The official Opeth thread v. Bring on the new album!

[ErHaO]

That 8 bit cover kicks ass 

As for the diversity discussion, when I hear DT12, BCASL, 8V and SFM they sound really different to me. When I hear DO of Opeth I just hear a lot of elements Opeth previously also had but without the harsh parts (both vocally and instrumentally). Diversity is somewhat a personal thing offcourse (depending also on what parts of the music speak to you the most), but as a casual listener I do not think Opeth has changed that drastically since I started listening aside from stripping the heavy stuff out and filling the parts with more old fashioned prog (which I also like btw).

I do hope, however, that Opeth does include the heavy stuff again in the future. There is a reason that they play at metal festivals, tour with death metal bands etc. And that is not the soft prog. I also think Ackerfelt's vocals are not that impressive with his clean singing. It sounds nice but he is also somewhat limited and I think he is an outstanding growler.

[emtee]

[Dark Castle]

Heard from multiple places that it's fake. Apparently it's some inside artwork or something to Steven Wilson's Grace For Downing Bluray.

A shame though, that actually would be a cool cover.

EDIT: The person who put it up on Deviant Art is also hiding a shit ton of comments, assumedly from people calling them out on it.

[emtee]

I thought it was legit since Progarchives has it listed on their site.

[Dark Castle]

Well I guess it'll be cleared up soon to confirm it as real or a fake, but odds aren't looking good for the former option.
If it does turn out to be real though, it look pretty rad.

[?]

It hasn't been posted on the official Opeth page yet and I remember Mikael saying the cover will have a medieval look with three paintings next to each other, so it's safe to say that picture's nothing but a fake cover.

[Dark Castle]

And that album cover screams a return to the old Opeth, which definitely isn't happening 

[Mister Gold]

And that album cover screams a return to the old Opeth, which definitely isn't happening 

Yeah.

[emtee]

It hasn't been posted on the official Opeth page yet and I remember Mikael saying the cover will have a medieval look with three paintings next to each other, so it's safe to say that picture's nothing but a fake cover.

Now that you mention it I remember that too. Oh well, I guess Progarchives has been duped and subsequently so have I

[Dark Castle]

All I can hope for is that it doesn't look like the artsy fartsy mess that was Heritage's cover. Some cool elements in it, particularly the devils on the bottom, but good god what a mess of an album cover.

[TioJorge]

Wow. 

Could not possibly disagree more. I adore Heritage's album artwork, I think it's one of the greatest. Everything about it screams Opeth, and they threw in a sign of the times with the falling head. It's perfect for the album and the period of transition.

/assholesandonionsorsomethinglikethat

The one posted does indeed look like a fan cover. It's boring and plain... When I look at the Heritage cover, I thin 'artwork'. That looks like a mediocre, jv-effort. Then again I wouldn't be surprised either way.

(this fuckin' site is running slow as hell for me...every other site is fine...hrrmm...something up?)

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

DTF is behaving lethargically for me as well.

[kirksnosehair]

Yeah, something is up, it's been pretty slow all day.




As far as Opeth and their style goes....changing their name, frankly, would be a pretty dumb move from a marketing standpoint.  There are tons of bands out there who have undergone fairly dramatic transformations over the course of their existence without ever changing names.  With album sales already in the toilet in the age of torrents, these bands with niche audiences need every advantage they can get to remain viable and changing your band'd name after more than 20 years in the business is tantamount to career suicide.


I'm perplexed by all the hate that Watershed gets.  I love that album, and I think it's an album where Opeth were able to offer something for the "tr00" fans as well as some of us newer fans who may not necessarily be thrilled with the all of the grunting on their older stuff.


Heritage.....I don't know.  To my ears, it's a pretty ponderous, meandering and unfocused piece of work.  A few decent tracks bookend the album, but the middle of it is just zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....


Best Opeth album cover ever, though. 

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Watershed is my favorite Opeth album.

[425]

I only have Blackwater Park, Watershed and Heritage so far (Ghost Reveries is in the mail), and I love all of them. I'm not sure I can really pick a favorite. Watershed seems to have a bit of an identity crisis going on, more so than the other two, but it somehow pulls off both styles quite well.

Heritage took a while to grow on me but I now find it to be a great album, and I'm excited for Pale Communion based on what I've heard about it so far!

[Onno]

All I can hope for is that it doesn't look like the artsy fartsy mess that was Heritage's cover. Some cool elements in it, particularly the devils on the bottom, but good god what a mess of an album cover.

