The Official Opeth Thread: New Album now streaming

[Ben_Jamin]

I enjoy it immensely, but I also enjoy Morningrise. It's just the way it's spoken about I can't grasp

[glaurung]

I love Heritage.

Haters gonna hate.

[The King in Crimson]

I still don't understand why Heritage is shunned?

I find the middle of the album to be boring and the song-writing to be weak (the songs often lurch between heavy and soft). The production is cold which reduces the little heaviness the album has and severely hurts the dynamics. The songs sound much, much better live than they do on disc, but even hearing them live couldn't save some songs. Folklore is good though, but after hearing it live, the album version is so inferior now that I have no desire to listen to it anymore.

[Ben_Jamin]

I still don't understand why Heritage is shunned?

I find the middle of the album to be boring and the song-writing to be weak (the songs often lurch between heavy and soft). The production is cold which reduces the little heaviness the album has and severely hurts the dynamics. The songs sound much, much better live than they do on disc, but even hearing them live couldn't save some songs. Folklore is good though, but after hearing it live, the album version is so inferior now that I have no desire to listen to it anymore.

I understand, I feel that's what makes this album it's own. It's dark and cold almost as if your waiting in line to pick from the tree.

[TioJorge]

I love Heritage.

Haters gonna hate.

[Ben_Jamin]

I love Heritage.

Haters gonna hate.

What do you guys enjoy about Heritage?

[TioJorge]

Honestly I find it hard to explain specifically why I like any music aside from the fact that...'it sounds good to me'. There's so many different factors that go into listening to music, most of which are internal; but I'll attempt to explain. With Opeth, I find that many of the fans are so stuck on one singular sound (in this case being Mikael's growls) that any change at all will result in an uproar. I'm one of the few who has (and I don't mean this in an insulting way to other Opeth fans) an open mind when it comes to that factor. The moment I found out that Heritage was going growl-less, it was shocking but I can't say I was disappointed. I was more or less worried about what kind of music would result from this change. With that said, this is one of the things I like most about Heritage; Mikael's voice is superb and it fits the instrumentals fantastically.

I've heard Opeth described time and time again as having a 'forest'-filled feeling to it, an ethereal type of vision when listening to their music. I agree, but it was also beginning to dull. I wanted change, and Heritage brought just that. With this album it is almost the polar opposite, being 'earthy' and raw, yet refined enough so that the quality doesn't suffer. I especially like the psychedelic moments on the album where a song just...radically changes; songs like Nepenthe, Haxprocess are the reasons why the album didn't dull as I thought it would when I first began to listen to it. With a song like Slither, which seems to be based more in the classical rock genre (clearly...with the Dio tribute and all), it felt as though I would begin to bore with this album quickly; it's the only song on the album that I was bored with until the ending guitars kicked in. It sounds mundane to my ears and all around nothing seems to pop out at me or grab my attention.

Then it socks you right in the face with the two aforementioned songs that are everywhere inbetween. It was so unexpected, and the fact that they're both mellow and zany is the exact reason why my love for this album reignited. Before all those you have a song like I Feel The Dark, that starts off a bit more like classical and then slowly melds into a harder, more intense metal song without the growls. All throughout this album I tried to picture growls in place of some softer sung vocals and it was so off putting that I almost all at once realized why Mikael chose not to growl on this album. I like that its different and the guitar work is some of the most spectacular I've heard on any Opeth album. Being that it isn't as showy or wild as other Opeth albums, I feel that the subtle work of actoustics does this album so much good. It's still eerie, it still has an almost tangible atmosphere to it, the only change is in how it is felt. Instead of feeling like I was in a moor, a common theme in previous albums, I felt like I was in a desolate, post-apocalyptic kind of atmosphere; and I fucking love it.

