The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
I'm very ill right now, so haven't been able to get around to doing this. I'll do it when I feel better though.
OPETH SURVIVOR 2016: Results -> The sun sets forever over Blackwater Park!
- Thread starter Night Prowler
- Start date
I'm very ill right now, so haven't been able to get around to doing this. I'll do it when I feel better though.
Production sucks the life out of this album. Some songs are bad no matter what, but some would be 100x better with Ghost Reveries' production. Think it would've gotten way better reception if it didn't try to sound like a 70's record. For example, The Lines In My Hand: average studio version of the song, but crushes live because they aren't restraining themselves from sounding heavy.
Obviously there are lots of other problems with this album. Some parts are loud, some too silent, which Knick already pointed out. There's a lot of needless guitar noodling too. There's a 45-minute long album there that could've been quite solid if someone other than Mikael and Stevie did some rearranging and remixing.
Will do a longer writeup once I listened to the album a few more times.
Obviously there are lots of other problems with this album. Some parts are loud, some too silent, which Knick already pointed out. There's a lot of needless guitar noodling too. There's a 45-minute long album there that could've been quite solid if someone other than Mikael and Stevie did some rearranging and remixing.
Will do a longer writeup once I listened to the album a few more times.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Mr. K's in-depth look at Heritage:
Heritage – Beautiful piano piece and a very nice introduction to Joakim. Reminds me a bit of Silhouette from Orchid, but obviously more put together. The bass notes are nice. It’s neat, and has a memorable melody, but feels like a gothic prelude to a different, darker album. 7/10
The Devil’s Orchard – This intro riff is rocking as hell and heavier than anything else on the album, but unfortunately the production flaws begin here. Everything is too warm, too round in tone, it has absolutely zero bite. The riffs in this song are furious, maniacal and amazing, but this 70’s warm amp tone does them absolutely no favors. Mikael’s vocals sound great, however, and the quality of this song cannot be drowned by bad recording. This is easily the best song on the entire album and certainly gives me hope for what is to come. Dark, demonic, even an old school evil “ahh” whisper before the subdued shuffle bridge, it’s got all the pieces of a modern-day Opeth classic. The weird jinglebell/guitar jam in the bridge is incredible and creepier than all getout. The lyrics are twisted, but more straightforward than usual. With sharper guitar tones this would be one of the best Opeth recordings ever. Per’s bizarre keyboard break into the crazy bass thump section is killer. I love Mikael’s voice during the bridge, especially since there is no guitar underneath it – very cool songwriting move. Fredrik’s solo is quite awesome and the final “God is dead” is creepier than a one-eyed ragdoll coming to life in the corner of your bedroom at 2:30 AM. This song is perfect, but is much better realized in a live setting where it is not constrained by the “let’s not be too heavy” mindset. 10/10
I Feel the Dark – We start off nicely with great clean singing and acoustic guitar/piano tradeoffs. I love the intro to this song, but it goes downhill. As with the first two tracks, Mendez’s bass (and tone) is splendid here. The first two minutes could be a great sequel to Damnation. The spooky riffs at 2:15 add a nice layer and then…the song hits a brick wall. We get the first of many horrible, terrible, no good, very bad transitions on the album. Silence. Weird echo effect. Whisper. Terrible giant keyboard thing. Big chords with no real melody. Ugh. This entire middle section is just a clusterfuck. The riff at 4:20 is awesome, and the acoustic jam that builds off of it is even better, but it’s just so ludicrously random. The last full verse before we go back to the intro has a very unlikable, improvised-sounding melody. If this song had just remained with the simplicity of the refrain it would have been a lot better. 7/10
Slither – I don’t understand why people dislike this song. It’s straightforward, it’s the most energetic track on the whole album, and man is it good. Probably my second or third favorite song here. Sure, it doesn’t sound entirely Opethian (it is more of a Dio song as it was meant to be) but the rest of this album doesn’t sound very Opethian either. The riffs are simple, but solid, the vocal performance is good, the track is a barnburner. I really dig the solo because it’s just a rock solo. The jam ending before the (unnecessary) acoustic outro is really great. All around this sounds like the only time on the album where the band is having any fun at all. 9/10
Nepenthe – The entire intro is pointless. It sounds like a guitarist figuring out what the song is. Once the subtle jazz drums and awesome bass come in it gets a little better, but we should have just started with that. The guitar noodling at the start kills the momentum before it even starts. Don’t like the vocal melody, don’t like the stupid sound FX that bridge the end of the verses with the next instrumental part. The transition at 2:30 with the jumpy keyboard is terrible. It gets 100x better when the solo kicks in with Mendez’s gargantuan bass part but the dead silence of brush snare drumming in between the heavy parts is just annoying. I like dynamics, but this shit is near inaudible. Those solos/heavy parts, however, are out of this world. I guess I don’t like jazz enough to “get” this song. 5/10
