Nick Cave departed a little from the Singer-Songwriter style he made in the years prior and returned to a little more Art and Alt Rock with a little more experimentation as well as some of his old Punk Blues. The album is incredibly diverse with inspirations and ideas some of which work great while others leave room for improvement. It features some of the best songs that Nick and his band every released as well as a song that became unforgettable by being a part of the seventh Harry Potter movie. The albums first part: Abattoir Blues opens with 'Get Ready for Love', a noisy and punky introduction with a lot of energy and anxious lyrics that make this not only a theatrical and epic opening but a loud one as well. Many people love this song just for that and I do too... the first half... The song is with 5 minutes not the shortest but the repetition of certain themes and sounds make this a little stagnant after a while which ultimately harms the whole enjoyment. It's still a pretty good song but they should've just cut it after the bridge. After the epic intro, 'Cannibal's Hymn' takes a more laid back but haunting direction. It's full of weird noises and lyrics that are both incoperated into a great arrangement and a simply perfect chorus. It's an incredible song that shows how Cave can write dark and haunting lyrics but package them in something more melancholic while keeping the ominous atmosphere that the text needs. I love this song but I wish he'd made the verses a little more musically interesting because they feel kind of left over or forgotten. It's a great song nonetheless even if it slightly missed the chance to be incredble or even perfect. 'Hiding All Away' is the definition of Post-Punk. The inclusions of some Noise Rock as well as the Gospel-like vocals really make this an anxious listen full of tension and great performances both musically and vocally. The lyrics are dark and have some "evil" sprinkled in the delivery. The chorus/bridge is a perfect release of the tension that was build and lets the song go on for so long without feeling boring. I love this song so much and I am certain that this is the first perfect song on the album. The first half of the first part closes with 'Messiah Ward', again, a more relaxed song with some nice influences and mainly great lyrics. The song doesn't start so interesting but the more it builds up the more interesting it gets and the moment the pre-chorus starts the song has a deserved place here. The songwriting is so great and the chorus is simply but effective. It's a great song but like with Track 2, this would've needed a little work on the verses, musically and vocally spoken. One of the album's biggest highlights, 'There She Goes, My Beautiful World', keeps the Gospel inspired vocals while being a fast and incredibly fun piano driven alt-rock song. The lyrics are such a good mix between funny and loving and the chorus is catchy and just f-ing relatable. The song is just one of the most energetic and passionate songs in Nick's whole discography and having this kind of quality is just amazing. Definitely a perfect song. The next song 'Nature Boy' is another really well and lovingly made song with a great flow especially in pre-chorus and chorus. The lyrics blend nostalgia, darkness and hope in a pretty motivational way and the verses with the piano are some of the best on the album. An equally as perfect song as its predecessor. The title track of the first half 'Abattoir Blues' seems to be pretty beloved by many but I never got the song. It feels weaker and pales in comparison to most of the album with the lyrics and especially the way they are presented. It's just a pretty average song with some Trip Hop influence on the drums. The "oh yeah" Gosepl parts are the only thing not making this completely boring. Luckily, 'Let the Bells Ring' is a slight step up by featuring one of the best choruses on the entire project. It's so raw while keeping a certain ominous and twisted feeling to it. Instrumentally, this is pretty standard but the way it builds the tension towards the chorus and then keeping it dense is just done in the best way possible. I really love this song even if some parts do feel a little bit too rough around the edges and that not in the best way. 'Abattoir Blues' closes with 'Fable of the Brown Ape', easily the worst song on the entire album. It is boring and when it isn't its annoying. Nothing redeeming or interesting or edgy or experimental about it. Just not good. And the "epic" and "grand" chorus doesn't work because it doesn't build up or anything catchy. It is just loud and annoying. Yeah, I might be a little too harsh on this one but to see Nick do something like this is simply disappointing. The second part: 'The Lyre of Orpheus' opens with its title track. 'The Lyre of Orpheus' is a dark and twisted new interpreted version of the Orpheus tale. This song is dark, ugly and full of bluesy Punk that makes this one of the most Nick Cave moments on the album as well as one of the best. This is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word and my personal favourite song on the album. It's just so damn good. Following one perfect song, Breathless comes on with a more Pop and Folk inspired sound but Nick and his band are still able to pull it off in the best way possible. The avant-garde flute at the start, the dreamy and nearly children music like sound of the song (watch the music video it literally is about some damn rabbit family) and Nick's lyrics are much less dark and actually pretty soft and cute and full of love. 'Babe, You Turn Me On' continues the incredible run of songs with even more Folk and actually a little Jazz-inspired drums. This style does fit Nick surprisingly well and once the chorus starts the whole thing starts fitting together even better. The lyrics are some of his best on the album especially when it comes to the chorus. It's not as good as the two before but it still is an incredible song. The rock returns with 'Easy Money'. It's another perfect song. The piano and the vocals fit the sound so well and the way it starts the chorus which is again perfect, is just incredible. It's sentimental and slow like a late night romantic dance but in the best way possible. I love pretty much everything about the song which makes it even crazier that this isn't even a Top 3 song on this part of the album. Wow! The second half of the second part starts with the fast paced 'Supernaturally' which not only has a great flow and chorus but also some pretty great vocal deliveries and lyrics that fit perfectly. I just think that it might be a little streched towards the end and the chorus and verses just don't work as much anymore but I still love this song a lot even if it's not perfect. "Hey-Ho, oh no no no!" What a great and funny line. 'Spell' on the other hand is pretty boring all throughout. It's not completely uninteresting but it is a significant drop in quality. The lyrics don't work as much, the Gospel chorus isn't as great as it maybe could've turned out and the overall structure of the song doesn't change and stays in the same basic way the whole song. It's an okay song but he could've scrapped it and no one would care. In comparison, 'Carry Me' is a great song because it is. It's nothing too crazy or incredible but it is a great song. It is does have stylistic smiliarities with the closing track and kind of builds towards that final epic with a lot of tension here but outside of this tension and the Gospel chorus, the song just can't hold what most of this part has on average. But it is pretty much on a level with some of the songs right at the start of the album. The album closes with 'O Children', a song featured in Harry Potter. But here it closes the album with the most emotional song here. The lyrics are tragic with many possible interpretations. It builds up over the span of five minutes until it releases into a sentimental and emotional height that releases emotions in me that I didn't even knew I had. What a perfect song to end an album with. The Lyre of Orpheus > Abattoir Blues favourites: The Lyre of Orpheus, O Children, There She Goes, My Beautiful World, Hiding All Away, Breathless, Nature Boy, Easy Money least favourites: Fable of the Brown Ape, Spell, Abattoir Blues Rating: strong 8 to light 9 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes