Poll

What are your three favorite Opeth records?

Orchid
7 (1.1%)
Morningrise
15 (2.3%)
My Arms, Your Hearse
26 (4%)
Still Life
81 (12.3%)
Blackwater Park
161 (24.5%)
Deliverance
43 (6.5%)
Damnation
53 (8.1%)
Ghost Reveries
152 (23.1%)
Watershed
66 (10%)
Heritage
21 (3.2%)
Pale Communion
32 (4.9%)

Total Members Voted: 224

Voting closed: June 13, 2020, 08:32:34 AM

Author Topic: The official Opeth thread v. In Cauda Venenum  (Read 178382 times)

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Offline Onno

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #700 on: November 17, 2015, 10:56:29 AM »
That could be very interesting indeed!

Offline seasonsinthesky

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #701 on: November 18, 2015, 04:52:11 PM »
https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/upcoming_releases/mikael_akerfeldt_is_working_on_swedish_language_psychedelic_folk_album.html

Well this could be interesting.

Basically resurrecting Sörskogen. I dig it. Maybe they'll release "Mordet i Grottan" properly!

Offline ?

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Offline bout to crash

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #703 on: December 08, 2015, 12:21:56 AM »
Opeth has a beer! https://www.northernmonkbrewco.com/opeth

In all seriousness, if any of you in Europe can get your hands on an extra bottle or two, I will pay you to send it to me. They can't distribute it to the states currently  :sadpanda:
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Offline ori.elias5

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #704 on: December 30, 2015, 11:18:15 AM »
Have anyone read the new book? how is it?

Offline goo-goo

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #705 on: December 31, 2015, 11:09:25 AM »
Have anyone read the new book? how is it?

It's going to be released in Feb 2016 according to the website.

Offline TioJorge

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #706 on: January 04, 2016, 11:09:28 AM »
Anyone have any thoughts on the Deliverance/Damnation re-releases/remixes?

Gotta be blunt...at the very best, I'm pretty indifferent to this. I thought it'd be the exact opposite, and even though I expected nothing and in all actuality had no idea what to expect or had any idea of what would be different...I'm just not into the new sound of some of the tracks and with others, while knowing and able to pick out discernible differences, didn't find it to be an actual plus and more of just a neutral change. Though some I found to be worse in a lot of ways with glaring particulars to Master's Apprentices, Wreath, In My Time Of Need, To Rid The Disease and Weakness. On the other side, I actually really love how Deliverance (track), By the Pain I See In Others, Death Whispered A Lullaby and Hope Leaves turned out, but that's a half dislike/like ratio with the others being pretty much the same in regards to me liking it. Obviously a good bit has changed in the levels to all of them and what pops and what was lowered but I didn't find the rest to do any favors to the songs with slight exception to the vocals. I thought the vocals were a bit muddled on a lot of the tracks and in this release all of them sound great and much more prominent without overtaking the instruments. But god fucking damn it, shit like the cymbals in Master's Apprentices made me want to turn the track off for a handful of seconds. Just random stuff that to my ears sounded either a bit too loud or just an odd choice in bringing it to the forefront (the bass in some tracks is weirdly loud).

All in all, I don't know if I like this better than the originals in the overall. Some tracks I definitely prefer, while others I vastly prefer the original, and three or four that I could interchange without caring which one I'd be listening to at the time. Cool for those anal audiophiles that get stiff cochleas over this stuff but otherwise...it's pretty much a take it or leave it thing for me. 'Cool', but also kind of 'eh'. I will say that it's just neat hearing the differences and it's nice to have a different and updated take on it. There's no denying that the majority simply have an updated sound and it's more open in all of them; but within that openness there are certain specifics that I find unpleasing to my ear. I think I'll be spinning it a lot more just to find what's changed but for people like me it's more of a curiosity than anything. I can see me having my 'main' on certain tracks though! Just a few very.

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Offline me7

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #707 on: January 04, 2016, 12:03:17 PM »
I had hoped for no artistic changes, just more dynamics. Instead we got roughly the same amount of compression with lots of artistic changes.
It's an alternative take with similar shortcomings, but no clear improvements.

