Blackwater Park (Opeth)

Year: 2001

This was my first taste of Opeth.  To this day, I consider it the most representative of the vintage Opeth sound as it not only shows both the soft and dark sides of the band, but uses a nice mix of Akerfeldt's trademark vocals (growls and all).  This is readily apparent with the first track ("The Leper Affinity") which comes out strong and then lulls you in a bit and then knocks you over again with the brutal force that Opeth does so well with its music.  Opeth's uniqueness is its amazing contrasting style and the creative transitions that bridge these contrasts.

The second track is the aptly named "Bleak" which highlights the dark and hard side of Opeth.  In true Opeth form, "Harvest" immediately follows which conversely highlights the soft side of Opeth as this track is almost entirely acoustic.

The fourth track is "The Drapery Falls" and is easily one of my favorite songs from this band.  A great mix of singing and growling from Akerfeldt with some oustanding musical hooks really make this a standout track and a great song to introduce people to these Swedish rockers.  The rest of the album continues along the same lines as each of the songs (except for the short instrumental "Patterns in the Ivy") takes the listener along an adventure of dark and light, harsh sounds and soothing sounds, for a satisfying experience no matter your mood.

I finally would like to point out that the cover art does a great job of conveying the mood/feeling expressed throughout the album.  Blackwater Park is a great place to start for people wanting to be introduced to Opeth and an all-around excellent album.

Paradox Hotel (The Flower Kings)

Year: 2006

I am relatively new to The Flower Kings, but have slowly been exploring their discography.  Paradox Hotel was recommended to me as one of their better albums so after being pleasantly surprised with Desolation Rose, I grabbed this one.  Paradox Hotel is a meandering affair full of social commentary which I have not fully digested.  While I love concept albums (where the whole is better than the sum of the parts), I feel like the music on this album really suffers as it seems to be an afterthought compared to the lyrics.  The band has something to say and by golly they say it!  The music just does not measure up, in my opinion.

While there is a lot of music on this double disc album, there are really only a few individual tracks that I find interesting.  The first album begins with a very solid offering in "Monsters & Men" which begins the commentary on the European aggressors of World War II (Germany).  While I haven't given the lyrics a whole lot of attention, a similar theme continues for the rest of the two discs with the music becoming rather boring and forgettable along the way.

The second disc has a few worthy additions in the tracks "Touch My Heaven", "Life Will Kill You" and "Paradox Hotel."  Again, this album is much better as a whole and is really the only way to listen to it as the individual songs just don't have very compelling melodies.  As a result, if I'm in the mood for The Flower Kings, I'd much rather listen to Stardust We Are or Unfold the Future.