Published in 2015, Chapter One is the first album of Level 10's project, lead by singer Russel Allen and bassist and also singer Mat Sinner.

The album begins with a speedy and powerful guitar riff in 'Cry no more', a 4 minute-length song. With a traditional song structure the chorus is, I think, pure Russell-style and very easy to keep in the ear. Of course, there is in the middle part a kickass guitar solo, even though, I find the end of the song a little weak. This standard song formula is used in almost all the songs of the album, but there are two songs that captured my attention and that I describe shortly below.

The first really interesting song for me is the fifth one, 'Blasphemy'. In this more obscure, dramatic and symphonic song, we can hear the rude side of Allen's voice with an instrumental background style that is close to Symphonic X's album 'Paradise Lost'. The high notes in the chorus are the brilliant part of the song.

'Demonized' is a song signed with Primal Fear's style that starts with a speedy guitar riff. The more exciting part of the song begins with the two fast guitar solos, followed by a classic two-guitar harmonized part and two breaks for ad-libitum guitar playing.

I have to say that this album is good, but compared to Allen-Lande project, which I prefer, this is an average work. In addition to this, and due to the few parts in which Mat Sinner sings, the final result of 'Chapter One' appears to be more like a project of Russell Allen with another band, and not a collaboration of two singers as the album title suggests. For me, more individual presence of the second voice and the instrumentalists would had been welcome.

I think this album deserves its title of 'milestone' in metal music. Obviously, not for being the first ever progressive metal album, because there were so many before, and not for being the best progressive metal album of all time, because that is debatable. This album is a milestone because it defined, with authority and exquisite music, a new metal sub-genre. And because of this album, many metal artists turned around and took a look at progressive rock bands of the 70's to influence their own sound and following and shaping a new path in metal music.

Today Dream Theater has many lovers and many haters, and for some people there are a bunch of bands that are better, but is undeniable that they are the symbol of a movement called progressive metal.

'Images and Words' has the right balance between calm, virtuosity and power, in which Dream Theater stablished some of the musical footprints that can be found in their following albums. It has also a 'beginning' and an 'end' - something that only the masterpieces have and that involves you until the very last song. It has, of course, very fast rythmical figures, but not in excess, and really beautiful and smart slow melodies played by the voice and the instruments.

The music speaks for itself, so its unnecesary to give more details about the album and the songs. I think 'Images and Words' must be in every personal music collection.

My Arms, Your Hearse could be my favourite Opeth album if its quiality was better. Despite of that, the quality of arrangement and composition is great, with the melancholy proper of most Opeth's album. And probably in My Arms, Your Hearse, Mikael Akerfeldt's has the best grunts ever.

The whole album panorama is very similar to Still Life, so it could be said that Still Life is the natural consequence of My Arms, Your Hearse. Here we find the main characteristics of Opeth's music, combining heavy riffs and grunts with slow tempos and clean sounds, but a little heavier than Still Life.

I like the way every song is connected to stand out the idea of a concept album, with the exception in some songs, and I just love the album cover. A great album with a quality not so great... I wish Opeth reconsider to re-record it.

Still Life is my favourite Opeth album. I found the first two or three listenings a little boring because sometimes they repeat over and over the same guitar riff, but when I listen carefully to the details, there comes the magic.

Most of the Opeth's works have a touch of melancholy and darkness, mixing grunts and screams with clean voice, and in the same way, distortion and speed with clean and slow sounds of the instruments. That's the reason I like Opeth's music, specially in this album. And maybe that's why some people who are mainly interested in the extreme metal genres may found this album a little boring, while the proggers found it very heavy.

Finally, despite Still Life is a great album, for me there are some other "neutral" Progressive Metal works that define the genre in a better way (not 'Death' or 'Black'). Opeth is for me more like Progressive Death Metal (Metal viewpoint) or Extreme Prog (Progressive Rock viewpoint); under these two tags they got 5 stars, no doubt.