Offline seasonsinthesky

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #708 on: January 04, 2016, 03:38:34 PM »
I had hoped for no artistic changes, just more dynamics. Instead we got roughly the same amount of compression with lots of artistic changes.
It's an alternative take with similar shortcomings, but no clear improvements.

Agreed. And also sorta agreed with Tio on my indifference.

By far, Deliverance suffers more than it gains. The completely different drum sound brings it closer to the Damnation approach, but dropping the enormous reverb warms up a record that should be ice cold. It's by far the most brutal Opeth album, nearing the first two in vibe and intent but with lessons learned in arranging. About the only bits that benefitted were the parts that were warm anyway – the quiet, acoustic parts. Otherwise Bruce Soord was wildly out of his element and it shows clear as day. The record starts with the worst mix, too, which doesn't help – "Wreath" sounds nothing mixwise like the rest of the album. And the dynamics, improved though they are, are totally out to lunch in the bad way on BTPISIO. Overall, it's a case of guitars and vocals not sitting well next to the new drums and bass.

Damnation is barely different, but when it's different, I prefer the original mix decisions by far; a lot of the changes are simply the removal of vocal effects, so the vibe is lost, and they sound even more like Camel.

Surround and 24/96 isn't enough to have saved this. I bought the vinyl but haven't heard it yet, so perhaps that is the one place the new mixes may just shine.

Offline Zantera

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #709 on: January 04, 2016, 04:23:07 PM »
I haven't heard the new mixes but I read an interview where Mikael said that Deliverance, which had been un-listenable for him before was now much better and had given him a whole new appreciation for it. Personally I think Deliverance is one of the very best Opeth albums, together with Still Life and Ghost Reveries it would be my top3, so I don't mind the original mix at all.

Offline CharlesPL

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #710 on: January 04, 2016, 05:27:37 PM »
My 3 fav albums are : Blackwater Park, Deliverance and Ghost Reveries

Offline krands85

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #711 on: January 04, 2016, 06:24:35 PM »
My 3 fav albums are : Blackwater Park, Deliverance and Ghost Reveries
:tup :metal
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Offline goo-goo

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #712 on: January 04, 2016, 07:25:24 PM »
My 3 fav albums are : Blackwater Park, Deliverance and Ghost Reveries
:tup :metal

 :metal :metal :metal

Offline seasonsinthesky

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #713 on: February 27, 2016, 04:31:22 PM »
Sad to say the new Deliverance mix still isn't quite "right" on vinyl. I'd hoped the mastering requirements and resulting EQ changes would result in a proper balance, but the opening of "Wreath" and ending of "Deliverance" are still just as poorly inadequate and drowned in cymbals + vocals as the digital version.

Damnation is epic, though I do miss some of the vocal FX that SW stripped out.

Offline Zydar

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #714 on: April 09, 2016, 01:42:12 AM »
Pre-order 'The Perpetual Journey', the new coffee table style photobook from Opeth, now, alongside exclusive merch.

https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/opeth-the-perpetual-journey
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Offline ?

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #715 on: April 12, 2016, 07:20:54 AM »
Anyone else got the new biography yet?



I won't have enough time to read it until I'm done with my BA thesis, but I skimmed through the pages and it looks nice with a lot of photos.

Offline Train of Naught

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #716 on: May 25, 2016, 02:43:25 AM »
EU tour announced :metal I'd love to go see them, though tickets are probably quite expensive?
https://opeth.com/news/item/265-new-european-tour-this-november

Quote
Opeth are pleased to announce a new European Tour that will start this November in their home country's capital of Stockholm!

VIP tickets and promoter pre-sale starts tomorrow 10am and general on-sale starts Monday, May 30th. Ticket links will be added to the tour dates section tomorrow morning and keep an eye out for a handful of other dates to be announced soon.

The shows at the SSE Wembley Arena in London and Le Trianon in Paris are already on sale and ticket links can be found here, on Facebook and with the usual local ticketing vendors.