Haxprocess – Creepy intro with the acoustics and bass complimenting each other very nicely. Piano and vocal call and response during the verses is an interesting choice. I’m not sure if I love it or hate it, but the ending “plight” followed by children sounds is entirely too creepy. However, I’m still not hearing a song. I’m hearing a soundtrack. There’s rain, tone poem keyboards, crying FX, no real song happens until 2:25 and when it does: it makes little sense with what came before. Bass and drums sound great again, of course, because Mendez and Axe are the MVP’s of this album. Again, I don’t care for the vocal melodies here. They sound forced, rushed, and vaguely improvised. The transition at 4:55 with the bass and noodling guitar is once again terrible. Once it becomes a solo, it’s very nice, but I still feel it has no place in the song. Same can be said of that piano that fades in out of nowhere and kills the solo for no reason. 5/10
Famine – We get another giant heap of musique concrete to open this song, combined with some neat percussion…only to have it cut off by a fucking piano out of nowhere. Idiotic. Worst transition on an album full of bad transitions. Mikael’s pretty piano verse is nice, but then we get the second worst transition of the album: fade-in wank guitar. Great work, really connecting the song ideas there. Vocals are tacked on over this whole section. We immediately kill the momentum for a return to the piano with some of the percussion ripped from the intro to build probably the best part of the song. Mikael’s vocals here are really cool and I love the way the bass builds up into the next section, ending with that neat hammer-on bit. The drum transition into the awesome heavy riff, however, sounds like a purposeful mistake in tempo. That riff at 5:00 is stellar, though, as is the downbeat section with the plinky eastern solo. It sounds like noodling, but at least it’s noodling done right. Some very nice vocal work by Mikael on the second half of this song, he’s showcasing his entire range from falsetto to bluesy warble to shouting. The final vocal hits into that riff and it actually works fantastically, except for the stupid roadrunner wails in the left channel courtesy of Per’s panflute patch. We end with more stupid sound FX and noodling piano. Admittedly, this song has some cool riffs, but none of them make any sense together. 5/10
The Lines in My Hand – Cool, immediate intro and opening vocal. Mendez’s bass sounds absolutely beastly and I love the layer of the acoustic solo by Fredrik. The vocal returns with a harmony and is even better. I don’t love the drum solo bit before the mini-solo, but it’s pretty groovy at least. The keyboard transition at 2:00 sucks, though. I do think the two halves of the song lack cohesion, but they are both quite good and overall the song still comes off as a cracker. It certainly would have benefited from better guitar tones, but the energy is there. Mikael’s vocals during the final verses are great. It has a very bold, non-Opethian ending. 8/10
Folklore – Cool opening jig dance thing, but it has zero relevance to the next guitar part that actually starts the song. And damn, when this song kicks in with the full band it’s really great. The bass and drum groove with the almost-counterpoint guitars harmonizing underneath…it’s magical stuff. Love the verse vocals, even if the lyrics are simple and trite. The line “you will see what you mean to me” is pretty bad, both in melody and structure. It seems to me that this song is about a father abusing his child, either physically or sexually, so I guess the simplicity of the lyrics works, but I still find it distracting considering this is the band that wrote some incredibly, some would say overly, complex lyrics. This topic also makes that weird intro jig even creepier as it sounds like it could be the nighttime jingle of an incestuous rapist (“Opeth, come for the music, stay for the uplifting subject matter!”). The transition at 4:20 ruins the momentum and tone of the song, but luckily the keyboard comes in to save it and we get that wicked bass jam teased at 5:00 and kicking into high gear at 5:50. The last two and a half minutes are the best music on this entire album, but the song still comes off as so damn disjointed that it ruins a lot of my enjoyment. 8/10
Marrow of the Earth – Beautiful. Wish we had more of this consistency, melody, and cohesion on the rest of the album. 9/10
I love Opeth and I love prog. However, this album exemplifies all of the qualities of bad prog: poor transitions, random key changes, cool individual parts but a lack of coherent, strong songwriting. I don’t care that the growling is gone. I don’t even care that the “metal” is gone, but I do care that the songs are gone. Sure, I wish the production had more bite. I wish the guitars didn’t sound like baritone guitars using light fuzzy amp distortion, but mostly I just wish Mikael had written more than a couple songs. He wrote tons of really interesting parts and sections, but then just crammed them together and called them songs. Heritage is far and away my least favorite Opeth album.
Album rating – 7.3/10
By comparison, if they had included the far superior tracks Pyre (8/10) and Face in the Snow (10/10 – one of Mikael’s best vocals ever) while eliminating Nepenthe, Hax, and Famine, I’d give this album an 8.4/10 which would put it on par with MAYH and it would rank in the Top Five so far. Hell, even if they kept one of those three but still add Pyre and FITS, it’d get an 8.1/10 and I’d rank it above Morningrise and Deliverance. Oh well.
