#morningrising

[dusk-of-copper-9]

Slight update to Head-Butler Dusk during the manor years, isn't he just a ball of adorableness. Albeit this is more so an alternate appearance in terms of clothing.

[itwasnotahamster]

Morningrise - Studio Album by Opeth

[jt1674]

[phenioxflame]

Mystics Of the Magic- Chapter 1 Fire

“Light comes from many places. But light can be tainted by darkness. Fire is strong, but it can be weak. Find your fire within you, and protect it with all your might.”

Jade Lava

The moon's light shines upon the earth. The children were sleeping in the beds; safe and sound. Jack, the guardian of joy, flew over the town he protected. He flew away to look over the next part of town. It had been ten years since the five guardians sent Pitch, the boogieman, back into the darkness. Earth has been safe since then. But, they weren’t the only guardians who protected the earth. In a different reality, in a world called Narium, there were guardians who had protected the earth for years. Occasionally, they would visit the guardians of childhood to make sure they were doing their jobs. One such guardian, Aqua Aquarius Ocean, the guardian of hope from Narium, had known Jack Frost for the last three hundred years. His childish, laid back personality got on Aqua’s nerves. She had to constantly remind Jack that his role as a guardian was important and sacred. He was half of the reason that winter came. If anyone could describe their relationship, it would be a brother and sister type relationship. 

“Good thing Aqua isn’t out tonight”, Jack says.

Rumbles come from the ground. A moren beast runs through the town; shrieking like a thousand lost souls.

“We almost got it!” Aqua and Jade, from the Magma Plains, chased the moren beast through the town.

“How did this thing get out of the dark gate”, Jade shouts.

“I don’t know!” Aqua looks over and sees an alleyway. “Follow and contain the beast! I’ll cut it off!” Aqua uses her water-like wings and flies down the alleyway at top speed. Jade shoots a chain from her magic and it wraps itself around the moren beast. With all the strength in her, Jade holds the moren beast from running away.

“No you don’t, you lousy–” As the moren beast struggled, Jade’s grip on the ground started to slip. “What was I thinking!? AAA!” The moren beast dragged Jade through the town without stopping.

Bunny, the guardian of hope from earth, sleeps on his high hill in the Waren. He had been working non-stop for the last two months painting his eggs for easter. He had over worked himself and decided to get some rest. But that plan went to ruin when he heard rumbling from above. The warren was connected to many places on earth. It was a way for him to know if there was danger.

“What the bloody hell is going on up there?” Bunny gets up from his spot on the hill and creates a travel hole to make his way up to the surface. He jumps out and looks around.

Aqua flies past multiple buildings until she sees the moren beast dragging Jade. Aqua flies up and next to the beast.

“Jade, let go!” Jade lets go of the chain and spins out. Aqua jumps onto the beast back and then comes to the realization that she had no plan to stop the moren beast. “What was I thinking?! AAA!”

Bunny looks behind him and sees the moren beast running past him; Aqua holding on by the back.

“Sorry!”, Aqua shouts. Bunny’s right eye twitches and says in annoyance, “Aqua...!” Aqua looks down at the moren beast head and says, “Okay, pal. This is your stop!” Aqua uses her water powers to summon a gunnier-like weapon and stabs the moren beast back. “JADE!” Jade runs up and uses her strength to knock the beast into a light pole; Aqua jumps off its back and lands on a nearby pole. She jumps down and walks over to the wounded beast. “Now to send you back to where you belong.” Aqua raises her paw and says, “I send you to your destination!” Magic flows around the moren beast and makes it vanish in an instant. “Mission accomplished.”

“What were you thinking?!” Aqua rolled her eyes while Jade looked back to see Bunny jumping down from the building.

“Bunny… what brings you here?”, Aqua asks in a sarcastic manner. One thing to know about the relationship between Aqua and Bunny is that the both of them did not see eye to eye. Sure, they knew what was important, and they had the same goals in mind, but their methods were completely different in terms of bringing hope and light to the children of earth. So occasionally, they would have unnecessary disagreements.

“I heard something from above the waren.”, Bunny says. “So I’ll asks again: What were you thinking?” Aqua shakes her head and says, “Look, Bunny. Whatever happenes that involves magic, or a moren beast, is not your concern.”