All that said (yeah..I kind of went off on a tangent, sorry!), this is the same old Opeth for me doing what they do best; but they've taken a different costume this time, that's all. I suppose I may have adapted in different ways than other Opeth fans, and I consider myself as diehard a fan as the next; but the fact that so many people have labeled this album subpar is astounding to me. Songs like Marrow Of The Earth, so simple and clean are almost the embodiment of what I love about this album; it's raw earthy (obviously with Marrow) tone whilst still feeling like Opeth and still feeling like it came from a depth so dark and deep that it takes Mikael's voice to bring any kind of light to it. I know that last sentence didn't make ANY sense at all. Oh well. There you have it. It's still the same old Opeth to me with a twist (Slither is the only exception...I don't like that song very much with the exception of the end...the guitar work all throughout this album is fantastic, this song included despite it being so out of place). The lyrics aren't anywhere near the greatest, but that's another thing I love about this album is that the lyrics don't seem to be a central point; the focus seems to be more on the general essence of the song and not a singular aspect. Taking it all in at once is best, I feel. I'll stop typing now. Why do I type so fucking much when I'm drunk? I don't know, Barrett, fuck you man. Weirdo. I know. 

P.S. I suppose it's worth noting that I haven't heard any songs live. Maybe that would change my perspective but with what everyone has been saying I don't think it would at all; and if it did I find I love the sound and quality on the album so much that it might only force me to like the album even more. The production is at times odd but it fits the entire feel of the album so well; it focuses the sound, if that makes sense, brings a different aspect of the songs to the surface.

[Ben_Jamin]

Damn, that's pretty much why I love it. But Slither has a nice rhythm that makes me want to drive

[Jirpo]

Great post Tio! I love reading well written thoughtful posts like that. Although I love Heritage, I don't get the same sense of atmosphere you do when I listen to it.

[pogoowner]

Interesting little thing I saw today: John Petrucci, John Myung, and Jordan Rudess all have Heritage in their top 3 albums of 2011. It's #1 for me.

[Xanthul]

Damn, that's pretty much why I love it. But Slither has a nice rhythm that makes me want to drive

Slither is one of my favorites, it's very energetic and I love Mikael's voice on this one, specially the "like a bird on a wiiIIIIIIre" .

I love Heritage for these reasons, song by song:

- Heritage - beautiful piano to open the album.
- Devil's Orchard - at first I thought the song was disjointed but now that I know it in and out, I'm amazed by all the sections and the flow between them. As in the rest of the album, Mikael's voice and the guitarwork are nothing short of amazing.
- I Feel The Dark - similar to Orchard, the different sections keep you guessing, whenever you start hearing the guitars and think "oh yeah the heavy section is coming" they suddenly cut back to an ambient section. Gets better with more listens.
- Slither - this song is very simple compared to the rest of the album but I love that, a straightforward and energetic song with an amazing outro.
- Nepenthe - a change of pace after the previous songs, this is the jazziest track in the record I think. I enjoy focusing on the drum & bass layer of the song while the upper, jazzier layers of guitar and keys fool around.
- Haxprocess - can't say much about this one, I enjoy it but I really can't underline anything beyond Mikael.
- Famine - same as Hax, these two are the lowpoints of the album for me (though I still like them). I love the first three minutes of the song until the guitar comes in, the rest is kind of messy. Maybe I haven't listened to it enough.
- Lines in the Hand - Amazing drums here, I'm by no means a drum expert but I definitely enjoy them on this track. The last minute is also kind of "Slither"ish which I like. "Fiiiiind all the liiiiiiines in your haaaaaand"
- Folklore - I think mostly everyone agrees that this is an amazing track... the guitar lines are incredible and the Lion King outro is a fan favorite.
- Marrow of the Earth - A nice instrumental closer, it works for what it is.

Maybe the album would have worked better if the 2 (arguably 3 including Nepenthe) slower tracks weren't placed together in the middle and were spread out between other energetic songs, but I still love this record and it's my favorite of 2011 right now (in the future, time will tell, The Color Spectrum will probably end up taking over).

[Zydar]

Damn, that's pretty much why I love it. But Slither has a nice rhythm that makes me want to drive

Slither is one of my favorites, it's very energetic and I love Mikael's voice on this one, specially the "like a bird on a wiiIIIIIIre" .

Oh yeah, one of the highlights on the album for me.

[Xanthul]

Is that sarcasm? I can't tell

[Zydar]

No I'm serious. I love that song, and that section

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Interesting that a lot of you don't like the middle of Heritage. For me, that's where the album gets great.

[Gadough]

Is that sarcasm? I can't tell

I don't think Zydar has ever been sarcastic about anything.

[Zydar]

Is that sarcasm? I can't tell

I don't think Zydar has ever been sarcastic about anything.

