I listened to Pale Communion for the first time since December, and it is actually a very good album. With some changes to the production, many sections have the potential to be as heavy as something on Ghost Reveries or an earlier album. Even with the present production, some parts are already really heavy. I prefer every album in the MAYH->Watershed run (all seven albums in this period are near perfection), but it is a huge step ahead of Heritage and the first two albums. I hope that Mikael reintroduces both growls and a metallic sound on the next album, but I would not mind if he continues in this direction.
Agreed on most of these points. Unfortunately the last I read on Ultimate-Guitar, Mike pretty much said don't expect growled vocals I think.
Pale Communion was so much better than Heritage and Damnation *ducks*. Sorry, I think Damnation by itself could be their weakest album. If we count it as a double album with Deliverance, than one of their best! But yup, PC has heavy parts, but that older style production holds them back, much like Heritage. Something like Devil's Orchard on Heritage probably would have been heavy as heck if they were not using Strats, older styled amps and 70's production.
The problem Mike has ran into in this affinity for sounding old IMO. Older sounding production, and even riffs from back then maybe. I think about things like Face of Melinda and TBYF's (although terrible guitar tone) heavy parts. Probably as heavy as riffs under some growled parts. Those truly heavy, dissonant riffs are almost completely gone. I have accepted Mike changing the band- at times Heritage has some listenable tunes when they shuffle on to me. And ditching his growled vocals. What I cannot fully accept is the gutting of atonal riffs. That is really what drew me into Opeth more than anything else. I never heard someone chug on such odd riffs for such long durations. Yet with the last two albums, Mike doesn't seem to like playing even those riffs anymore. Devil's Orchard is the only track I can think of that at least had some odd chords, but I could be wrong. Even if I am, it's not very prevalent as it used to be. As a result, the dynamics of the songs lack.
For the poll, wow, voted the top three albums!
I thought about doing PC over GR for a moment though. Orchid and Morningrise are where they belong, the bottom. Meh sounding albums, with those tasteless black metal vocals and great bass playing. Where are the 1st two albums fanbois?
Each time one of the tracks come on, they very VERY VERY slowly grow a bit with me. Still cannot get into black metal vocals though.