“It’s my concern when it's on earth”, Bunny said in an angry and calm voice. He was starting to get annoyed with Aqua even more now. “You could have been seen.”

“And we weren't”, Aqua reminded him. “And as much as I would love to continue this conversation on who’s right or wrong, me and Jade have to return to Narium.” Aqua summons a portal and walks through it. Bunny sighs in frustration and says in annoyance, “How is she a guardian?”

“Be nice.”, Jade said. “We know that her way of thinking is a bit… radical, but she means well.” Bunny looks at Jade, closes his eyes and chuckles. “What?”

“I just find it funny that you're Aqua’s voice of reason”, Bunny says. Jade rubs the back of her head and says, “Well, when you're the solace of the second in command of Narium, what else can you do?” Jade and Bunny both chuckle. “I better go. Aqua might be wondering where I am.” Jade walks through the portal.

“What took you so long?”, Aqua asked.

“Nothing. Let’s get a move on.”, Jade said.

“Race you back to Narium!”

“You're on!” Aqua and Jade ran through the portal at their highest speed. The end of the portal opens up and Aqua and Jade fall down. In a swift motion Aqua and Jade fly upward and above the town of Narium. The creatures of the town walk by and around. Aqua and Jade land in front of the castle and walk to the entrance. The doors open and Iran is seen to be reading a scroll; passing back and forth while she reads. She looks over at the door and says with a smile, “Back so soon?”

“You can’t get rid of us that easily, Master.”, Aqua says.

“Aqua, you can call me Iran.”, she said. “You're my second in command.” Iran had always been Aqua's mentor since she was little. Aqua looked up to Iran for many reasons. “Did you catch the moren beast?”

“Yup.”, Jade said. “But Bunny saw us.”

Oh, I can only imagine how that turned out. Aqua?” Aqua looked down at the floor without moving her head. She then looked at the clock and said in a steadfast motion, “Oh, look at the time! I’m needed on patrol! Bye!” Aqua rushed down the stairs and flew off to join the patrol team. Iran sighs and asks, “Did they fight?”

“I wouldn’t say that.”, Jade says. “They had a quarrel. Nothing physical.”

“I see. Did anything else happen?”

“The fire tribe of the hope union are moving closer to our borders.”, Jade says. “Do you know why?”

“The leader of the fire tribe thought it would be a good idea to move closer since summer is almost here.”, Iran explains. “The earth tribe are moving closer to Narium as well.”

“Is that wise?”, Jade asks. “You and Aqua told me that the elemental tribes have never seen eye to eye.”

“True. But they have come to a compromise. I only hope they don’t start a fight again. Is there anything else to report?”, Iran asks.

“No. That’s all.”, Jade says. “May I go now?”

“You may.”, Iran says. “Good night, Jade.”

“You too, Iran.” Jade walks down the stairs and out the door.

Aqua flies above the town and near the edge of the forest. She looks down and sees the patrol team. Pond, the guardian of imagination, looks up to see Aqua. She waves over to her and says, “There you are, Chérie. What took you so long?”

“I had to report in with Iran.”, Aqua said. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Good. Now that everyone is here, we can start the night patrol.”, Sun says. “Pond and Aqua will patrol the south of the village. Crystal and Silver will patrol the north and east. Me and Raven will patrol the west. Move out.” Aqua and Pond fly off to the south while the others fly to their respective areas. A cold breeze flies through the air and Pond gets the chills.

“It’s so cold!”, Pond exclaims.

“It’s not that bad.”, Aqua says. “It feels nice.”

“I would have thought you would have the same reaction as Bunny.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.” Pond raises her right eyebrow. She flips over and says with all her acting skills, “Oh, blimey, It’s cold! I can’t feel my feet!” Aqua looked at Pond with her right eye twitching from pure annoyance. She knew she would pull a stunt like this sooner or later. “What?”

“One: I’m not Australian. I’m hispanic. Two: I don’t complain like a fifthteen year old that’s never felt the cold before.”, Aqua says. She flies close to Pond and says in what Pond likes to call “Aqua’s scary yet menacing voice, “And where the hell do you get off comparing me to Bunny?”