I'm pretty cautious about sarcasm and irony on the web, it doesn't translate well and is often misinterpreted

[ZBomber]

The only Opeth album that has really grabbed me in the past two years that I have been listening to them is Damnation. The other albums I've heard aren't bad, they just don't strike me in any memorable way and I very rarely find myself wanting to listen to them.

*shrug*

[Gadough]

- Folklore - I think mostly everyone agrees that this is an amazing track... the guitar lines are incredible and the Lion King outro is a fan favorite.

Lion King outro? That shit came from the Lion King? Wat?

[?]

The production is cold which reduces the little heaviness the album has and severely hurts the dynamics.

Why should a non-metal album have production that makes it sound heavy? And the dynamics of the album are quite wide already, I Feel the Dark and Nepenthe being the best examples.

Damn, that's pretty much why I love it. But Slither has a nice rhythm that makes me want to drive

Slither is one of my favorites, it's very energetic and I love Mikael's voice on this one, specially the "like a bird on a wiiIIIIIIre" .

Oh yeah, one of the highlights on the album for me.

Nice to see some love for Slither! Many people dislike that song but I think it rocks! I also love Famine which seems to divide opinions the most.

- Folklore - I think mostly everyone agrees that this is an amazing track... the guitar lines are incredible and the Lion King outro is a fan favorite.

Folklore is my favorite, it'll probably become the classic song of Heritage.

[The King in Crimson]

The production is cold which reduces the little heaviness the album has and severely hurts the dynamics.

Why should a non-metal album have production that makes it sound heavy? And the dynamics of the album are quite wide already, I Feel the Dark and Nepenthe being the best examples.

Because it sounds better? 

I feel like the production just makes it sound very... impersonal. It's really hard to explain for me. The Incident has the same style of production, everything is crisp and clean and cold... and it works, to an extent, because of what the album is about. Heritage, as a bit of a throwback to 70's fusion/prog, I feel would sound a lot better with a warmer, fuller sound some more distinction. Everything just sounds so... flat to me.

[seasonsinthesky]

^ that is pretty much my exact opinion of the production on Deliverance. it only changes when acoustic stuff is going on (which isn't very often). all the heavy stuff is extremely cold, hospital-esque, perfectly precise and meticulous. it doesn't breathe and flow, productionwise, like Blackwater Park or Still Life (or even My Arms, Your Hearse).

with that said, i still love D1.

[ariich]

- Folklore - I think mostly everyone agrees that this is an amazing track... the guitar lines are incredible and the Lion King outro is a fan favorite.

Lion King outro? That shit came from the Lion King? Wat?

When it kicks in it sounds like Be Prepared from the Lion King. I pointed this out, like, when the album first came out. PAY ATTENTION, MAN.

[Gadough]

Huh. I never noticed that. I actually forgot how that song goes. It's been like 10 years since I've seen that movie.

[TioJorge]

Interesting that a lot of you don't like the middle of Heritage. For me, that's where the album gets great.

I feel the same; this is the only album in a while where I truly enjoy listening to the entirety of it.

^ that is pretty much my exact opinion of the production on Deliverance. it only changes when acoustic stuff is going on (which isn't very often). all the heavy stuff is extremely cold, hospital-esque, perfectly precise and meticulous. it doesn't breathe and flow, productionwise, like Blackwater Park or Still Life (or even My Arms, Your Hearse).

with that said, i still love D1.

I swear, this is the only band where its fans use these types of adjective-nouns to describe the music; and to any outsider they'd probably think "WTF does that mean...!?", I know exactly what you're talking about.  hospital-esque... I love it. Bwaha! Forest-y, earthy, hospital... It's great. No sarcasm by the bye.

[The King in Crimson]

^ that is pretty much my exact opinion of the production on Deliverance. it only changes when acoustic stuff is going on (which isn't very often). all the heavy stuff is extremely cold, hospital-esque, perfectly precise and meticulous. it doesn't breathe and flow, productionwise, like Blackwater Park or Still Life (or even My Arms, Your Hearse).

with that said, i still love D1.

Incidentally, I'm not the biggest fan of Deliverance or its production.

[?]

Sorry for the shameless promotion but many of you fellow Opeth fans could like Barren Earth. The BE thread I started has some song suggestions from me and samples of their upcoming 2nd album The Devil's Resolve can be heard here

[TioJorge]

I forgive you since you revived this thread.

