that was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Couldn't find one. In the meantime, I'd received some pics from good ol' Travis Smith. And as per usual with Mr. Smith, he's a genius ... the candle pictures just blew me away ... that's the cover, fuck the woodcuts! I love it! It's probably the most gothic looking cover we've had, right?"}}

Ghost Reveries was released in Europe on 29 August 2005, and in North America on 30 August 2005.

A special edition of the album was released by Roadrunner Records on 31 October 2006. It is packaged in a large digipak and contains a CD and DVD, along with new cover art and an extended booklet featuring extra album artwork and a letter from Åkerfeldt. The CD contains the original tracks from the album, as well as a bonus cover of "Soldier of Fortune" by Deep Purple, which was recorded as a live take with the band's new drummer, Martin Axenrot. The DVD contains a Dolby 5.1 surround sound mix (not including the bonus track), a 40-minute documentary, and the video for "The Grand Conjuration". This documentary details the making of Ghost Reveries, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the band's day-to-day life while recording and touring.{{cite web |url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/newreleases/release.aspx?releaseID=186 |title=Ghost Reveries Special Edition |access-date=7 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717222807/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/newreleases/release.aspx?releaseID=186 |archive-date=17 July 2010 }}

Some copies of Ghost Reveries were mastered using HDCD. Although it is unmarked, playing the album in a CD player able to decode HDCD will give superior sound quality.

"Ghost of Perdition" is included in the soundtrack for the video game Saints Row 2 on the radio station Krunch 106.66.{{cite web | url=http://www.saintsrow.com/music.php | title=Saints Row 2 Soundtrack | access-date=7 August 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} As of 29 November 2011, it is also available for download for the video game Rock Band 3. "The Grand Conjuration" is included in the soundtrack for the video game Sleeping Dogs, on the radio station "roadrunner records". It is also included in the soundtrack for the video game Final Fight: Streetwise, being the boss battle theme song of one of the game's bosses, Famine.{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492456/soundtrack | title=Final Fight: Streetwise Soundtrack | website=IMDb | access-date=3 March 2020 }}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|last1=Jurek|first1=Thom|title=Ghost Reveries – Opeth|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ghost-reveries-mw0000689281|website=AllMusic|access-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020034026/https://www.allmusic.com/album/ghost-reveries-mw0000689281|archive-date=20 October 2017|date=2005}}

| rev2 = Alternative Press

| rev2Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web |url=http://altpress.com/reviews/93.htm |title=Alternative Press | Reviews |publisher=Altpress.com |access-date=2012-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819224445/http://www.altpress.com/reviews/93.htm |archive-date=2012-08-19 |url-status=dead }}

| rev3 = Blabbermouth.net

| rev3Score = 10/10{{cite web |url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/showreview.aspx?reviewID=415 |title=Blabbermouth.Net |publisher=Roadrunnerrecords.com |access-date=2012-01-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051203160544/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/showreview.aspx?reviewID=415 |archive-date=2005-12-03 }}

| rev4 = Drowned in Sound

| rev4Score = 10/10{{cite web|last=Rauf|first=Raziq|title=Opeth – Ghost Reveries|url=https://drownedinsound.com/releases/4220/reviews/13088--|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124180528/https://drownedinsound.com/releases/4220/reviews/13088--|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 November 2023|website=Drowned in Sound|access-date=28 February 2021|date=15 September 2005}}

| rev5 = Kerrang!

| rev5Score = {{Rating|5|5}}[http://www.opeth.com/index.php/discography/show/tpl/ghost-reviews# ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902011744/http://www.opeth.com/index.php/discography/show/tpl/ghost-reviews |date=2 September 2011 }}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6Score = 8.4/10Stosuy, Brandon. [http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9717-ghost-reveries-special-edition/ Ghost Reveries review] 2007-01-02. Retrieved on 2010-11-26.

