What’s this? Metal that never once tries to sound ‘tough’; it’s melancholic, forlorn in that windswept black metal way that feels like so cold, but with the none of the “evil” or the posturing. It’s a thick, textured wall of sound, but there is no real aggression. Rough, raw, and low budget but strangely restrained… the band never plays faster than mid-paced, the playing is subdued, simple and tasteful, almost as if out of respect for some kind of loss or death.
If you liked the youthful, emotive, overwhelmed feeling of the first two Opeth records, you must have this immediately. Rarely do such sensitive, romantic artists (with not a violent bone in their bodies) end up creating metal. This album is simpler than “Morningrise” or “Orchid”, though, and also even more rainy in feeling. The fat is trimmed off, but it’s no less of a cathartic experience. It’s really amazing what they can do with a few simple chords strummed in a straight ahead 4/4 rhythm. Beautiful, haunting leads appear often as well. The album is driven by the sound of the guitar. The distortion is warm and thick, but never harsh, and envelops you like the womb. Mikael Akerfeldt of the aforementioned Opeth handles the harsher vocals. His performance is pushed to the back of the mix, which is perfect for this kind of music. His hollow mid-frequencies growls have the same pained immediacy they had on “Morningrise”, and with this he easily compensates for anything he might have lacked in polish and throat control at this time in his career.
The reverberant, chorused ballad “Day” foreshadows the melancholic alt rock the band has made ever since they abandoned metal with 3rd album “Discouraged Ones”. Their later, non-metal material really does possess the same mood as this early material, and it’s obvious the band had already been exposed to the gothic, chronic depression of The Cure and others at this point in time. These days, though, the band often takes the easy way out with tired verse/chorus/verse song structures. On “Brave Murder Day”, the songs average between 5 and 10 minutes, and develop through many beautiful harmonized sections. Because of this “Brave Murder Day” may always be the band’s most mature and ambitious statement, and their crowning achievement.
The heavier tracks are all stylistically similar, which in this case is a good thing, as it nicely creates a strong sense of unifying theme. All the tracks are solid. There’s the eerily nostalgic supernatural fire and beautiful clean guitar tones of the closer “Endtime”, the plodding relentlessness of the 10 minute “Brave”…
In conclusion, this is a fantastic album that crosses several subgenres, from symphonic black metal to melo-death to melancholic alternative rock. If you like your metal more emotive and sentimental, need an album for the Fall months or just can’t get enough of Opeth’s “Morningrise”, you need this album. Really, anyone who appreciates metal that goes for musicality rather than sheer speed or brutality should check it out. It’s a true gem. 5 stars.