Heritage – Beautiful piano piece and a very nice introduction to Joakim. Reminds me a bit of Silhouette from Orchid, but obviously more put together. The bass notes are nice. It’s neat, and has a memorable melody, but feels like a gothic prelude to a different, darker album. 7/10
The Devil’s Orchard – This intro riff is rocking as hell and heavier than anything else on the album, but unfortunately the production flaws begin here. Everything is too warm, too round in tone, it has absolutely zero bite. The riffs in this song are furious, maniacal and amazing, but this 70’s warm amp tone does them absolutely no favors. Mikael’s vocals sound great, however, and the quality of this song cannot be drowned by bad recording. This is easily the best song on the entire album and certainly gives me hope for what is to come. Dark, demonic, even an old school evil “ahh” whisper before the subdued shuffle bridge, it’s got all the pieces of a modern-day Opeth classic. The weird jinglebell/guitar jam in the bridge is incredible and creepier than all getout. The lyrics are twisted, but more straightforward than usual. With sharper guitar tones this would be one of the best Opeth recordings ever. Per’s bizarre keyboard break into the crazy bass thump section is killer. I love Mikael’s voice during the bridge, especially since there is no guitar underneath it – very cool songwriting move. Fredrik’s solo is quite awesome and the final “God is dead” is creepier than a one-eyed ragdoll coming to life in the corner of your bedroom at 2:30 AM. This song is perfect, but is much better realized in a live setting where it is not constrained by the “let’s not be too heavy” mindset. 10/10
I Feel the Dark – We start off nicely with great clean singing and acoustic guitar/piano tradeoffs. I love the intro to this song, but it goes downhill. As with the first two tracks, Mendez’s bass (and tone) is splendid here. The first two minutes could be a great sequel to Damnation. The spooky riffs at 2:15 add a nice layer and then…the song hits a brick wall. We get the first of many horrible, terrible, no good, very bad transitions on the album. Silence. Weird echo effect. Whisper. Terrible giant keyboard thing. Big chords with no real melody. Ugh. This entire middle section is just a clusterfuck. The riff at 4:20 is awesome, and the acoustic jam that builds off of it is even better, but it’s just so ludicrously random. The last full verse before we go back to the intro has a very unlikable, improvised-sounding melody. If this song had just remained with the simplicity of the refrain it would have been a lot better. 7/10
Slither – I don’t understand why people dislike this song. It’s straightforward, it’s the most energetic track on the whole album, and man is it good. Probably my second or third favorite song here. Sure, it doesn’t sound entirely Opethian (it is more of a Dio song as it was meant to be) but the rest of this album doesn’t sound very Opethian either. The riffs are simple, but solid, the vocal performance is good, the track is a barnburner. I really dig the solo because it’s just a rock solo. The jam ending before the (unnecessary) acoustic outro is really great. All around this sounds like the only time on the album where the band is having any fun at all. 9/10
Nepenthe – The entire intro is pointless. It sounds like a guitarist figuring out what the song is. Once the subtle jazz drums and awesome bass come in it gets a little better, but we should have just started with that. The guitar noodling at the start kills the momentum before it even starts. Don’t like the vocal melody, don’t like the stupid sound FX that bridge the end of the verses with the next instrumental part. The transition at 2:30 with the jumpy keyboard is terrible. It gets 100x better when the solo kicks in with Mendez’s gargantuan bass part but the dead silence of brush snare drumming in between the heavy parts is just annoying. I like dynamics, but this shit is near inaudible. Those solos/heavy parts, however, are out of this world. I guess I don’t like jazz enough to “get” this song. 5/10
Haxprocess – Creepy intro with the acoustics and bass complimenting each other very nicely. Piano and vocal call and response during the verses is an interesting choice. I’m not sure if I love it or hate it, but the ending “plight” followed by children sounds is entirely too creepy. However, I’m still not hearing a song. I’m hearing a soundtrack. There’s rain, tone poem keyboards, crying FX, no real song happens until 2:25 and when it does: it makes little sense with what came before. Bass and drums sound great again, of course, because Mendez and Axe are the MVP’s of this album. Again, I don’t care for the vocal melodies here. They sound forced, rushed, and vaguely improvised. The transition at 4:55 with the bass and noodling guitar is once again terrible. Once it becomes a solo, it’s very nice, but I still feel it has no place in the song. Same can be said of that piano that fades in out of nowhere and kills the solo for no reason. 5/10
