It seems like only yesterday for me that Gothic Doom Metal outfit Opia released their first single, On Death’s Door, but in fact, it was way back in September ’23. Time seems to have flown since then, but I remember the excitement I felt regarding this single and the promise of their debut full album. It’s true that the best things in life are worth waiting for. The time has finally come, and I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep is finally here. It has definitely been worth the wait.
Opia – I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep
Release Date: 25 April 2025
Words: Jools Green
Lyrically, most of the songs on the album are about very intimate experiences, looking at the subjects of death, grief, and loss from within the band members’ own lives. But they are portrayed from the perspective of the Victorian era.
Aspects of the occultist movement of that time, which was, to the greater part, involved with supernatural phenomena and magic, appear in the lyrics and the imagery, which adds that esoteric edge. This allows the listener some self-interpretation and the ability to resonate with Opia’s hugely powerful lyrics.
The eight-track, forty-one-minutes of I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep opens with the atmospheric intro, These Pristine Memories. This is a brief, haunting instrumental piece with a drum rhythm that reflects a beating heart alongside sombre, haunting keyboards.
It leads into On Death’s Door Part I, a version of which was released as that previously mentioned first single, showcasing the first display of both clean and harsh vocals from classically trained Tereza.
This is a superbly haunting piece with eerie haunting keyboards balanced alongside bleakly atmospheric guitar work. It turns subtly symphonic in the second half, heralding the haunting swathe of leadwork. It is a deep composition, which, on the surface, deals with the subject of wasting diseases and serious illnesses in the 1800s when medicine was still not particularly good, and illnesses were likely to make people appear more physically revolting.
But on a deeper level, it reflects a range of topics, from body dysmorphia to love in the face of death. It also touches on issues around loss of control. The greatest fear of the woman in the song is about how she has no say over how she will be remembered by others, particularly her lover. This is something more terrifying to her than her impending death. A hugely moving start to the album.
Man Proposes, God Disposes
The third single released from the album Man Proposes, God Disposes is another hugely thought-provoking piece. Musically, it is slow and reflective, beautifully haunting with powerful bursts of slow crushing riffing punctuating that otherwise serine but icy melody that courses the track length. It ends with a hugely emotive swathe of closing leadwork.
Vocally moving from haunting cleans to icy harsh as the track progresses, this song resonates with me because the inspiration behind the lyrics is Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition to find the Northwest Passage through Canada. As a huge Wilkie Collins fan, it reminded me of The Frozen Deep, the play he co-wrote with Charles Dickens about that ill-fated expedition.
But there are two inspirations to Man Proposes, God Disposes, with the song title coming from the 1864 Edwin Landseer painting of two polar bears depicted destroying a shipwreck with a half-eaten corpse in it. This is a very Metal concept.
The Fade
The second single from this album, The Fade, is next up. It is a piece that gently chugs along as the clean vocals sublimely course above. Lyrically, it looks at mental decline with age. It is a beautiful piece, and the closing leadwork is utterly sublime.
But I warn you, beneath this beauty is a hugely emotional story. I defy anyone to hold it together as they listen to The Fade, especially if you have lost someone to dementia or similar, as this piece will tear your heart out.
The Eye is inspired by a 1920s style séance, in an era when belief in Spiritualism was increasingly popular. Lyrically, it looks at how, through their ritual, they delve too deeply into something they did not understand, leading to possession by the end of the song. Musically, it is a superb builder. Wistful and reflective to open with reflective riffs and soft background vocals, it builds with clean vocals, lyrically setting the scene for the séance alongside gentle but complex drum rhythms and riffs.
The point where it starts to go wrong for the participants is heralded by the arrival of harsh vocals and a punchier feel to the repeating riffs and rhythms. You can feel the hair standing up on the back of your neck as this piece builds in atmosphere and intensity. It is superb.
Reflecting That Time Is Finite
The next piece, Days Gone By, resonates with me somewhat as an older but not old person. It looks at the notion of having lived through the best times in your life and reflecting on what you had and no longer do. Time is finite, and nobody uses all of it to the maximum.
It reminds all of us to keep doing and achieving, particularly if it is something that we love, for as long as possible. Musically, it is a powerful piece. After the clean guitar opener, Opia build in punchy waves, the riffs powerfully chugging along. The piano undercurrent adds a reflective edge, like the passage of time that marches on unrelentingly, while the harsh vocal delivery serves as a bittersweet reflection on what we may have lost.
Another hauntingly powerful piece, Silence, lyrically, comes from the perspective of someone sitting and waiting for news of their loved one who is lost and presumed dead. Tortured by the inactivity of not doing something but simultaneously not being able to actually do anything to change the situation themselves, the loved one’s unknown status is a source of toxic hope where time stands still and only worry and pain exist.
Musically, it ebbs and builds between beautiful reflective passages and more brutal chugging swathes reflecting the changing moods. The mix of harsh and clean vocals reflects those moods of anger, despair, and uncertain hope. There is also a constant haunting melody coursing beneath, keeping you fully engaged with this harrowing but beautiful piece.
Cover All Mirrors
Final Opia offering On Death’s Door Part II, is, as the title suggests, the second part of the opening piece. It is inspired by the concept in the UK during the Victorian era of always hanging a black shroud or cloth over any mirrors in the house as they felt that the soul could become trapped in the mirror if a person dies in view of one.
This piece is written from the perspective that the mirror had not been covered at the time of the woman in the first part of the song’s death. Her husband, now a widower, is tormented by grief and envisions his lost partner daily. Whether these are hauntings due to the mirror or just his own struggle with grief is up to the listener to decide.
Our widower attempts to fight the influence of it and the desire to join her but is ultimately not strong enough. In the end, the strength of his love, grief and torment is too much for him, and he chooses to join his late wife in death. Musically, it melds swathes of crushingly brutal and harrowing passages with reflective, clean elements.
You can sense the conflict and torment felt by the bereft widower both within the music and the vocal delivery, particularly in the tormented screams and frantic rise in pace. The huge passage of closing leadwork is both sublime and haunting as peace finally comes with his own demise.
As a final note of interest, the final line of the song and album “Unto thee, Eternal Sleep” references the album title I Welcome thee, Eternal Sleep.
I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep is an outstanding release end to end. Atmospheric yet crushing, it is a compelling listen packed with heart-wrenching content. Be prepared to be emotionally moved.
Opia release I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep via Hammerheart Records on 25 April 2025. Pre-order the album now from https://opiadoom.lnk.to/iwelcomethee.
Opia are:
Tereza Rohelova – Vocals
Phoenix Griffiths – Guitars
Daniel Tregenna – Gutars
Richard Rees – Bass
Jorge Afonso – Keyboards
Sam Heffernan – Drums