“I’ve seen how you both act for the last few hundred years and there are similarities.”, Pond says. “You both have a huge ego. You both hate the cold. You both get annoyed by Jack. Should I continue?”

“Pond, I am not above turning you into a dragon for a month.”, Aqua says.

“Do your worst, Ocean. You know this will just turn into–” Before Pond could say another word, she saw Aqua looking down; her face covered in a dim red light. She looks down to see a fire in the village of clarity. “Where did this fire come from?”

“I don’t know.”, Aqua says.

“Aqua! Pond!” Sun and Raven fly over to Aqua and Pond. “The fire is spreading. Aqua, summon Jade and Iran. we’ll get RainFall.”

“Right.” Pond, Sun, and Raven fly down to the village while Aqua flies up to the sky; her body being silhouetted out by the light of the moon. She howls like a wolf; loud enough to reach the castle.

Iran writes in her book while looking at a pair of scrolls. Her ears then perk up and she looks out her window to see a dim red light and black smoke. She jumps out of her seat and flies out from her balcony.

Jade walks through the quiet town alone. Her fur then stands from hearing a howl from the south and she looks up to see black smoke accompanied by a dim red light. She runs out of the town and heads to the south village.

Aqua catches her breath for a quick second and then flies down to help the others.

“Aqua!” Aqua stops midway and sees Iran and Jade running to the edge of the village. She flies down and says, “There might be villagers trapped in the fire. Jade, help me out the fire. Iran, get the villagers out of here.” Iran ran into the fire and started to cut down the burnt buildings and trees. Jade follows Aqua through the fire as Aqua uses her water to put out the fire. Jade uses her magic to contain a small amount of fire and floats it up to the sky. Aqua swiftly flies around the fire and takes it out with water. Jade and Aqua do this multiple times without rest. Jade runs deeper into the village and covers her head.

“This isn’t working!”, Jade said. Aqua flies down and creates a protective barrier. “The fire is only gonna spread if we keep this up. We need a plan.” Aqua looked around to see what she could come up with. A bright blue light glows from Aqua’s back. It was her crystal.

“I have an idea.”, Aqua says.

“What is it?”

“If you, Raven, RainFall, Iran, and Sun can keep the fire in a single area, I can lead the fire away from the village. Can you all do it?”

“Yeah.” Jade takes out her communicator. “Guys, keep the fire in the center of the village. Contain it.” Aqua lowers the barrier and Jade runs into the fire. Aqua flies up to the sky. The others make their way out of the village and wait for Jade’s signal. Aqua looks down at the fire covered village from above. She looks over to Jade and nods her head.

“Everyone, do it now!”, Jade shouts. With a deep breath, they all say in unison, “Compression Harmonix!” Multicolor magic surrounds the fire in the village. The magic pushes the fire to the center of the village; the buildings burnt to a crisp. Aqua looks down and takes a deep breath.

“I respectfully ask to borrow the power of Diana and Constellation this night.” She covers her body in water as a way of protection. “LUNA SPINHEDAS!” Aqua spins around in rapid speed and she heads down to the fire. She flies into the fire and gathers it up to the sky. She opens a portal that leads to earth and the portal closes.

“Where did she go?”, RainFall asks in worry.

Aqua lifts the fire to the sky and keeps spinning. Once she is high enough from the ground, she makes the fire thin by depersing in the sky. Aqua falls to the ground and takes a moment to catch her breath; her body experiencing the backlash of her power. She grits her teeth in pain.

“That fire wasn’t normal.”, Aqua thought, still gritting her teeth. She pushes herself up and looks at her back. “Looks like my crystal isn’t broken. Irene, my body hurts…!” Aqua picks herself up and looks around. Something wasn’t right. She looks around the area. She looks over to her left and sees a moren beast with two red eyes. It couldn’t have been the moren beats she and Jade caught before. Aqua took a closer look at the moren beast and saw that it was covered in rock and lava. “What? How did an inferno moren beast get on earth?” Before Aqua could walk over to capture it, the moren beast charges at her. “Whoa!” Aqua jumps out of the way while moren beast runs away. “Oh no you don’t!”

Jack flies over the town once more before saying, “Everything looks good here.” Jack then hears a demonic scream from below and he looks down. He sees Aqua chasing a monster through the town. “What the?” Jack flies down and catches up to Aqua and asks, “Aqua, what’s going on?”