 

Sat 5th, Sweden - Stockholm, Annexet
Sun 6th, Norway - Oslo, Konserthus
Mon 7th, Denmark - Copenhagen, DR Koncerthuset,
Tues 8th, Germany - Hamburg, Docks
Thurs 10th, Austria - Vienna, Arena
Fri 11th, Germany - Stuttgart, LKA Longhorn
Sat 12th, Germany - Munich, Theaterfabrik
Sun13th, Switzerland - Zurich, Volkshaus
Mon 14th, Italy - Milan, Alcatraz
Wed 16th, Germany - Cologne, E-Werk
Fri 18th, Netherlands - Tilburg, 013
Sat 19th, United Kingdom - London, SSE Wembley Arena
Mon 21st, France - Paris, Le Trianon
Wed 23rd, Luxemburg - Luxemburg, Den Atelier
Thur 24th, Germany - Berlin, Astra Kulturhaus
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Offline Tomislav95

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #717 on: May 25, 2016, 02:46:04 AM »
I always hope they won't miss my country on next tour but they always do :'(
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Offline Zantera

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #718 on: May 25, 2016, 03:28:33 AM »
I saw them 3 times in as many years and now they haven't played my city since Heritage. :<

Offline goo-goo

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #719 on: May 25, 2016, 07:52:23 AM »
I know when Opeth announced the Ale Beer, someone from the Opeth camp (initials JS, per the post on Facebook) said they were scheduled to go into the studio. IIRC, this was around April.

Does this tour means new music? Has the Pale Communion touring cycle ended?

Online Mladen

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #720 on: May 25, 2016, 09:32:48 AM »
A new album would be a very pleasant surprise.  :metal

Offline goo-goo

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #721 on: May 26, 2016, 03:35:04 PM »
So which thread is it?

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #722 on: May 26, 2016, 05:29:59 PM »
I cranked up Pale Communion in the car today - I hadn't listened to it in a while - and I'd love another album in that style.  Such good stuff.  :hat

Offline SwedishGoose

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #723 on: May 27, 2016, 02:27:15 AM »
Got tickets for 2016-11-05 in Stockholm...

Will this be the 3rd tour that supports Pale Communion or will there be new music coming out?
Would love some new Opeth but haven't heard anything about that since interviews in 2015 when michael talked about writing/recording in 2016:

https://bravewords.com/news/opeths-mikael-akerfeldt-2016-i-guess-well-focus-a-little-bit-on-new-music-video
« Last Edit: May 27, 2016, 02:34:45 AM by SwedishGoose »

Offline Zantera

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #724 on: May 27, 2016, 02:32:18 AM »
Pale Communion was August 2014, so I'm expecting a new album next year. This year seems a bit too early, given how long they usually take to write albums these days.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #725 on: May 27, 2016, 06:34:33 AM »
Should be interesting to see if the next album has any metal on it. I don't expect much or any growls again from them any time soon, but that doesn't mean they still can't throw in some songs with some metal riffage (since they do have metal songs on previous albums with all clean vocals).  It won't bother me if they don't, especially if the songwriting is as good as it was on PC, but it'd be cool to get a new face-melting riff or two. :metal

Offline kirksnosehair

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #726 on: May 27, 2016, 08:35:09 AM »
I'd love to hear more stuff like Pale Communion. 


Might be cool to hear them weave some heaviness into the retro-sounding stuff like what's on PC.

Offline Zantera

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #727 on: May 27, 2016, 08:40:39 AM »
Personally I'm tired of retro-prog since it's never gonna top those classic Yes/Pink Floyd/Rush/Genesis/Jethro Tull albums anyways, but I liked PC more than Heritage and I'll check out any album they put out either way. Just waiting for this trend to die out already, we've seen several of the big bands head down that path, Opeth, Steven Wilson & Pain of Salvation just to name a few. I feel like Prog needs to move forward and not backwards and partially why the genre has been standing still for a decade or so comes from the fact that many of the big bands (that used to pioneer the genre) have taken a step back rather than forward.

I hope I get to see Opeth soon again though, it's been too long.