Famine – We get another giant heap of musique concrete to open this song, combined with some neat percussion…only to have it cut off by a fucking piano out of nowhere. Idiotic. Worst transition on an album full of bad transitions. Mikael’s pretty piano verse is nice, but then we get the second worst transition of the album: fade-in wank guitar. Great work, really connecting the song ideas there. Vocals are tacked on over this whole section. We immediately kill the momentum for a return to the piano with some of the percussion ripped from the intro to build probably the best part of the song. Mikael’s vocals here are really cool and I love the way the bass builds up into the next section, ending with that neat hammer-on bit. The drum transition into the awesome heavy riff, however, sounds like a purposeful mistake in tempo. That riff at 5:00 is stellar, though, as is the downbeat section with the plinky eastern solo. It sounds like noodling, but at least it’s noodling done right. Some very nice vocal work by Mikael on the second half of this song, he’s showcasing his entire range from falsetto to bluesy warble to shouting. The final vocal hits into that riff and it actually works fantastically, except for the stupid roadrunner wails in the left channel courtesy of Per’s panflute patch. We end with more stupid sound FX and noodling piano. Admittedly, this song has some cool riffs, but none of them make any sense together. 5/10
The Lines in My Hand – Cool, immediate intro and opening vocal. Mendez’s bass sounds absolutely beastly and I love the layer of the acoustic solo by Fredrik. The vocal returns with a harmony and is even better. I don’t love the drum solo bit before the mini-solo, but it’s pretty groovy at least. The keyboard transition at 2:00 sucks, though. I do think the two halves of the song lack cohesion, but they are both quite good and overall the song still comes off as a cracker. It certainly would have benefited from better guitar tones, but the energy is there. Mikael’s vocals during the final verses are great. It has a very bold, non-Opethian ending. 8/10
Folklore – Cool opening jig dance thing, but it has zero relevance to the next guitar part that actually starts the song. And damn, when this song kicks in with the full band it’s really great. The bass and drum groove with the almost-counterpoint guitars harmonizing underneath…it’s magical stuff. Love the verse vocals, even if the lyrics are simple and trite. The line “you will see what you mean to me” is pretty bad, both in melody and structure. It seems to me that this song is about a father abusing his child, either physically or sexually, so I guess the simplicity of the lyrics works, but I still find it distracting considering this is the band that wrote some incredibly, some would say overly, complex lyrics. This topic also makes that weird intro jig even creepier as it sounds like it could be the nighttime jingle of an incestuous rapist (“Opeth, come for the music, stay for the uplifting subject matter!”). The transition at 4:20 ruins the momentum and tone of the song, but luckily the keyboard comes in to save it and we get that wicked bass jam teased at 5:00 and kicking into high gear at 5:50. The last two and a half minutes are the best music on this entire album, but the song still comes off as so damn disjointed that it ruins a lot of my enjoyment. 8/10
Marrow of the Earth – Beautiful. Wish we had more of this consistency, melody, and cohesion on the rest of the album. 9/10
I love Opeth and I love prog. However, this album exemplifies all of the qualities of bad prog: poor transitions, random key changes, cool individual parts but a lack of coherent, strong songwriting. I don’t care that the growling is gone. I don’t even care that the “metal” is gone, but I do care that the songs are gone. Sure, I wish the production had more bite. I wish the guitars didn’t sound like baritone guitars using light fuzzy amp distortion, but mostly I just wish Mikael had written more than a couple songs. He wrote tons of really interesting parts and sections, but then just crammed them together and called them songs. Heritage is far and away my least favorite Opeth album.
Album rating – 7.3/10
By comparison, if they had included the far superior tracks Pyre (8/10) and Face in the Snow (10/10 – one of Mikael’s best vocals ever) while eliminating Nepenthe, Hax, and Famine, I’d give this album an 8.4/10 which would put it on par with MAYH and it would rank in the Top Five so far. Hell, even if they kept one of those three but still add Pyre and FITS, it’d get an 8.1/10 and I’d rank it above Morningrise and Deliverance. Oh well.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
Nice review, but I think you're a bit hard on a few of the tracks (like Nepenthe and Haxprocess). They are film-like; I think that's the entire point. This album may not be a concept album, but it is a musical journey. To help better understand the transitions, think of it as a movie where things are jumping out at you and people are suddenly being killed for no reason. Is it one of their weakest albums? Arguably, yes. But it is far from a bad album and is stronger and more tasteful than most progressive bands create these days.
To answer the question suggested your first sentence, these are why.
To answer the question suggested your first sentence, these are why.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
I hate those movies. Those movies define bad filmmaking for me.
Interjecting from the peanut gallery here because Watershed is the only Opeth album I feel qualified to comment on.
For the most part it is the opposite of catchy, but it is so goddamn interesting.
Favourite tracks are the sad and beautiful Coil and the roller coaster ride that is Lotus Eater.
The others still tend to blend in my recollection, but I agree with NP that Porcelain Heart is not the worst.
For the most part it is the opposite of catchy, but it is so goddamn interesting.
Favourite tracks are the sad and beautiful Coil and the roller coaster ride that is Lotus Eater.
The others still tend to blend in my recollection, but I agree with NP that Porcelain Heart is not the worst.
I'm insanely busy so don't expect an update before the weekend. Should be faster after that. (Usually when I say this I update earlier 
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That's good for me because I haven't listened yet. 
