The year is 1996. The Bosnian War ends, leaving Europe in moral shambles, Dolly the Sheep becomes the first mammal ever cloned, Hotmail is launched, and Tupac gets shot. Right, the Metal! It was a good year for depressing albums and for bands that were underground darlings but would soon rise to become the next big thing. Iconic work from Cradle of Filth, Emperor, and In Flames marked the cusp of Europe becoming an extreme Metal powerhouse. Today, we’re going to talk about an album from a band that would change the scene forever: Opeth’s Morningrise. Love it or hate it, we have to ask, is it still worth your time?
Morningrise was an intrinsic part of my Metal journey. It was the first properly extreme Metal album that puzzled me. When I discovered it, I didn’t even like harsh vocals! So, you can imagine how nostalgic this journey became when I returned to it. I’ve even learned to play some of its riffs by heart! They’re great for learning… basically any instrument on it. However, I don’t let petty feelings get in the way of a cold and rational assessment. I hold no illusions; there are things I love about this album, but also aspects that make me say, “Well, I’m glad we don’t do that anymore.”
Twin guitars! Is there any better way to define this album? It’s 100% Scandinavian 90s melancholy. Many of you might not know, but the 90s were “rough” times in Sweden: an economic meltdown left many practically homeless, and the Balkan wars caused Sweden to face its biggest refugee crisis in decades. The Swedish working class was lost in a society that suddenly stopped having its back. At the same time, some alienated Stockholm kids were creating Katatonia, Opeth, and other bands that had a sense of tragedy in them that transcended the cold and darkness expressed in typical Nordic Metal.
Morningrise was one of the first classics of this era of rapid fragmentation. It was Opeth trying to find its identity, much like everyone else was back then. It was a new way of doing Prog that didn’t comply with the traditional virtuosity or Jazz-fusion-heavy approaches. In a way, it was self-referential to Prog Rock and Metal itself, as in, “this is our take on what Prog could’ve been.” I know this approach became popular and had several issues, which is why Opeth eventually ditched it.
The tracks are too long for their content, even if the riffs are excellent. I think where you can tell things aren’t as mature as they would be in the future is in the transitions, which are all sort of awkward. They’re basically pauses between sections, and though it doesn’t detract from Morningrise, it pales in comparison to the iconic and genre-changing writing that we’d get in Still Life or Blackwater Park. Opeth has three eras so far: the twin guitars era, the Prog Death era, and the grandpacore era. Morningrise is undoubtedly the best of the first era. Here I am, waiting for the beginning of the next one.
I guess Morningrise does hold up, but in a strange way. Everything on it is as 90s and dated as a Discman, but it’s hard not to find it interesting anyway. Lately, there have been attempts to capture this magic again (small projects like Veln, for example), but you can appreciate that it’s a sound that has never been replicated with the same level of success—and that’s okay. Some albums sound like they came out yesterday, and some sound like a perfect portrayal of their historical context. Morningrise is that picture frozen in time that I always return to. It taught me that Metal could actually aspire to be an imperfect yet inspiring type of art.
I want to thank Daniel, who’s become our first patron! As a reward, I’ll let Daniel pick our next retro- review. The rules are the same: an album older than 10 years that holds a level of reverence or disdain.
Label: Candlelight Records/Century Black
Release date: 24 June, 2024
Website: https://candlelightrecordsuk.bandcamp.com/album/morningrise
Country: Sweden
Score: A part of my youth I can never bring back.
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