“That moren beast isn’t supposed to be here.”, Aqua yells. “It’s gonna destroy the town if we don’t do something.” Jack looks at the moren beast and says, “Got it.” He flies a bit faster, passing the moren beast and stopping at a good enough distance.

“What’s he doing?” Jack gathers all of his magic and creates an ice cage. The moren beast gets trapped in the cage. “That worked?”

“You make it sound like my ideas are bad.”, Jack says, sitting on top of the cage. Aqua rolls her eyes and gets into the cage. She uses her powers to keep the moren beast still.

“Now, where did you come from?” Aqua closes her eyes and reads the mind of the moren beast. In her sight, she sees an environment of rock and lava. The next thing she sees in a portal opening before her. The moren beast walks through it and looks around. The next few memories are a bit blurry, but the last vision she sees in the south village being set on fire. Aqua opens her eyes and says, “So it was you who set the village on fire… and…” Aqua stepped back and said, “I sent you to your destination.” Blue magic covers the moren beast and it disappears. “There. That should do it.”

“So that moren beast came from where?”, Jack asks.

“I’m not sure.”, Aqua says. “But wherever it came from, I sent it back. Thank you for helping me, Jack. I need to get back to Narium.”

“Sure thing, Aki.” Aqua felt her nerves go up. As Jack quickly flew away, Aqua shouted, “DON’T CALL ME THAT!”

Aqua flew down to the burnt village and ran to the others.

“Is everyone okay?”, Aqua asked.

“Yeah.”, RainFall said. “We got everyone out in time.”

“Are you okay?”, Sun asked. “Your fur is a mess.”

“I’m fine.”, Aqua said. “My injuries are minor. There was an inferno moren beast here.”

“What? How do you know?”, Iran asks.

“After I got rid of the fire, I had a run in with a moren beast from the Magna Plains.”

“Are you sure?”, Jade asks. Aqua nods her head yes and says, “There’s no doubt about it. Something must have happened in the reality inbetween and the magic reality.” The others looked at each other with worry and concern.

Me and the others didn’t know what would happen next. All that we knew is that our lives would never be the same.

Here is chapter 1 of Mystics of the magic! I forgot to mention this before but there are LBGTQ+ characters in this story.

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Video: Slowdive Shares Breathtakingly Gorgeous "kisses"

New Video: Slowdive Shares Breathtakingly Gorgeous "kisses" @slowdiveband @neilhalstead @RachelAGoswell @DeadOceans @pitchperfectpr

Deriving their name from a dream that that their co-founder Neil Halstead (vocals, guitar) had once had, and “Slowdive,” a single written and recorded by co-founder Rachel Goswell’s (vocals, guitars) favorite band, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Reading, Berkshire, UK-based shoegazer band Slowdive, which is currently comprised of its co-founders Halstead and Goswell, along with Nick Chaplin…

[rainbowsarah12]

"Raven queen" Painted in Photoshop. Finished a few paintings today Yeah XD. This will be my last upload for today :)

[hypnotizerluna]

📍Prior Bridge Bath, England

[silverstormsxx]

MLP Infection AU - The Morningrise Flu

Caused by celestia raising the sun during the summer sun celebration. Infected many attendees of the event (mostly those who were particularly close to the sun, practically bathing in it)

Stage one, within 1 to 3 days: Pony's body heat increases slightly. Pony sweats even in low or normal temperatures. Increased irritability and loss of appetite.

Stage two, within 10 to 11 days: Pony contracts a fever that can go as high as 103 farenheit (39.4 Celsius) all usual symptoms of a fever - dehydration, headache, and general weakness are amplified heavily. Pony's coat feels notably lighter and softer.

Stage three, within 20 to 30 days: Pony's coat becomes slimy and coated with a slick layer of an as-of-yet unidentified substance. Pony begins to feel as if they are burning from the inside out. Pony's bodily fluids - tears, sweat, urine - becomes acidic and inexplicably hot.

Stage four, within 40 to 50 days (the final stage): pony begins to melt. Pony is still conscious and will seek out loved ones for help. Do not go near them. Their liquid-like flesh is infectious and will transmit the disease into you as soon as you come into contact with it. Sometimes, stage four infected ponies will stumble upon each other and fuse together.

