I wish had some easy comparison to offer you, but the problem is that there just isn't another band out there even remotely similar to Opeth. It's like having a case of writer's block that's impossible to escape. A couple years back I picked up Opeth's Still Life album and I haven't been quite the same since. Look, though I have, no other band measures up to these guys, musically, lyrically or instrumentally.

Opeth's latest opus, Ghost Reveries, offers everything that devout followers of this band have come to expect - dynamic vocals (that can turn on a dime from ecstatic, soaring, heavy majesty to subtle quiet reverie) matched only by the profound lyrical complexity. Much like Dream Theater or Led Zeppelin, Opeth craft songs that deviate from the standard verse/chorus/verse/bridge/chorus formula - weaving tales that progress from track to track into an overall storyline that requires careful study on the part of the listener.

Their impeccable musicianship allows them to utilize amazingly diverse styles of music from one track to the next. Take for example the soulful and bluesy "Hours of Wealth," the heavy and haunting epic "The Grand Conjuration," and the album ending melodic melancholia of "Isolation Years." These are the last three songs on the record, they're all mind-bogglingly well-crafted and vastly different from each other.

I rarely find myself in agreement with Rolling Stone on matters of taste, but I've got to hand it to them when they recently proclaimed Opeth "metal's most brilliant band." They can say that again. If you like your music on the heavy side, but would like something a little more challenging and thought provoking there can be no better choice.