I don't have a physical copy, ordered one last week and wanted to wait until I have the CD to listen to it but I guess our recent snowstorm has caused delays. Will listen to it on spotify on wednesday if I still haven't gotten it.
I don't have a physical copy, ordered one last week and wanted to wait until I have the CD to listen to it but I guess our recent snowstorm has caused delays. Will listen to it on spotify on wednesday if I still haven't gotten it.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
That's so Opeth.
Heritage - Cool way to start the album. Something out of left field that shows right away that this is going to be something different. Very moody and atmospheric. It gets a vote as it doesn't really have any use beyond being an intro, but it's cool.
Devil's Orchard - This is probably still the best Newpeth song. It is a completely different sound but still unmistakably Opeth. Same mastery of riffs, melodies, and mood. Very proggy but heavy in its own way. Production also doesn't do this (or the album as a whole) justice. The heaviness is much more apparent live. The middle section is very cool. Lots of atmosphere and tension. This song also has the twists and turns that Opeth are loved for, but it's in a much more compact setting. At less than 7 minutes, this is a very short song for Opeth standards. But it feels like it has just as much content as some of their bigger epics. Fantastic solo too. Awesome song, one of their best.
I Feel the Dark - This song has a lot of cool things happening but it isn't nearly as exciting as Devil's Orchard. I find several parts too repetitive and not interesting enough to warrant the repetition. There's some cool stuff happening with dynamics and atmosphere, but I think the song is too slow overall (I mean in terms of development, not the tempo). It gets a vote.
Slither - This song is a tribute to Dio right? It does recall some of Dio's speedier tunes, with a coat of prog rock paint. It does seem out of place on the album and the production kills it, but it's a genuinely good song despite all that. Lots of solid riffing. The acoustic outro has a medieval tint we haven't heard since Morningrise.
Nepenthe - This is where the album really gets going in my opinion. When people talk about Heritage being too boring or without any real songs, I usually think of the songs after Slither. I can see the argument, but I like the moodier stuff in these songs. Great atmosphere in these songs and lots of awesome proggy grooves. Love the keyboard groove halfway through and the guitar solos over it. Awesome outro. Lots of tension there. My only complaint about this song is that it's too short. That ending rhythm should've built into something more explosive. Ending with the vocal passage just seems anticlimactic.
Haxprocess - This one is like a creepy folk song to start out with. It continually morphs throughout until ending with something completely different. Like Devil's Orchard, it's not that long but there's a lot of stuff going on there. Although it's more subtle this time around. Cool song.
Famine - The tribal rhythms and creepy sound effects are a cool way to start this one. Love the way this tune builds, going from just Mikael and the piano to an explosive proggy riff. Great instrumental work on this tune. Really heavy riffing. Metal Opeth isn't truly gone, although Mikael is doing his best to understate that side on this album. This song would've been brutal with Blackwater Park's production. It's still good as is though. The dynamics are great. It seamlessly goes from heavy to soft to energetic to dark and moody. Could do without the annoying flute sounds though.
The Lines In My Hand - This song has a cool groove but something about it seems bare. Like it's missing an important part. The structure also feels all over the place. Lots of cool ideas here, but overall feels like a mess and more of a demo than a complete song. Shows a lot of potential but it's all unrealized. This gets a vote.
Folklore - I like how this one starts with just the guitar before going into a swinging 6/8 rhythm. Very cool demented sound to it and lots of catchy melodies. One of the best combinations of atmosphere and catchy melodies on the entire album. The buildup in the second half is fantastic. When the song finally explodes it's glorious. Awesome guitar work there. Great song that really pays off at the end.
Marrow of the Earth - Classical tinged acoustic work that is reminiscent of Opeth's earlier work. Lots of pretty melodies on this one. Feels like the album is ending where it begins, but with acoustic guitars instead of piano and bass. But the mood is still the same, except instead of creating anticipation of what's to come it provides a nice cool down after a very dense album. And unlike Heritage, I think this one functions well beyond just being an outro track. The full band joining at the end is unexpected and welcome. Great way to finish off such a strange album.
Bonus tracks are solid. Probably the first time for Opeth a bonus track was better than a good chunk of the main album. Not sure why these weren't included on the main album, besides Roadrunner probably having some clause in their contracts that require bonus material. Album would've been better with those songs mixed in regardless. Not counting the God of War song, as that one feels more like a throwaway track.
This is probably my least listened to Opeth album. Not because it's bad, but it is a lot to take in. The riffs are no longer the focus and it's now all about the atmosphere. I still firmly believe that this is just as much an Opeth sounding album as anything else they've done. Especially when you hear these songs live, there's no question of it. I would also argue that Opeth was predominantly a progressive rock band with a death metal exterior since Still Life. This album is just them wiping off the paint in a way. It's a much more vulnerable and honest album in that way, and I appreciate it for that. This is also the least song oriented album they've ever done. If you're not paying attention, many of the songs will bleed together. It even seems written that way. Many of the songs begin and end very suddenly, but in context of the album they all flow together.
