The Official Opeth Thread: New Album now streaming

[Bedwetting Cosmonaut]

Do you honestly think you would appreciate the vinyl if you didn't buy it yourself? I've never once appreciated an album that I pirated or stole or that someone else bought for me. Knowing I spent hard earned cash on it is half my pleasure.

BC

[Perpetual Change]

Do you honestly think you would appreciate the vinyl if you didn't buy it yourself? I've never once appreciated an album that I pirated or stole or that someone else bought for me. Knowing I spent hard earned cash on it is half my pleasure.

BC

I appreciate gifts, yes.

I hear you on the piracy thing, though. Which is why I'm not pirating Heritage.

[Bedwetting Cosmonaut]

Do you honestly think you would appreciate the vinyl if you didn't buy it yourself? I've never once appreciated an album that I pirated or stole or that someone else bought for me. Knowing I spent hard earned cash on it is half my pleasure.

BC

I appreciate gifts, yes.

I hear you on the piracy thing, though. Which is why I'm not pirating Heritage.

You have never been wronger.

BC

[Dark Castle]

I listened to the stream again. Unfortunately, it just reinforced my initial reaction. I really don't know how to react to this album. While I can appreciate it on the aesthetic/expiremental level, I'm just not sure what this album is trying to make me feel, which is bad as far as I'm concerned.

Maybe if you heard it on vinyl you would appreciate it.

Buy the vinyl, spin it a few times, then come back to me and tell me you don't like it. You won't.

BC

I listened to it while doing homework.  Paid attention to it the whole time. 

Sounds like you paid attention to the wrong thing tbh. 

You guys are being ridiculous now.  I've listened to the album, didn't like, and moved on.  Why can't you guys?  Why do you keep insisting we're not listening to it right and telling us to re listen, and re listen and relisten when the fact is, I listened to it, gave it my attention and wasn't interested.  Hot damn, you guys are acting like Jehovah's Witnesses.

[Zantera]

Dude chill, my comment was aimed at the fact that you probably should have focused on the homework if you were doing it. 

[ariich]

I'm curious if the people bashing Heritage are the same people that will praise ADTOE.

Just curious, I'm not insinuating anything. 

Can't people love both? Or indeed hate both?

The two albums are clearly nothing like each other (I haven't actually heard Heritage yet so am only going off the way my brother described it) so any comparison is meaningless.

[eric42434224]

I applaud a band that is willing to take chances, move in very different directions, and choose to make music that they want and not just want fans want.
I am very much looking forward to this album.

[Heretic]

Blah, listening to Blackwater Park and The Leper Affinity has so much groove and power in the first half. Makes me miss that sort of energy on Heritage...

I really do /want/ to like Heritage. I like some of the musical ideas and it's all very interesting but it still seems to lose energy and power and more or less just be a collection of ideas to me at the moment. I guess I'll listen more soon or something.

[skydivingninja]

I'm curious if the people bashing Heritage are the same people that will praise ADTOE.

Just curious, I'm not insinuating anything. 

Can't people love both? Or indeed hate both?

The two albums are clearly nothing like each other (I haven't actually heard Heritage yet so am only going off the way my brother described it) so any comparison is meaningless.

This.  You can deny it all you want Zantera, but you ARE insinuating things about other people's tastes.  Maybe you didn't mean to, but the tone and context lend your statement to that interpretation.

I have to say I dislike Heritage.  I've listened to it a few times, and just don't have an urge to listen again.  Maybe I will when the CD comes in, but too much of it doesn't do anything for me.  I applaud Opeth for being able to take the 70s sound, mix it with a bit of their Watershed sound, and still make it sound Opethy, but the end result doesn't wow me the way I hoped it would.  Hopefully it'll be a one-time experiment.  If its not, maybe the next effort will be better.  I dunno.

[Zantera]

It wasn't really my intent, it was just something I was pretty curious about.
I think that if Opeth had stayed with their growl/clean vocals/metUUl/acoustic passages-formula and made a mediocre album, people would still have liked it, because it's still "Opeth".

[ariich]

It wasn't really my intent, it was just something I was pretty curious about.
I think that if Opeth had stayed with their growl/clean vocals/metUUl/acoustic passages-formula and made a mediocre album, people would still have liked it, because it's still "Opeth".

Yeah, some of the Opeth fans are like that, and plenty aren't (I know quite a few who love the album). Everyone has their own specific tastes. This album happens to suit yours, but won't suit someone else's.

[Perpetual Change]

It wasn't really my intent, it was just something I was pretty curious about.
I think that if Opeth had stayed with their growl/clean vocals/metUUl/acoustic passages-formula and made a mediocre album, people would still have liked it, because it's still "Opeth".

Yeah, but ok, like me for example. I was really excited when I first heard Opeth were stepping out of their box. I was looking forward to hearing Heritage a lot. But I just didn't like it. It had nothing to do with my pre-conceived notions of what I think "Opeth" are supposed to sound like.

Anyway, still gonna give it more chances and stuff.

[HarlequinForest]

The Lines in My Hand has some of my favorite bass lines ever.

[Bandit Manatee]

Have not listened to the new album yet, but I thought Devil's orchard was ok.  If the rest of the album is close to that tone I think I might dig it.  Not liking the fact that a lot of people are saying the songwriting is not strong thouhgh.  Makes me feel a bit apprehensive about getting the album.

[Xanthul]

For me the rest of the album is better than Devil's Orchard (except maybe Haxprocess, which I don't like that much at least for now).