| rev7 = PopMatters

| rev7Score = 9/10{{cite web|last=Begrand |first=Adrien |url=http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/o/opeth-ghostreveries.shtml |title=Opeth: Ghost Reveries |publisher=PopMatters |access-date=2012-01-14}}

| rev8 = Rock Hard

| rev8score = 9/10{{cite web|title=Rock Hard review|url=https://www.rockhard.de/reviews/opeth-ghost-reveries_284763.html|work=issue 220}}

| rev9 = Rock Sound

| rev9score = 9/10{{cite web|last=Sadler|first=Darren|url=http://www.opeth.com/index.php/discography/show/tpl/ghost-reviews |title= Ghost Reveries Reviews |date=August 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902011744/http://www.opeth.com/index.php/discography/show/tpl/ghost-reviews|archive-date=2 September 2011}}

| rev10 = Stylus Magazine

| rev10score = B{{cite magazine |url=http://stylusmagazine.com/reviews/opeth/ghost-reveries.html |title=Opeth – Ghost Reveries – Review |last=Lee |first=Cosmo |magazine=Stylus Magazine |date=13 September 2005 |access-date=1 March 2021 |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804231655/https://stylusmagazine.com/reviews/opeth/ghost-reveries.html |url-status=dead }}

| rev11 = Terrorizer

| rev11Score = 9.5/10

}}

Ghost Reveries peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 64{{cite web | url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=opeth|chart=all}} | title=Ghost Reveries Number 64 on the Billboard | access-date=7 August 2010}} and number 62 in the UK.{{cite web|title=Official Charts – Opeth |website=Official Charts |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/1646/opeth/ |access-date=28 February 2021}} The album was Opeth's first studio release to chart in Sweden, reaching number nine.{{cite web |url=http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Opeth |title=Swedish charts – Opeth |publisher=Swedishcharts.com |access-date=January 25, 2008}}

Ghost Reveries received widespread acclaim upon release. Thom Jurek of AllMusic cited Ghost Reveries as a culmination of everything Opeth had worked towards throughout their career.{{cite web|last=Jurek|first=Thom|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ghost-reveries-mw0000689281|title=Opeth Ghost Reveries|website=AllMusic}} Jurek defined the album as "fully realized, stunningly beautiful, and emotionally fragmented; it's a terrain where power, tenderness, and sheer grief hold forth under heavy manners. Awesome." Billboard described the album as delving further towards Opeth's progressive tendencies, commenting that the "alternating between powerful metal bursts and gauzy atmospheres requires patient listening, but it allows for better exploration of the beautifully dark world Opeth creates."{{cite magazine |title=Opeth – Ghost Reveries |magazine=Billboard |volume=117 |issue= 34 |page=51 |date=20 August 2005}} Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork praised Opeth's diverse musical influences and instrumentation, as a blend of "prog, jazz, stoner haze, blues-rock, Indian raga, pastoral tips, and acid-tinged freakers."Stosuy, Brandon. [http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9717-ghost-reveries-special-edition/ Ghost Reveries review] 2007-01-02. Retrieved on 2010-11-26. Exclaim! reviewer Max Deneau similarly praised their songwriting and musicianship as key to Opeth's formula, whilst commenting on the addition of keyboardist Per Wiberg as having added "a volatile new dynamic to the band."{{cite web|last=Deneau|first=Max|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/opeth-ghost_reveries |title=Opeth – Ghost Reveries|website=Exclaim!}} Keith Bergman of Blabbermouth.net gave the album ten out of ten, one of only 21 albums to achieve a perfect rating from the site.{{cite news| url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/ghost-reveries/ |title=CD reviews |work=Blabbermouth.net |access-date=January 13, 2008}} Decibel called Ghost Reveries "achingly beautiful, sometimes unabashedly brutal, often a combination of both."{{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Rod |date=September 2005 |url=http://www.decibelmagazine.com/reviews/sep2005/opeth.aspx?terms=Ghost+Reveries&searchtype=2&fragment=True |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118152152/http://www.decibelmagazine.com/reviews/sep2005/opeth.aspx?terms=Ghost+Reveries&searchtype=2&fragment=True |archive-date=January 18, 2008 |title=Opeth Ghost Reveries – Wargasm of the Worlds |magazine=Decibel magazine |access-date=January 13, 2008 |url-status=dead }} The Aquarian Weekly placed Ghost Reveries among the band's finest work, writing: "This record was in the running for best metal release of the year before it even came out and now that it has, it may very well have decimated any competition."{{cite news |author=Patrick Slevin |title=Opeth – Ghost Reveries |url=https://www.theaquarian.com/2005/08/31/opeth-ghost-reveries/ | newspaper=The Aquarian Weekly | access-date=28 February 2021}}

