# Opeth's Pale Communion album art released!



## stevexc (May 27, 2014)

Link in case that doesn't work for everybody

I think it looks pretty cool, but a lot less "gothic" than their past covers. I'm interested to hear how it turns out.


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## JamesM (May 28, 2014)

Leaked song is awesome too...


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## naw38 (May 28, 2014)

Sounds nothing like any other Opeth. And it's still awesome.


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## chopeth (May 28, 2014)

What the hell...


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## DLG (May 28, 2014)

naw38 said:


> Sounds nothing like Opeth. Sounds instead like any run of the mill neo-prog band of the last 20 years.



fixed


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## naw38 (May 28, 2014)

Fortunately, in this case at least, I hardly listen to any music at all. The main riff in it, all I could really compare it to is that riff that Dream Theater started playing all the te ever since Train Of Thought. Is that what you meant?

Either way, whatever, I thought it was awesome and I am well pumped for the new album.


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## noise in my mind (May 28, 2014)

I only really listen to old school opeth, but this is cool


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## Jarmake (May 28, 2014)

Can't give a fair judgement (see what I did there  ) for this song, since I have heard it only once... But here's my first initial thoughts about it!

The song was quite dull actually. Repeats itself and it sounded somewhat like older amorphis imho. Maybe a bit like Kingston Wall too. The solo went well with the overall feeling of the song, even though it did go a bit far on the dweedly diddly-wanking in the middle.

I don't quite like the newer sound of Åkerfeldt's vocals, which he had on heritage too. He sounds a bit whiny and does some weird sounding stretching on some words. Also the "crunch" he's aiming for (some vocs aren't as clean as others) in his voice isn't anything to write home about.

Somehow I don't like the sound of the drums either. They're somehow too hard. although it might be the sucky speakers I did listen the song on... Guitar sound was ok, nothing special.

If one's waiting for a sequel to heritage, this might be it! Sounds exactly like heritage 2.0. Unfotunately I'm not one of them. I'll give this song a solid 2/5 points. I don't expect too much from this new album, but I hope opeth delivers and proves me wrong.


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## OmegaSlayer (May 28, 2014)

I hoped, I hoped, I hoped...NO.
Opeth now conveys only yawns to me.
And it's not because it's slow, mellow, 70s...because I like that stuff, it's just, Opeth lost the magic...Akerfeldt tries too hard, it feels forced, it doesn't feel genuine, it feels built and not spontaneous.
Too bad.

Sorry I'll go listen Midlake instead.


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## ZeroS1gnol (May 28, 2014)

Opeth is dead to me.


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## Double A (May 28, 2014)

Opeth isn't dead to me because most of their albums are still some of my favorite things to listen to, but...

Heritage was camel/70s prog worship that didn't sit well with me. For me, the whole reason Opeth was good was because they used widely different styles within one song and had extremely excellent writing composition. Now they just sound like a trippy rock band from the 70s. Which is ok, but it is a part of music already extensively covered ad nauseam.


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## DLG (May 28, 2014)

it's just hard to comprehend why a band that had a sound all its own, literally a very specific and instantly recognizable sound, abandons it and starts trying to sound like something else that isn't original at all. 

it's not even about the growls and the double bass, this song doesn't have any riffs that sound like opeth to me.


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## asher (May 28, 2014)

Because that's what Mikael wants to do, and everyone else in the band is okay with it.


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## OmegaSlayer (May 28, 2014)

DLG said:


> it's just hard to comprehend why a band that had a sound all its own, literally a very specific and instantly recognizable sound, abandons it and starts trying to sound like something else that isn't original at all.
> 
> it's not even about the growls and the double bass, this song doesn't have any riffs that sound like opeth to me.



I take it further...Opeth don't do well this thing they attempt to do.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (May 28, 2014)

Well that was boring.


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## Triple7 (May 28, 2014)

DLG said:


> it's just hard to comprehend why a band that had a sound all its own, literally a very specific and instantly recognizable sound, abandons it and starts trying to sound like something else that isn't original at all.
> 
> it's not even about the growls and the double bass, *this song doesn't have any riffs that sound like opeth to me*.




I completely agree with this. I think there was one section towards the end that had a riff that sounded like it could have been from Opeth.


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## stevexc (May 28, 2014)

K I totally missed this track somebody link me

EDIT: Thanks dudes. I kinda don't like any of you now for showing me this. I'm gonna go be sad and listen to Black Rose Immortal, k?


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## wowspare (May 28, 2014)

Sounds just plain boring and half-assed


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## Cnev (May 28, 2014)

There is absolutely nothing in that leaked song that i find even remotely interesting or engaging and felt Akerfeldt was trying way too hard with the vocals. Super sadface.


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## liamh (May 28, 2014)

It's good. But it's not Opeth good. (which is exactly what I think of Heritage, though i prefer this to Heritage.)
I do love the soaring vocal melodies in the verses though


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## GiveUpGuitar (May 28, 2014)

From what I've heard behind the scenes, I was told to expect a more Opeth-oriented sound this time around, all while still keeping Heritage relative. What we got was Heritage 2.0, and the 2.0 doesn't even mean improvement - it means literally, number 2.

I thought Heritage should have been Mikael's solo project stuff. It was everything he wanted out of his own personal taste, and I strongly disagreed with it being dropped with the Opeth label. Don't get me wrong, for what its worth, its great music. But we can all agree it just isn't Opeth.

I was told this would be just like traditional Opeth, minus the growls. All I can agree with is "minus the growls." Then again, I am judging an entire album worth of work based on one song. Still hoping I can "wait and see."