[Zantera]

Have not listened to the new album yet, but I thought Devil's orchard was ok.  If the rest of the album is close to that tone I think I might dig it.  Not liking the fact that a lot of people are saying the songwriting is not strong thouhgh.  Makes me feel a bit apprehensive about getting the album.

You shouldn't really care what other people say tbh, if you let other people's opinions affect you, then it will certainly cloud your judgment of the album.

[Jamesman42]

New album did nothing for me.

[Zantera]

New album did nothing for me.

Np.

[PersianPimp076]

i was expecting to love heritage as i'm not big on death metal vox (they actually put me off getting into opeth for a few years) even though i  love opeth. only heard it twice so far and would say it's good but not amazing. i prefer the new style of vocals, the jazz grooves, proggy vibe, but its just a bit lacking in energy in parts. also slither sounds so un-opeth, i couldn't believe it the first time i heard it, it sounded more like megadeth. that, and a few of the other scarce heavy riffs on the record just sound like gratuitous heaviness for the sake of balance, i.e. a bit forced.

i think their next output will be more like watershed, prog mixed with some death metal bits.

[Dark Castle]

Have not listened to the new album yet, but I thought Devil's orchard was ok.  If the rest of the album is close to that tone I think I might dig it.  Not liking the fact that a lot of people are saying the songwriting is not strong thouhgh.  Makes me feel a bit apprehensive about getting the album.

You shouldn't really care what other people say tbh, if you let other people's opinions affect you, then it will certainly cloud your judgment of the album.

Not necessarily.  If like you, he'll just disagree

[Heretic]

New album did nothing for me.

Np.

was this post really necessary?

[Zantera]

Obviously it was, just as necessary as yours now.

[Heretic]

well, I mean it just kind of makes it sound like no matter that the album didn't do anything for him, it doesn't change the actual quality of it, which is subjective and yadda yadda. idk haha

in any case Folklore is actually pretty cool after repeated listens. (and i dig the instrumentals, i have since first listen)

[Zantera]

It's funny, because most people who have heard Heritage praises Folklore, and even though I really like the track, I would probably say it's nr 4 or 5 on my Heritage-ranking.

[Dark Castle]

The Devil's Orchard is really the only song I think is all that good on the album.

[Heretic]

And though I don't find the record to be amazing I will say however that I disagree with the people who said this doesn't sound like Opeth. The death metal vox are gone, yes, but the sound is unmistakably Opeth. The atmosphere and all.

[Zydar]

Slither is really the only song I think is all that good on the album.

Fix'd for me.

[Zantera]

From what I remember, Watershed's reception was pretty so-so when it came out as well, so even though it might not be the case at all, maybe in a year, people will be all like "damn, Heritage was fantastic after all". 

[Heretic]

I was actually hoping the album would be more like "Burden"

[Dark Castle]

From what I remember, Watershed's reception was pretty so-so when it came out as well, so even though it might not be the case at all, maybe in a year, people will be all like "damn, Heritage was fantastic after all". 

Watershed was heralded as their Opus, I remember distinctly when it came out.  I mean Heritage is Opeth, but its sounds like a lost Opeth, with a string of ideas, but not a well execution of said ideas.
And if this album had sounded like "Burden"  I would have cum my skinny jeans as thats one of my favorite Opeth songs.

[Zantera]

I dunno what I would expect from the album to be honest, I had read about Mikael's influences and had a pretty good picture in my head of how it would sound, unlike most others here I didn't check out The Devil's Orchard when it came out, because I wanted the whole experience to be unspoiled.
Anyhow, I think the result is pretty much how I had expected it to sound, so I am not really disappointed there.

Again, I'm pretty anti the whole "going back to the 70's because lol'-thing that most bands seem to do now, because I really don't listen to much music before the 90's.
However, I do think that Opeth managed to make a captivating record that keeps me interested throughout the full playtime, it sounds both like a mixture of their influences, but also very much like Opeth.
I might agree that as for standout-songs, this album is very hard to 'read', because even though I've listened to it 10 times or so, (and love most of the songs), I still have no clue what, or if any of the songs will have that 'classic'-status in 5 years.

That is probably my biggest mystery with this album, I love the whole thing as an album, but I wouldn't really pick any of the songs for random individual song-listening, it's just hard to explain why.

[Sigz]

Watershed was heralded as their Opus

Huh?

[Dark Castle]

Watershed was heralded as their Opus

Huh?

At least by all of the Major magazines ala Metal Hammer, Decibel, Terrorizer and such.  And I've always heard nothing but praise for it.

[The King in Crimson]

Just listened to Heritage. Not sure what I think of it really, most of the tracks sounded pretty samey and Famine felt waaaay too long.

OTOH, Slither, Nepenthe and Folklore were pretty cool.

[ClairvoyantCat]

At least by all of the Major magazines ala Metal Hammer, Decibel, Terrorizer and such.  And I've always heard nothing but praise for it.

I see an infinitely larger amount of praise for Blackwater Park.  I like Watershed much more, personally, but I haven't seen it get nearly as much love.

 As to the whole Heritage thing, I don't have any qualms over the change in sound; in fact, I think it's about time for them to evolve anyway, because their usual sound has been losing its appeal to me recently.  The only thing I have against it is that I was a bit bored by it fairly quickly; most of the songs just didn't work in the way they should have.  I like the energetic 70s sound, but besides Folklore none of the songs really interest me yet.  I haven't really listened to it enough to give it a proper opinion, though.