My biggest gripe with the album, and you'll see me come down even harder on them for this with Sorceress, is the production. I understand the musical style is a throwback, but that doesn't mean it had to sound like it was recorded in the 70's too. It works OK on some songs, like Haxprocess or Famine, but other songs like Devil's Orchard, Slither, Lines In My Hand feel gated. There are a few problems here. The biggest to me is that it's not even a genuine 70s production. It feels artificial. It is heavily compressed like just about any other album while it also lacks the clarity and separation in the instruments that made those 70s recordings so good. I've seen people blame Steven Wilson for this album, but I think it would've actually been improved if he was more involved. This doesn't sound like a Steven Wilson album in terms of either songwriting or production. Take Damnation for example. That is another prog rock styled album but it is still produced like an Opeth album. Steven Wilson was heavily involved in that. This one sounds like he did some touch ups to what Mikael already worked on after the entire thing had been written and recorded. I haven't seen the making of doc so maybe I'm wrong there, but that's the impression I get listening to it.
Overall, I enjoy this album. It's not as bad as many make it out to be, but it's also not the masterpiece others claim it is. It sits comfortably middle of the road for the band. More of a foundation for them to take a different sound in various directions. I remember listening to Heritage before Pale Communion came out thinking that this will be good if the next one includes more of the traditional Opeth elements such as emphasis on riffs and maybe some more heaviness. So far I think they've managed that to various degrees of success. But more on that later.
Devil's Orchard
Folklore
Nepenthe
Slither
Famine
Face In the Snow
Haxprocess
Pyre
The Lines In My Hand
Marrow of the Earth
I Feel the Dark
The Throat of Winter
Heritage
Devil's Orchard - This is probably still the best Newpeth song. It is a completely different sound but still unmistakably Opeth. Same mastery of riffs, melodies, and mood. Very proggy but heavy in its own way. Production also doesn't do this (or the album as a whole) justice. The heaviness is much more apparent live. The middle section is very cool. Lots of atmosphere and tension. This song also has the twists and turns that Opeth are loved for, but it's in a much more compact setting. At less than 7 minutes, this is a very short song for Opeth standards. But it feels like it has just as much content as some of their bigger epics. Fantastic solo too. Awesome song, one of their best.
I Feel the Dark - This song has a lot of cool things happening but it isn't nearly as exciting as Devil's Orchard. I find several parts too repetitive and not interesting enough to warrant the repetition. There's some cool stuff happening with dynamics and atmosphere, but I think the song is too slow overall (I mean in terms of development, not the tempo). It gets a vote.
Slither - This song is a tribute to Dio right? It does recall some of Dio's speedier tunes, with a coat of prog rock paint. It does seem out of place on the album and the production kills it, but it's a genuinely good song despite all that. Lots of solid riffing. The acoustic outro has a medieval tint we haven't heard since Morningrise.
Nepenthe - This is where the album really gets going in my opinion. When people talk about Heritage being too boring or without any real songs, I usually think of the songs after Slither. I can see the argument, but I like the moodier stuff in these songs. Great atmosphere in these songs and lots of awesome proggy grooves. Love the keyboard groove halfway through and the guitar solos over it. Awesome outro. Lots of tension there. My only complaint about this song is that it's too short. That ending rhythm should've built into something more explosive. Ending with the vocal passage just seems anticlimactic.
Haxprocess - This one is like a creepy folk song to start out with. It continually morphs throughout until ending with something completely different. Like Devil's Orchard, it's not that long but there's a lot of stuff going on there. Although it's more subtle this time around. Cool song.
Famine - The tribal rhythms and creepy sound effects are a cool way to start this one. Love the way this tune builds, going from just Mikael and the piano to an explosive proggy riff. Great instrumental work on this tune. Really heavy riffing. Metal Opeth isn't truly gone, although Mikael is doing his best to understate that side on this album. This song would've been brutal with Blackwater Park's production. It's still good as is though. The dynamics are great. It seamlessly goes from heavy to soft to energetic to dark and moody. Could do without the annoying flute sounds though.
The Lines In My Hand - This song has a cool groove but something about it seems bare. Like it's missing an important part. The structure also feels all over the place. Lots of cool ideas here, but overall feels like a mess and more of a demo than a complete song. Shows a lot of potential but it's all unrealized. This gets a vote.
Folklore - I like how this one starts with just the guitar before going into a swinging 6/8 rhythm. Very cool demented sound to it and lots of catchy melodies. One of the best combinations of atmosphere and catchy melodies on the entire album. The buildup in the second half is fantastic. When the song finally explodes it's glorious. Awesome guitar work there. Great song that really pays off at the end.