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I realize they have little to no blast beats to date.
« Reply #728 on: May 27, 2016, 04:52:15 PM »
I just want 'em to go back to the blast beats n bacon grease sound.
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Offline seasonsinthesky

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #729 on: May 27, 2016, 06:30:57 PM »
Personally I'm tired of retro-prog since it's never gonna top those classic Yes/Pink Floyd/Rush/Genesis/Jethro Tull albums anyways, but I liked PC more than Heritage and I'll check out any album they put out either way. Just waiting for this trend to die out already, we've seen several of the big bands head down that path, Opeth, Steven Wilson & Pain of Salvation just to name a few. I feel like Prog needs to move forward and not backwards and partially why the genre has been standing still for a decade or so comes from the fact that many of the big bands (that used to pioneer the genre) have taken a step back rather than forward.

I hope I get to see Opeth soon again though, it's been too long.

I am 100% behind every word of your post. We already have Neal Morse, Transatlantic and The Flower Kings. Retro-prog was absolutely done to death before Opeth, SW and POS started beating the corpse. I definitely like PC way more than Heritage but it's still so mired in the past already explored.

I'm not expecting Åkerfeldt to do BWP pt. 2, much as I'd probably like it; just hoping like you that the retro phase is over and they are ready to go somewhere actually unique.

Offline Cable

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Re: I realize they have little to no blast beats to date.
« Reply #730 on: May 27, 2016, 06:56:12 PM »
Ok, full disclosure before the insult, I thought Porcupine Tree on the Incident tour had the best live rock band sound ever. Loud, but almost doable without earplugs. No instrument to my recollection owned the sonic spectrum. I no doubt feel that was because of SWs direction. Outside of Delieverance, I would feel that he is very good at mixing. Deadwing is an exception, but that was right in the volume wars initial battles IMO.

Delieverence's kick/bass drum mix was garbage. It literally produced no bass in any listening environment I've been in, which I thought was part of the point of a bass drum. It is all interesting, as I loved the sound of everything on Blackwater. It seems that the Delievernce/Damnation recording period was terrible for the band. My guess is they had to cut corners or something, like the label was like you want to do a double album? Make it for the cost of the last one. And oh yeah, we are going to split apart the album to monetize it more. I have a feeling that had to be the overall environment of that whole album process.


I just want 'em to go back to the blast beats n bacon grease sound.


I'm with you. I'm torn because Heritage is acceptable, and Pale Communion is a decent to good album. I would take both in a second over Damnation, even though I try to keep Deliverance/Damnation as a double album. Which in that case D/D is better than Heritage and PC.

That said, Opeth's shift has been too drastic, yet while still now performing the old stuff live. Something like Trivium's change, or Metallica's even was a more natural shift. My problem with the Opeth shift will always be MK and Co. gutted rocking riffs, heavy dissonance, and used 100% retro production and tones. This is all separate of the death growls. What initially drew me to Opeth was the dissonance and contrasts, while I eventually acquired the taste of death vocals. Opeth could still do all that without death growls, but instead they supercharged the 70s style by itself. The heavy riffs they have now, the small amount of times they appear, are rubbish to me because it sounds like they are using Vox and Fender amps from the early 70s. To me, that still is too drastic of a shift, enough so that it should be a new band, or a solo project. Even as much as I am mostly meh on Orchid and Morningrise, the elements of what would be Opeth's longest style period were still there.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #731 on: May 27, 2016, 07:15:27 PM »
I think it has become pretty clear that death growls and bone-brushing metal really isn't Akerfeldt's cup of tea anymore, and hasn't been for a while. The last two albums had neither, and even the rare major metal moments on Watershed, their 3rd most recent album, seem almost forced.  The heaviest song on that is Heir Apparent, and that to me kind of sounds like a "I guess we still have to do the occasional song like this" tune.  Don't get me wrong, it's a good song, but while their super heavy stuff used to really stand out, that one did not, and it was on a record without a lot of metal in the first place. I think some need to accept that the Opeth they used to love and adore is gone forever, which is never easy to do, but it is what it is.  It reminds me of 90s Radiohead fans still wanting a return to the guitar rock of the first three albums; it ain't gonna happen.  And neither is Opeth returning to their brand of death metal.