There is no known cure for this virus. Having the infected pony bathe within moonlight and generally keeping them away from sunlight, however, has been shown to slow the progression of the virus.

Ever since the disease has been discovered, celestia has drifted off into a deep, deep coma. Luna cannot enter her dreams, and describes it as like: "attempting to see into the mind of a stillborn foal." Simply put, there is nothing to see.

Speaking of Luna, she's the new ruler of equestria now that celestia is.. out of commission. She's very stressed out - what with the infection and rising the sun and moon and just managing a nation in general.. maybe a little too stressed out?

Hopefully, with twilight's help.. everything will be okay.

Side note: because of an alicorn's more intrinsic connection to the celestial, they are more likely to be affected by the virus (twilight, cadance, flurry heart, etc)

---

[thisworldisablackhole]

Opeth Discog Run

So, every once in a blue moon I like to punish myself with stupid music listening challenges. Over the past week I tasked myself with doing a full run-through of Opeth's 14 studio albums and writing a mini paragraph of my thoughts over on sputnikmusic. I figured I'd post it here as well, because I put a stupid amount of time and effort into it. Approximately 65 hours of listening and 500 track plays in 7 days. Woof. These are just my first impressions as someone who had never listened to this band prior, and therefore has no bias toward any era of the band. I listened to all of these albums at LEAST twice, with some being played up to 8 times in a row, and mostly just read wikipedia articles for additional context. So without further ado;

Orchid (1995)

So I was honestly expecting something a little more straight forward and heavy for their debut, but these guys were fairly progressive straight off the bat. Pretty impressive considering Mikael Åkerfeldt was only 20 years old at the time! Obviously super talented guy for his age. I have to say I enjoyed the softer, more atmospheric parts of this album more than the straight up metal parts. I think they compliment each other well, but every time the band broke out the acoustic guitar or piano I just got totally absorbed into a trance, and then the metal parts come back in and I was reminded that this was written by 20 year olds. The composition of the songs make up for some very basic riffage though. There is a simplistic charm here that makes each song feel like a living organism, steadily growing, rising and falling with each breath. It's nice. I can see the potential.

Morningrise (1996)

It's actually insane how much of an immediate step up this album is from Orchid considering it came out only a year later? Like what? Did these gents do some sort of time traveling in the course of that time? Gone is the nascent baby fat and in it's place is some actual muscle and bone density. The riffs sound way more thoughtful and creative, especially the lead work, and the album as a whole seems less reliant on the sharp contrast between heavy metal and progressive ambiance. The bell curve is just a lot smoother (like the acoustic guitars are implemented so beautifully and seamlessly) but there are still some really great "floor falling out" moments scattered throughout. Bass lines go brrrrrrr also and the tone is so warm and round like a dollop of savoury syrup, definitely a highlight of this album. These songs feel more controlled and developed which maybe makes them feel less "alive" but the tradeoff is just better playing and writing. Off to a good start.

My Arms, Your Hearse (1998)

Okay, if Opeth could evolve so much in only one year, what can TWO years do for them? Let's see. Very noticeable tone shift right off the bat to something much darker and heavier on the black metal influence. I was a little skeptical for about 5 seconds until I realized just how good this album is at pulling you in different directions. Not only are the riffs just moodier, jutting out like brutalist structures from a turbulent sea, but the shift in production really brings out all of the brighter tones to create a more vivid spectrum of colour. I do love the organic warmth of the first two albums but this one just sounds massive and encompassing. The vocal range continues to improve also, both in the low end and Mikael's cleans. Definitely their most emotionally compelling album thus far. Not sure if I like it MORE than Morningrise but it's different in ways that I appreciate.

Still Life (1999)

Another year, another album. Very impressed by their work ethic alone. Still Life is another clear evolution of the band's sound, but it feels like more of a "settling in" than another wild leap. This is Opeth reinforcing their foundations, tightening their bootstraps to ensure optimal ankle mobility. This might be their most cinematic album yet in large part due to the individual songs feeling more focused and clear in their intent to service the overall story arc of the album instead of becoming worlds of their own (looking at you "Black Rose Immortal"). Some of the bands most memorable and dissonant riffs ("Godhead's Lament" sheeesh). "Benighted" might also be their best acoustic track as well. This is probably their "best" so far but I can still see so many valid arguments for any of the previous three being someone's "favourite".