Marrow of the Earth - Classical tinged acoustic work that is reminiscent of Opeth's earlier work. Lots of pretty melodies on this one. Feels like the album is ending where it begins, but with acoustic guitars instead of piano and bass. But the mood is still the same, except instead of creating anticipation of what's to come it provides a nice cool down after a very dense album. And unlike Heritage, I think this one functions well beyond just being an outro track. The full band joining at the end is unexpected and welcome. Great way to finish off such a strange album.
Bonus tracks are solid. Probably the first time for Opeth a bonus track was better than a good chunk of the main album. Not sure why these weren't included on the main album, besides Roadrunner probably having some clause in their contracts that require bonus material. Album would've been better with those songs mixed in regardless. Not counting the God of War song, as that one feels more like a throwaway track.
This is probably my least listened to Opeth album. Not because it's bad, but it is a lot to take in. The riffs are no longer the focus and it's now all about the atmosphere. I still firmly believe that this is just as much an Opeth sounding album as anything else they've done. Especially when you hear these songs live, there's no question of it. I would also argue that Opeth was predominantly a progressive rock band with a death metal exterior since Still Life. This album is just them wiping off the paint in a way. It's a much more vulnerable and honest album in that way, and I appreciate it for that. This is also the least song oriented album they've ever done. If you're not paying attention, many of the songs will bleed together. It even seems written that way. Many of the songs begin and end very suddenly, but in context of the album they all flow together.
My biggest gripe with the album, and you'll see me come down even harder on them for this with Sorceress, is the production. I understand the musical style is a throwback, but that doesn't mean it had to sound like it was recorded in the 70's too. It works OK on some songs, like Haxprocess or Famine, but other songs like Devil's Orchard, Slither, Lines In My Hand feel gated. There are a few problems here. The biggest to me is that it's not even a genuine 70s production. It feels artificial. It is heavily compressed like just about any other album while it also lacks the clarity and separation in the instruments that made those 70s recordings so good. I've seen people blame Steven Wilson for this album, but I think it would've actually been improved if he was more involved. This doesn't sound like a Steven Wilson album in terms of either songwriting or production. Take Damnation for example. That is another prog rock styled album but it is still produced like an Opeth album. Steven Wilson was heavily involved in that. This one sounds like he did some touch ups to what Mikael already worked on after the entire thing had been written and recorded. I haven't seen the making of doc so maybe I'm wrong there, but that's the impression I get listening to it.
Overall, I enjoy this album. It's not as bad as many make it out to be, but it's also not the masterpiece others claim it is. It sits comfortably middle of the road for the band. More of a foundation for them to take a different sound in various directions. I remember listening to Heritage before Pale Communion came out thinking that this will be good if the next one includes more of the traditional Opeth elements such as emphasis on riffs and maybe some more heaviness. So far I think they've managed that to various degrees of success. But more on that later.
Devil's Orchard
Folklore
Nepenthe
Slither
Famine
Face In the Snow
Haxprocess
Pyre
The Lines In My Hand
Marrow of the Earth
I Feel the Dark
The Throat of Winter
Heritage
Heritage
Forgettable piano intro
The Devil's Orchard
Easily the best song on the album. Actually the only one that could've been on one of their metal albums and wouldn't feel out of place. Obviously with a proper production job because this one is shit. I usually listen to music on 10% volume, but this album is so silent that I had to go all the way to 18%. Guitar sound is very weak and drums lack punch.
I Feel The Dark
This one is even more silent ffs. That creepy guitar melody at the beginning is quite awesome and that's literally the only memorable thing about this song until 2:58. After all that buildup I thought we're gonna get some cool heavy section at that point, but alas, this is Heritage
Nothing else of note till the end.
Slither
I hate this stupid song. Too upbeat even for prog rock Opeth. Annoying drums. Annoying vocals. Annoying stupid 70's guitar sound. Reminds me of The Alchemist and I don't like that one either. I mean, if it was some other band it'd be OK, but absolutely the worst Opeth song I can think of at this point in the game.
Nepenthe
Most of this song:
What a complete mess of a song. Just some random guitar and drum noodling here and there thrown together to make a song. Vocal melody near the end is cool, too bad you can't hear shit other than Mikael.
Häxprocess
Famine
Mess, mess, mess until 4:53 or so when that heavy riff kicks in. Or at least, riff that'd be heavy with a proper production. Its first and second appearance are the only memorable things in this song.
The Lines In My Hand
Super catchy drum beat by Axe and minimal random noodling / FX sounds make for the 2nd best song on the album. Also might be the loudest song so far. Still way better live; especially the ending when Axe goes crazy with double bass + they play it much faster.
Folklore
First part of the song has some cool melodies but then there's more noodling in the middle to fuck shit up. The ending of the song is actually quite good. Some epic soloing and haunting keyboards, but needless vocal melodies; should've been all instrumental ending. And also fuck fadeouts.
Marrow Of The Earth
Cool outro instrumental. A bit too simple but enjoyable nonetheless. Toss-up between Folklore and this one for 3rd best song on the album.