Offline Cable

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #732 on: May 27, 2016, 09:02:40 PM »
I'm under no delusions that MK has real interest in the heavy music, nor that it will be returned to really. I rather have them stick to 100% Da,He, and PC than do half and half live when it's probably going through the motions for them. Watershed meh overall to me, as Lotus Eater was the only heavy song that didn't sound forced to me. The more mellow tracks were much better than the heavy ones. But part of my point is taking death growls out of the conversation, and double bass too.

The heavily used unpleasant chords, and more modern distortion is gone. Opeth never wrote standard heavy riffs anyway. But the sound to me is grabbing some Strats, and using the middle pickup through a Vox. He never fully did that during the mellow parts of the past music, so it is a more abrupt change. Storm Corrison still sounded comparable to Opeth production wise. So I'm going beyond just the "no more death metal growls, double bass ahh gone!" type view. Something like Harrlequin forest before the growls is what I'm talking about. No growls, no heavy drumming, but still with some rocking parts. Partly why I like Pale Communion is because some of this was brought back. But it was still produced to my ears through vintage methods purposely.

I just wish he would put Opeth on hiatus, like Steven Wilson did with PT. I have no real belief that will be reunited, especially since his solo stuff is not that far off of PT. Just dialed down the heavy, and dialed up progressive. But for Opeth, it's nearly a different band. If MK wasn't singing, I would think it's an entirely different band. Sure, that's progressive in the definition of whatever. But just retire the band, and make a new one with the same people. He basically has shuffled people as much as Megadeth at this point anyway. 
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: The official Opeth thread v. Pale Communion
« Reply #733 on: May 27, 2016, 09:14:30 PM »
Well, I don't want to get into a big, long discussion about it again, but I don't see any real reason why he should abandon the Opeth name, simply because the current music isn't similar enough to the older stuff. Like has been said in this thread a while back, a lot of the moments still sound very much like classic Opeth - the end of Moon Above, Sun Below with him softly singing over those light piano notes just screams classic Opeth - so it's not like they sound like a completely different band. 

I don't get into the whole instruments, amps, etc. discussion, so I cannot offer much there.

To me, Opeth is almost becoming like Rush, Radiohead or Porcupine Tree, to where the connective stylistic tissue is there across each individual discography, but there are different eras, styles, etc. for each one, making it even more awesome when you stand back and look at their career as a whole.  So many bands never stray far for their core sound, and here we have a band jumping all over the place and doing different styles extremely well, something, I think, they should be applauded for.  But that's me. :biggrin:

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Re: I realize they have little to no blast beats to date.
« Reply #734 on: May 28, 2016, 02:09:27 AM »
Ok, full disclosure before the insult, I thought Porcupine Tree on the Incident tour had the best live rock band sound ever. Loud, but almost doable without earplugs. No instrument to my recollection owned the sonic spectrum. I no doubt feel that was because of SWs direction. Outside of Delieverance, I would feel that he is very good at mixing. Deadwing is an exception, but that was right in the volume wars initial battles IMO.

Delieverence's kick/bass drum mix was garbage. It literally produced no bass in any listening environment I've been in, which I thought was part of the point of a bass drum. It is all interesting, as I loved the sound of everything on Blackwater. It seems that the Delievernce/Damnation recording period was terrible for the band. My guess is they had to cut corners or something, like the label was like you want to do a double album? Make it for the cost of the last one. And oh yeah, we are going to split apart the album to monetize it more. I have a feeling that had to be the overall environment of that whole album process.
Deliverance was actually mixed by Andy Sneap, SW was only involved as the producer and only came in for the guitar and vocal recordings anyway (like on BWP). And yeah, the reason the label gave the double album idea green light was that the band agreed to record it with the budget of a single album.

Re: "Mikael should give up the Opeth name", I think he put it well in some interview when he posed a counterquestion like "should David Bowie have changed his name every time he made a new album in a different style?"

At least I think Heritage was a pretty natural step after Watershed and songs like The Lotus Eater already pointed in that direction. Pale Communion also has plenty of old Opeth in it - hell, Elysian Woes includes a recycled bit from For Absent Friends! I can also hear some of the aforementioned dissonance and "evil" chords in songs like Devil's Orchard, Famine and Eternal Rains, though admittedly they're less in-your-face than they were on the metal records that had more distortion on the guitars.