Lost in Reverie

Peccatum | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 25, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: The End Records
• ASIN: B0002234DQ
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #231,800 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The acclaimed Norwegian metal act's 2004 album. Mnemosyne Productions. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars , September 4, 2005

By 

Douglas Hernandez "varathron1" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost in Reverie (Audio CD)

PECCATUM,known for its bizarre experimentation,has made a record that
isn't easy to digest.It will take more than a listen to fully absorb
the uniqueness of the material within.Several styles are incorporated
here,from trip-hop to darkwave and industrial,and at first it might not
sound like the best combination.However,Ihsahn and Ihriel manage to make
it all work,mixing moody harmonies with dark atmospherics and some heavy
moments here and there.Some songs have a strong jazz-feel to them,while
others are too isolated to even be called Metal.Actually,a couple of songs
can be easily recognizable for their EMPEROR-like heaviness,but in the
end it's obvious that this isn't a Metal record.It's a journey into a
land of bombastic sounds,climatic melodies,and weird musical arrangements,
making it a challenging listening experience.PECCATUM have matured as
musicians and individuals,and the talent and sincere desire to create
something original with this work is very plausible and admirable.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Large improvement and departure, September 2, 2004

By 

H. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost in Reverie (Audio CD)

Having heard their previous two albums, Strangling from Within and Amor Fati (and owning the latter), I can say that Lost in Reverie is as much an improvement over Amor Fati as that album was over Strangling. The songwriting and production and variety are all vastly better, and I quite like their previous album to begin with (not a huge fan of their first one, but I haven't heard it enough to let it grow on me).

The band covers a nice range of styles on this album. While previous releases were generally avant-garde black metal, the focus here shifts away from metal to styles like ambient, triphop, industrial, and less-classifiable things. Track 2 is the biggest departure, being some kind of jazzy, catchy rock. The songs change styles within themselves, too. Track 3 for instance starts with noisy industrial black metal, but then shifts mostly to ambient, piano-driven music with Ihriel singing over it broken only for a moment by guitars again toward the end. Other songs also have such dynamics, which helps lay them out because there isn't much traditional song structure here.

The vocals are better too. Ihriel actually sings well here. She uses a more natural style which suits the album nicely. Ihsahn has improved some, but he was always ok. And he still uses his black metal voice here and there, for those concerned (it's as good as ever). Lord PZ is gone, so whether you liked him or not, oh well.

So if you're just looking for metal, this might disappoint you. If you've got broader tastes (including metal, cause it's still here), then don't miss this. It's just a very good album and it's a credit to the band that they could make such a cohesivie yet varied work.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inside the Bodiless Heart, March 26, 2007

By 

S. Esin "The Prince of Melancholy" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost in Reverie (Audio CD)

This album marks Peccatum's most suberb work to date. I will get to the reasons, but let me start with a fair warning that it may not be everyone's cup of tea. It is a new kind of music as far as "music" goes, and its black metal-influenced passages may take some getting used to for someone who is not a black metal fan.

Now, onto the good sides, and there are a lot. First off, this is NOT your average melancholic/atmospheric/experimental album. The album is an experiment in and of itself. The album's styles include, but are not limited to; ambient/black metal/trip hop/classical/jazz. Overall, what unites these styles are the melancholy that they inevitably carry. The music is done above good, as a new definition of perfection. The mood of the songs tend to swing back and forth, but overall, never letting go of their initial setting.

Lyrically, this album is very hard to understand. It is not your straightforward lyricism, it isn't even your average metaphorical writing. This album is beyond all that, and offers puzzles instead of lyrics or messages.

The vocals of Ihsahn and Ihriel are amazing, be that separate or combined. Ihsahn's brutal vocals are, in accordance with this album's overall work, outside the mainstream grunts and growls, which sometimes (in my opinion) gives him the image of a choking man.

Overall, this is one the few perfect albums I have encountered in my few years; it flows through perfectly, doesn't let up on its style, never disturbs the flow with an out-of-place song (which, unfortunately, is the main problem with a surprising number of albums) and it is art for art's sake. What more can you possibly want?