Pyre
Should've been on the album instead of one of the noodling songs in the middle of the album. Main riff is reminiscent of the one from I Feel The Dark, but the song is way better.
Face In The Snow
Another song that should've been on the album. Quite Damnation-y song actually.
The Throat Of Winter
Forgettable really. Don't like the effects on the vocals.
Overall: Step in the wrong direction obviously. Shit production, lots of pointless songs that go nowhere, Mikael avoiding anything heavy like a person suffering from agoraphobia avoids open spaces. Not sure if the worst album yet cause I only heard the new one a few times. But it's close.
Voting for the songs in bold, Godhead's Lament, Ghost Of Perdition, The Baying Of The Hounds and The Lotus Eater.
P.S. Should I wait for your votes, @Forostar?
Forgettable piano intro
The Devil's Orchard
Easily the best song on the album. Actually the only one that could've been on one of their metal albums and wouldn't feel out of place. Obviously with a proper production job because this one is shit. I usually listen to music on 10% volume, but this album is so silent that I had to go all the way to 18%. Guitar sound is very weak and drums lack punch.
I Feel The Dark
This one is even more silent ffs. That creepy guitar melody at the beginning is quite awesome and that's literally the only memorable thing about this song until 2:58. After all that buildup I thought we're gonna get some cool heavy section at that point, but alas, this is Heritage
Nothing else of note till the end.Slither
I hate this stupid song. Too upbeat even for prog rock Opeth. Annoying drums. Annoying vocals. Annoying stupid 70's guitar sound. Reminds me of The Alchemist and I don't like that one either. I mean, if it was some other band it'd be OK, but absolutely the worst Opeth song I can think of at this point in the game.
Nepenthe
Most of this song:
What a complete mess of a song. Just some random guitar and drum noodling here and there thrown together to make a song. Vocal melody near the end is cool, too bad you can't hear shit other than Mikael.
Häxprocess
This pretty much. Some enjoyable moments in this song but not enough to make a cool full song. It'd make for good few minutes in a longer different song though. The ending is baffling. Just a minute of near silence.
Famine
Mess, mess, mess until 4:53 or so when that heavy riff kicks in. Or at least, riff that'd be heavy with a proper production. Its first and second appearance are the only memorable things in this song.
The Lines In My Hand
Super catchy drum beat by Axe and minimal random noodling / FX sounds make for the 2nd best song on the album. Also might be the loudest song so far. Still way better live; especially the ending when Axe goes crazy with double bass + they play it much faster.
Folklore
First part of the song has some cool melodies but then there's more noodling in the middle to fuck shit up. The ending of the song is actually quite good. Some epic soloing and haunting keyboards, but needless vocal melodies; should've been all instrumental ending. And also fuck fadeouts.
Marrow Of The Earth
Cool outro instrumental. A bit too simple but enjoyable nonetheless. Toss-up between Folklore and this one for 3rd best song on the album.
Pyre
Should've been on the album instead of one of the noodling songs in the middle of the album. Main riff is reminiscent of the one from I Feel The Dark, but the song is way better.
Face In The Snow
Another song that should've been on the album. Quite Damnation-y song actually.
The Throat Of Winter
Forgettable really. Don't like the effects on the vocals.
Overall: Step in the wrong direction obviously. Shit production, lots of pointless songs that go nowhere, Mikael avoiding anything heavy like a person suffering from agoraphobia avoids open spaces. Not sure if the worst album yet cause I only heard the new one a few times. But it's close.
Voting for the songs in bold, Godhead's Lament, Ghost Of Perdition, The Baying Of The Hounds and The Lotus Eater.
P.S. Should I wait for your votes, @Forostar?
I'll count your votes but you didn't need to vote if you haven't heard more than half of the songs in the poll. Update coming in a few minutes though!
Eliminated after Round 12:
I Feel The Dark - 6 votes
The Throat Of Winter - 6 votes
Marrow Of The Earth - 5 votes
Heritage - 4 votes
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
You're right, you can discard the votes.
Godhead, Ghost, Baying, Lotus, Slither, Nepenthe, Häxprocess, Famine, Pyre, Snow.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Hounds + the entire middle of Heritage
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
Melinda
Baying
Burden
Slither
Haxprocess
Famine
Lines
Pyre
Baying
Burden
Slither
Haxprocess
Famine
Lines
Pyre
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Good song, the positive aspects very well noted by Mosh. I do find that it has not enough development. This is a very subtle track with excellent atmosphere and enough twists to keep it interesting.
Slither - Sounds too literal like Rainbow. Can't believe people talk about (tribute to) Dio (band) material here. The keyboard and solo are totally Rainbow. Back to school!
Voted:
Godhead's Lament
Face of Melinda
Serenity Painted Death
Ghost of Perdition
Harlequin Forest
The Grand Conjuration
Slither
Nepenthe
The Lines in My Hand
Face in the Snow