No. I just can't agree with you. The Heritage cover is one of my favourite album covers of all time 

By the way, Watershed is also probably my favourite Opeth album, but sometimes I think it may be BWP. Oh well. Can't wait for the first Pale Communion single! (next Tuesday!)

[Dittomist]

The album cover for Heritage is one of the greatest I've ever seen--every time I look at it, I find new details to appreciate. It's beautiful and eerie at the same time, and it honestly looks like something that could have come out of the 70's prog scene. Opeth are pretty consistent when it comes to quality album covers so I am expecting good things with the new one (and I agree, that fake one would have actually been awesome). Another cover I really loved was Ghost Reveries.

[fadetoblackdude7]

I only have Blackwater Park, Watershed and Heritage so far (Ghost Reveries is in the mail), and I love all of them. I'm not sure I can really pick a favorite. Watershed seems to have a bit of an identity crisis going on, more so than the other two, but it somehow pulls off both styles quite well.

Heritage took a while to grow on me but I now find it to be a great album, and I'm excited for Pale Communion based on what I've heard about it so far!

Enjoy Ghost Reveries my man, definitely my favorite Opeth record....such a masterpiece. Strongly recommend you grab Still Life as well!

[425]

Thanks! I'm really excited to get my hands on it! I doubt I'll have room in my budget to get both Still Life and Pale Communion in June, so I'll probably pick between the two based on the quality of the upcoming single and then get the other in July.

[The King in Crimson]

Still Life should be your next one to get since it's their best album.

 I quite like the Heritage cover but god do those heads look awfully cheesy on it.

[?]

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/mikael_akerfeldt_this_record_is_more_melodic_slightly_heavier_and_a_bit_more_schizophrenic.html

Not necessarily a lot of new info in this interview, but Mikael says they recorded the new album in 13 days He also finds Ghost Reveries overproduced, which makes me a little sad. I really like the production of that album, although I totally get and kind of agree with what he's saying about the sound of modern metal albums. Speaking of production, I've always liked the sound of MAYH - it's not too raw like the first two albums, but still has a lot of edge.

[Dark Castle]

"This record is more melodic, slightly heavier and a bit more schizophrenic. Inevitably it is also a continuation of "Heritage," I guess."

Yuck, Heritage had enough problems finding a direction to begin with.

[Zantera]

In most cases I get more put off by artists describing their new album than I get more interested, and this is one of those cases. What Åkerfeldt is saying is basically making me go "meh", and I can't say I feel super excited about it. But hopefully the album will be good though, that's really all I can hope for.

[TioJorge]

Sounds fuckin' awesome to me. The name and description of tones is making me think of something very old-school Opeth like in vibe and general 'air' but without the obvious. With all the different instruments they're using on the album it could be brootal in a whole new way.

[Dark Castle]

Using the word schizophrenic sounds like he's using it as an excuse to write songs with shitty structure and haphazard changes that are jarring in a bad way in advance of people criticizing that.

[Zantera]

Yeah, "schizophrenic" really is the kind of word that rubs me the wrong way. There's good schizophrenic (Mr. Bungle) and bad schizophrenic (Heritage), and considering Opeth made Heritage, I can't say I care for his comments. But again, the album might end up being good, and that's all I hope for. Most artists are so pretentious and/or biased when talking about their own music. It's understandable why, they have worked months on making the album, but that's also why I take these comments with a bag of salt.

[ariich]

I think you're reading way too much into that word - in a general sense, pretty much all of Opeth's music could be described as "schizophrenic", and Heritage was no more so than the rest IMO.

More melodic pleases me though.

[Dark Castle]

Heritage was much more so than the rest. It broke into segways that were extremely jarring and had little to no flow. At least with older material, it may have been a stark contrast between the light and heavy, but usually you could see it coming and it flowed well.

[PolarizeMe]

He also finds Ghost Reveries overproduced, which makes me a little sad. I really like the production of that album, although I totally get and kind of agree with what he's saying about the sound of modern metal albums. Speaking of production, I've always liked the sound of MAYH - it's not too raw like the first two albums, but still has a lot of edge.

I understand why he thinks Ghost Reveries to be overproduced, but it's not overproduced compared to a handful of other modern metal albums, IMO. I thought Ghost Reveries had a great production. I do love the sound of Lopez's snare drum on MAYH however - it's got a lot of punch to it.

[adace]

So "Cusp of Eternity" is due to be released on May 6th. Really hope they stream it before then. The anticipation is driving me nuts!

[adace]

The new song comes out tomorrow, CAN'T WAIT!!!

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

 

[Onno]

Me neither

[TioJorge]

WOOOOOOOOT! AWESOME!

[krands85]