Blackwater Park (2001)

Wow, I have so many mixed feelings about this one. Blackwater Park is objectively good, I'll give it that, but it's also surprisingly docile coming from the jagged anger of Still Life. Not what I was expecting from their most popular album. This is maybe their most atmospheric work since Orchid, but for entirely different reasons. Instead of long sections of ambiance interspersed between towers of distortion, the opposing forces are almost layered on top of each other. Even during some of the heaviest moments, a steady supply of acoustic guitars and soaring reverb-heavy leads just bathe everything in a soft, mellow glow. "Drapery Falls" is probably the best example of this. There is definitely a heavier focus on melodic clean sections here, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it makes those moments when the growls kick in feel more powerful, but something about this record just feels a little watered down, streamlined, smoother, more accessible. No wonder it is their most popular. It's actually funny listening to this for the first time in 2024 and feeling an immediate sense of familiarity from it, not because I've heard it before, but because I've spent the last two decades listening to other bands ape its style. Unfortunately, that makes it a bit harder for me to appreciate it. It's also the first Opeth album so far where I have straight up not liked some of the riffs, mostly in "The Funeral Portrait" and the title track, which both have riffs that seem to be pandering to an American groove metal audience (I wonder if that was intentional, as Blackwater Park also marked the bands first big splash in the North American tour circuit). It might be my least favourite so far, but it might also have the most potential to grow on me. We'll see. Onto Deliverance we go~

Deliverance (2002)

Lol what the fuck? Opeth really pulled a fast one here. I'm trying to put myself in the shoes of some bright eyed little weasel spending their weekly allowance on this CD after falling in love with Blackwater Park and then getting slapped across the face by the flabbiest drum roll of all time and a guitar track that sounds like it was recorded on a fossil. The story of this album is actually pretty funny. Mikael Åkerfeldt wanted to record a purely heavy record for funsies but he had to butter up his label to allow them to record it by saying they would record the more mellow sounding Damnation at the same time, and that it wouldn't cost any extra money, and then of course the recording process ended up being a completely rushed fucking mess. It really comes through in the mix (I did mostly listen to the original mix just to get the most authentic experience), but I'm not gonna lie, this record's rough production quality ends up being one of it's greatest charms, and it perfectly suits the stripped back and aggressive approach the band took to songwriting. I can see how people would view this as a step back in bands evolution, but I really fuck with it. I also think it was probably a good call to take a step back and reassess the bands core foundation after the grandiose epic of Blackwater Park. One of the things I love most about Deliverance is that the folky acoustic and piano moments actually feel impactful again, because their pure abundance in every corner and pocket of the songwriting on Blackwater Park just diluted their ability to provoke any sort of emotion or surprise out of me. I guess I just prefer contrasty Opeth to blended Opeth. Great album.

Damnation (2003)

I was worried my proclivity toward Heavypeth so far would set me up to be sorely disappointed by this album, but I'll be damned, this album is fantastic. Opeth is fully expanding on their progressive folk rock sound here. Not a single metal riff or scream in sight, and I'm not bothered in the slightest. It's gloomy and dramatic and packs an emotional punch, and still has some pretty rockin' solos to boot. The addition of the mellotron was an absolutely brilliant idea, it adds such a cool flavour to their sound. This is also their shortest and most condensed record yet which I appreciate, just makes these songs more memorable and digestible imo. It's hard to believe this came from the same recording session as Deliverance, but now that I have heard both I really appreciate their decision to split their sound into two distinct lanes. Very cool concept and great record. We are officially half-way through!

Ghost Reveries (2005)

Ahh the much revered two year resume gap returns! And of course the pendulum swings back toward heavy once more, but now with a full-time key wizard on payroll to work some of my favourite elements of Damnation back into their metal roots. Along with a pretty thick helping of ~middle eastern~ melodies (especially on tracks like "Beneath the Mire" and "Atonement"), this is perhaps their weirdest and most eclectic metal album so far, but it's also bordering on more of those groove metal tropes that I'm not too fond of. If only they would have retained more of their acoustic folk influence, this would have been the damn Super Bowl of Opeth albums. Probably their best production quality so far too. So far I haven't been bothered by Opeth's long ass songs, and felt like they were almost always justified in their indulgence, but this might be the first time I've really felt the drag. So, not perfect, but pretty damn good. This is kind of the album I was expecting Blackwater Park to be.

