I've been listening to it a lot and..
Opeth outdid themselves again. Boring. It's been going that way since Orchid. Screw the death vox, I'm not thinking about those when I'm listening to this album. It's amazing and at least as epic as Watershed. I'm definately hoping they'll be praised for the music itself instead of the 'different direction'. Everything sounds awesome, the band grooves as a tit, the songs are sometimes even catchy and there's lots of mood. I'm definately not wondering what they'll do next, because I already know it will be awesome as usual.
Take this album in, chill out. No trace of bad music here. The 70's production sounds incredible and takes you closer to the band than ever before. It definately hit me hard at Folklore, instant top 5 Opeth song for me. It's what the entire album works up to. The rest certainly isn't 'meandering', I disagree. The album flows like a train, and the subtle moments are all incredibly beautiful.