So, I have a confession. Though I love Heritage and what it set out to accomplish, which I think it did, I'm already itching for a new Opeth album and... I want my fucking Akerfeldt growls back. I want those blood curdling screams of terror and anguish lathered with undertones of beautiful agony (nuggetron). I want to hear a soft beginning meld into a gargling growl. I want it. I want it willingly. If Mikael isn't into it...so be it, I'd rather get nothing at all then have him do some half-assed, mediocre attempt at an already mostly-boring genre. But I hope his heart is in it and we at some point get a taste of brutality. Aside from hopes I really think that we will, but I don't think it will be anytime soon. Maybe we'll even get something different from Heritage altogether while still not returning to the old death metal ways.

But yeah, going back and listening to Ghost Reveries and Deliverance has rekindled my love for what Mikael does so well. Much love for Heritage... But it just doesn't give me a hard on. I want a hard on. I'm getting old. I need some help.

Clearly.

[Zantera]

I want a new Opeth-album too. Nothing wrong with Heritage, but it didn't really stop my hunger for a new Opeth-album, it was like being extremely hungry with no food for weeks, and then eating a small cheeseburger or something. Nice in the beginning, but now I'm already craving more. 

[ZKX-2099]

Theres always Bloodbath.

[black_biff_stadler]

I forgive you since you revived this thread.

So, I have a confession. Though I love Heritage and what it set out to accomplish, which I think it did, I'm already itching for a new Opeth album and... I want my fucking Akerfeldt growls back. I want those blood curdling screams of terror and anguish lathered with undertones of beautiful agony (nuggetron). I want to hear a soft beginning meld into a gargling growl. I want it. I want it willingly. If Mikael isn't into it...so be it, I'd rather get nothing at all then have him do some half-assed, mediocre attempt at an already mostly-boring genre. But I hope his heart is in it and we at some point get a taste of brutality. Aside from hopes I really think that we will, but I don't think it will be anytime soon. Maybe we'll even get something different from Heritage altogether while still not returning to the old death metal ways.

But yeah, going back and listening to Ghost Reveries and Deliverance has rekindled my love for what Mikael does so well. Much love for Heritage... But it just doesn't give me a hard on. I want a hard on. I'm getting old. I need some help.

Clearly.

Tio, I wish you were an orphaned abused small animal so I could simply go to my local pet shelter and adopt you and spend my remaining days being delighted with your mirth.

I want a new Opeth-album too. Nothing wrong with Heritage, but it didn't really stop my hunger for a new Opeth-album, it was like being extremely hungry with no food for weeks, and then eating a small cheeseburger or something. Nice in the beginning, but now I'm already craving more. 

Very good analogy, Zan Halen

Theres always Bloodbath.

Valid point but it just falls a tad short to say the least when compared to the extraordinary range of dynamics present in most Opeth offerings.

[Sigz]

Yup. Like I said when the album came out, I like the new direction and everything, but it makes me really sad that there won't be any 'old' simply because they had such a unique and awesome sound.

[Jirpo]

Yup. Like I said when the album came out, I like the new direction and everything, but it makes me really sad that there won't be any 'old' simply because they had such a unique and awesome sound.

Yeah same. Heritage was pretty unique to me. so I'm not complaining, but I hope Opeth does go back to their old style eventually, I mean we do have 9 albums of it but I always could do with some more

[lateralus88]

So who else hopes to fucking GOD that Opeth pulls back out the heavy tracks for the upcoming MastOpeth shows?


*raises hand*

[TioJorge]

Tio, I wish you were an orphaned abused small animal so I could simply go to my local pet shelter and adopt you and spend my remaining days being delighted with your mirth.

Oh but I am, I'm an abused miniature bear that got so fed up with being picked on by those god-damn Grizzlys that I stole the serum from Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and injected myself with it so I could hole myself up in the back of a pet store and browse DTF all day. Save me! 

So who else hopes to fucking GOD that Opeth pulls back out the heavy tracks for the upcoming MastOpeth shows?


*raises hand*

*Raises foot* I really want to go to this if only for Opeth (Listened to a few Mastodon songs and...eh, dunno; might have to give them another chance and I haven't heard Ghost at all) but given the aforementioned, I'm not sure if it'd be worth it if they'll just be playing Heritage and Damnation (zzzZZZzz) songs.