Watershed (2008)

So this is it huh? The end of an era? Kind of scared to continue past this point to be honest, but we're in too deep already. What a great way to end this chapter in their career though, hey? They really boiled the 70s prog influence right down to it's purest form here, flutes and all, and I absolutely LOVE it. Opeth have always had moments of quiet in their music (god does that ever feel so trite to keep mentioning at this point), but on Watershed those moments are light and flowery (funky even!) and tinged with psychedelia in a way they have never been before—bringing yet another fresh approach to their signature contrast. On top of that, their death metal chops sound darker and more unhinged than they've been since My Arms, Your Hearse. As someone who (so far) prefers their first four albums + Damnation, Watershed just immediately clicked with me, it has all my favourite elements of their sound. Hell it might even be my second favourite after Still Life.

Heritage (2011)

To be honest, I don’t know anything about progressive rock outside of stuff that is post-hardcore adjacent. I have maybe listened to King Crimson once or twice in my life, that’s about it. So I have zero frame of reference for an album like this. On the bright side, that leaves me with no preconceived notions or expectations. What I do know, however, is that I’m a huge sucker for wind and key instruments and head tilting arrangements, and this album has all of those things. It also still has a decent amount of vintage heaviness and skewed rhythms to it. A far cry from boring or sleep-inducing, thats for sure. The jazzy intro into the desert psych of “The Devil’s Orchard” is such a cool way to start. Definitely gravitating more toward the second half of the record though, “Famine” and “Folklore” are perhaps my favourite tracks but the whole run from “Haxprocess” to the end is pretty great. Not a bad start to Newpeth although it’s very easy to see why this is so divisive.

Pale Communion (2014)

So if Watershed was the boarding process, and Heritage the blast off, then Pale Communion must be the band settling in to their zero-g voyage. Although to use any kind of space metaphor would be remiss, because this album is earthy as hell. I swear I can see the Misty Mountains overlooking a fishing village tavern when I close my eyes. I really enjoyed Heritage, but I think I like this one even more, and it took me a few listens to really figure out why. Pale Communion just feels more intimate, it has no grand ambition of being a masterpiece or magnum opus, the lads are just having a good time here and crafting melodies that almost feel like more of an extension of what the band was doing on Damnation. There is still a healthy dose of heavy funk here ("Cusp of Eternity" comes to mind), but for the most part the psychedelic heat-delirium vibes of Heritage have been traded out for something more serene and whimsical. "Elysian Woes" is such a dream. Big fan of this record.

Sorceress (2016)

Sputnikmusic's least favourite Opeth album (based on some increasingly unreliable metrics). How does it fare? Well, I can kind of see why people consider this to be a weak release. The shift in production caught me off guard straight away. That title track is just CHONKY as hell following the very unassuming intro. These arrangements are also all very straight forward by Opeth standards, BUT… this might also be the most overtly heavy of the Newpeth records so far, and in a way that almost reminds me of the their debut record—simple, heavy, and free. Sorceress is kind of like the scuzzy little farm dog that rolls around with the pigs and barks at strangers but still rolls over with glee for a good belly scratch. These riffs are THICK, and there are still quite a few moments where the interplay between organ and lead guitar just blows me away. Lot's to love here for sure, especially in the middle to end portion of the record, but I have to agree that it's a wee bit of a step back.

In Cauda Venenum (2019)

Ahhhhh we're in the final dash to the finish line here. The Opeth fatigue is real, but that's not going to stop me from taking my time and trying to enjoy these last two albums. The band definitely sounds reinvigorated here. That intro into the beginning of "Dignity" is just such a bombastical way to come back from the Sorceress slump. In Cauda Venenum is dense, theatrical, operatic—a proper story book with so many peaks and valleys to explore, and of course the inevitable helping of cheesy vocals and lyrics that most rock opera's come packaged with ("Heart In Hand" might be the worst offender). But it's nothing that we aren't used to at this point, right? Certainly one of their most conceptually coherent albums, and the songwriting more than makes up for the cheese, their sense of melody and volume dynamics is back on track here. I think Pale Communion is still my Newpeth record of choice, but this is a very solid (albeit bloated) late career entry. That closer is just so epic, come on.