Ghost Reveries was named the best album of 2005 by Metal Hammer.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/metal.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060224140538/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/metal.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=24 February 2006|title = Rocklist.net...Metal Hammer Albums the Year}} It was also ranked No. 1 on PopMatters "Best Metal Albums of 2005"{{cite web|url=https://popmatters.com/begrand051219-2496179671.html |title= The Best Metal Albums of 2005|date= 18 December 2005}} and on webzine Metal Storm.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.metalstorm.net/bands/albums_top.php?album_year=2005|title=Top 20 albums of 2005 – Metal Storm|magazine=Metal Storm|access-date=2008-09-28}} Ghost Reveries appeared on many end of year lists, including Kerrang!,{{Cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/kerrang.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216032059/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/kerrang.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=16 February 2006|title = Rocklist.net...Kerrang! Lists Page 1}} Terrorizer,{{Cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/terroris.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080524005712/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/terroris.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=24 May 2008|title = Rocklist.net....Terrorizer Magazine}} Drowned In Sound{{cite web |title=Drowned In Sound's Top 46 Albums of 2005 |url=https://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/534850-drowned-in-sounds-top-46-albums-of-2005 |access-date=1 March 2021 |archive-date=16 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616212534/https://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/534850-drowned-in-sounds-top-46-albums-of-2005 |url-status=dead }} and The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/villagevoice2005.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622055234/http://rocklistmusic.co.uk/villagevoice2005.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=22 June 2006|title=Rocklist.net...Village Voice (Pazz & Jop) Lists 2005}} In a retrospective list, Loudwire named it the best metal album of 2005.{{cite web|last=Divita |first=Joe |title=10 Best Metal Albums of 2005 |website=Loudwire |url=https://loudwire.com/10-best-metal-albums-of-2005/ |date=29 December 2015 |access-date=1 March 2021}}

In 2014, TeamRock put Ghost Reveries at No. 46 on their "Top 100 Greatest Prog Albums of All Time" list commenting that "this was a partial concept album, with Satanism as its theme. It’s now regarded as one of the defining albums of 21st-century progressive metal."{{cite web|last1=Edwards|first1=Mike|title=The 100 Greatest Prog Albums Of All Time: 60-41|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2014-08-06/the-100-greatest-prog-albums-of-all-time-60-41|website=TeamRock|date=6 August 2014|access-date=2018-02-11}} Loudwire placed the album at No. 3 on their "Top 100 Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Albums of the 21st Century" list, only being beaten out by System of a Down's Toxicity (#2) and Tool's Lateralus (#1).{{cite web|title=Top 100 Hard Rock + Heavy Metal Albums of the 21st Century|url=http://loudwire.com/top-100-hard-rock-metal-albums-21st-century/|website=Loudwire|access-date=2018-02-11}}

{{track listing

| all_writing = Mikael Åkerfeldt except “Beneath the Mire” and “The Grand Conjuration” by Åkerfeldt/Wiberg

| title1 = Ghost of Perdition

| length1 = 10:29

| title2 = The Baying of the Hounds

| length2 = 10:41

| title3 = Beneath the Mire

| length3 = 7:57

| title4 = Atonement

| length4 = 6:28

| title5 = Reverie/Harlequin Forest{{efn|"Reverie" appears after 5:23 in "Atonement" and is 1:05 in length. On the CD version, it appears in the pregap between "Atonement" and "Harlequin Forest". On the digital version, the pregap has just been added to the end of "Atonement", but the song titles remain the same, causing some confusion.}}

| length5 = 11:39

| title6 = Hours of Wealth

| length6 = 5:20

| title7 = The Grand Conjuration

| length7 = 10:21

| title8 = Isolation Years

| length8 = 3:51

| total_length = 66:46

}}

;Notes:

{{Notelist}}

• Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, Mellotron
• Peter Lindgren – lead guitar
• Martín Méndez – bass
• Per Wiberg – Hammond organ, Mellotron, grand piano, Moog
• Martin Lopez – drums, percussion

• Jens Bogren – production, engineering, mixing, mastering (at Cutting Room Studios), 5.1 remix
• Opeth – production, engineering, mixing, mastering, art direction, recording ("Soldier of Fortune")
• Pontus Olsson – engineering ("Soldier of Fortune"), mixing ("Soldier of Fortune")
• Rickard Bengtsson – recording
• Anders Alexandersson – recording
• Niklas Källgren – recording
• Thomas Eberger – mastering

• Travis Smith – art direction, illustration, layout
• Anthony Sorrento – band portraits

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{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110518123734/http://www.opeth.com/index.php/discography/show/tpl/ghost-equipment Ghost Reveries's equipment] at [http://opeth.com/ Opeth.com]

{{Opeth}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Opeth albums

Category:2005 albums

Category:Roadrunner Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Jens Bogren

Category:Albums with cover art by Travis Smith (artist)