The Last Will And Testament (2024)

We have come full circle, back to the album that got me in this whole mess. I actually listened to this once already and enjoyed it, but now I return with the context of their entire discography on hand. And boy, what a symbolic place to begin and end, with an album that sort of encapsulates their whole career. Have to echo what others have already said, this isn't so much of a step back in time as it is a reincorporation of old themes into something entirely its own. The Last Will And Testament actually makes so much sense as a follow-up to In Cauda Venenum. In the same way that Deliverance and Damnation could be two sides of the same coin, so could these two albums. This still has the highly conceptual, operatic whimsy full of borderline goofiness that just makes me smile — it's just more aggressive, and that's beautiful to see. Speaking of goofiness, this album is weird as hell. Haunted victorian noble-esque spoken word parts and Bambi flutes are contrasted by death growls and twisted prog metal riffs. It's both fantastical and dark. It's also just way more engaging than their last two IMO. The return of death metal elements don't automatically make this the best Newpeth record, but it's at least on par with Heritage and Pale Communion, with the conceptual clarity of In Cauda Venenum. The 51 minute run-time also makes it feel surprisingly concise for an Opeth album, at no part did I feel like this was dragging on, which is better than I can say about some of their older albums. This isn't only one of the most unique Opeth albums, it's one of the most unique albums I've heard period, and this whole discog run was worth it just to appreciate it for what it really represents. Good job boys, now pack it up.

[dusk-of-copper-9]

Some various tid-bits about Custom Drones in Murder Drones: Morningrise

[1]: [He was truly waterproof, both internally and externally. As there are models that are water-powered in overly hot environments.]

[2]: [Albeit being more capable of doing more intensive tasks, he was more prone to needing more attention when it came down to maintenance.]

[3]: [Capable of multiple tasks at once with a rather high success rate, but at the cost of him being too over focused and immensely rude if you get in his way. May also result in some tasks that are consider less important taking less time to be complete.]

[4]: [Upon needing work outside of this range, he can simply be given a singular command phrase to which his coding will shift to whatever drone type they need at that time. Examples being drone types like Medical Drone, Security Drone, Construction Drone, Teacher Drone, etc.]

[5]: [Being a Custom-made drone, he's got the luxury of retaining a human name and a unique eye color to keep for himself along with more freedom of speech and of casual activities outside of being a Head -Butler.]

[6]: [Unlike worker drones, he has the ability to fight a human in self-defense, that is if said programming is activated by its owner of course.]

[7]: [Unfortunately custom drones do tend to need more power to sustain them which is why they are given much more powerful batteries to be active for longer periods of time, this can usually range up to at least a year usually, if overcharged it can last up to at least two and a half years.]

[8]: [Unlike regular worker drones, custom drones can have specifically made design alterations in their appearance such as inbuilt hair styles, another quality to them is they can hold a variety of nationalities, one example that exists in the manner is that Dusk is Scottish.]

[9]: [Each custom drone has their own uniquely named Anti-virus that watches over their mainframes and system. For Dusk, his Anti-virus was given the name of Goliath.]

[10]: [Most custom drones tend to range in various sizes, it's practically down to whatever the owner of this custom drone wants.]

[somethingvinyl]

My lil Opeth collection has grown since I last posted it but it still has a long way to go… my most wanted are Morningrise and the not-readily-available Deliverance.

[radiophd]

slowdive -- morningrise

[blindrapture]

opeth.

I am willing to admit there may be hot takes here. not really my intention.

incidentally, I am likely to put Morningrise above Orchid, really I just need one more listen of it.

Blackwater Park is more likely to move down to C than Still Life is to move up to B.

Damnation could rise. Heritage could fall. Sorceress stays where it is. In Cauda Venenum teeters between S and A every year.

really the problem here is Opeth albums are very hard to compare. they're all very specific moods. but the ones highest on the list for me are less restrictive about what mood I'm in.

weirdly this was far easier to make than the Coldplay one.