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## ArtDecade (May 28, 2014)

To the people saying that its "good, but not great"... would you have listened all the way through if it wasn't Opeth? Just curious... Because I think a lot people would have turned it off and not thought twice about it otherwise.


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## Randy (May 28, 2014)

stevexc said:


> K I totally missed this track somebody link me



Here you go.

https://soundcloud.com/akerstache/akerstache-cusp-of-eternity

EDIT: Baybuh!


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## molsoncanadian (May 28, 2014)

Maybe I'm the minority here, but I thought Heritage was wicked. I loved how raw and vibe-y the whole album sounded. I think in the wake of where "metal" is today it's refreshing to hear this kind of material. Of course I love ALL of their previous work as well.

I enjoyed really early Veil of Maya, Periphery, AAL, but with how these bands tend to produce as of late (tight as shit, over processing, stitched together guitar parts, techno breakdowns ect ect) It's nice to hear some bands just getting back to basics, and going for it as naturally as possible, and jammin.


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## Entropy Prevails (May 28, 2014)

ArtDecade said:


> To the people saying that its "good, but not great"... would you have listened all the way through if it wasn't Opeth? Just curious... Because I think a lot people would have turned it off and not thought twice about it otherwise.



Yes, I agree. That´s exactly true in my case. Akerfeld seems to have lost his magic. I mean I enjoyed Watershed and Ghost Reveries a lot. Atonement being one of the songs that amaze me the most. But "Cusp of Eternity" has nothing going for it IMO. Sounds like a song I´ve heard a hundred times already.


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## stevexc (May 28, 2014)

molsoncanadian said:


> Maybe I'm the minority here, but I thought Heritage was wicked. I loved how raw and vibe-y the whole album sounded. I think in the wake of where "metal" is today it's refreshing to hear this kind of material. Of course I love ALL of their previous work as well.



I am a HUGE fan of bands doing something different and unique... the only problem with Heritage is that it was really only different and unique compared to Opeth's other albums. It really had nothing (for me, at least) that stood out and grabbed me. In fact the only riff I can remember from that album is the one from Devil's Orchard. That's just me, though.


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## blaaargh (May 28, 2014)

all yall complaining about the new song... is it really more disingenuous for akerfeldt to write what he feels like writing even though it sounds different, or to shit out another uninspired death metal album that doesnt sound any different than the last five? I haaaaaated watershed, for all the talk of heritage being boring its much more redeemable than that snoozeturd. they will never write another blackwater park, and that is a good thing.


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## asher (May 28, 2014)

stevexc said:


> I am a HUGE fan of bands doing something different and unique... the only problem with Heritage is that it was really only different and unique compared to Opeth's other albums. It really had nothing (for me, at least) that stood out and grabbed me. In fact the only riff I can remember from that album is the one from Devil's Orchard. That's just me, though.



If I were much more technically adept, I'd really like to tackle Devil's Orchard (well, the rest of the album too) in a high gain and maybe growls style to see what it sounds like.


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## Don Vito (May 28, 2014)

I didn't like this new song at all(sounds like cheesy dad rock), but Heritage is actually the only Opeth album that I paid attention to, although my favorite Opeth song is Harvest.

Shame cus' the album cover is kind of cool.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (May 28, 2014)

blaaargh said:


> all yall complaining about the new song... is it really more disingenuous for akerfeldt to write what he feels like writing even though it sounds different, or to shit out another uninspired death metal album that doesnt sound any different than the last five? I haaaaaated watershed, for all the talk of heritage being boring its much more redeemable than that snoozeturd. they will never write another blackwater park, and that is a good thing.



So either way, we'd have two boring albums. Got it.


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## ilyti (May 28, 2014)

Cool artwork, good song. I am pleased.


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## bythepainiseetheothers (May 28, 2014)

I love the single. Sounds like Rainbow. It's like an improved version of Heritage. Heritage meets Dammnation.


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## wankerness (May 28, 2014)

ArtDecade said:


> To the people saying that its "good, but not great"... would you have listened all the way through if it wasn't Opeth? Just curious... Because I think a lot people would have turned it off and not thought twice about it otherwise.



This was definitely the case, but I ended up kind of liking it by the end and glad I listened to the entire thing. The vocals sound like someone trying to do an impression of someone else, they sound really forced and unnatural. If I want scandinavian prog nerds trying to sound vaguely middle eastern I'll probably go back and listen to Tuonela or Elegy or the My Kantele EP, but this was a good alternative. It doesn't exactly sound like Amorphis did back then but it's the closest point of reference in my mind. Then again, it sure beats the snot out of anything Amorphis has released since about 2001. 

Also on the bright side, unlike the average track from Heritage, the entire thing sounds like a song instead of 3 minutes of riffs and 2 minutes of mellotron ambiance. I'll definitely check out the entire album.


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## wankerness (May 28, 2014)

blaaargh said:


> all yall complaining about the new song... is it really more disingenuous for akerfeldt to write what he feels like writing even though it sounds different, or to shit out another uninspired death metal album that doesnt sound any different than the last five? I haaaaaated watershed, for all the talk of heritage being boring its much more redeemable than that snoozeturd. they will never write another blackwater park, and that is a good thing.



Watershed has like, one good song on it, and that one happened to fit in well with the past catalog (Hessian Peel). The problem wasn't it sounded too much like the old albums, the problem was most of the songs sucked. If they released another blackwater park I'd be overjoyed. That album was also very much a retread of Still Life (which in turn was pretty damn similar to MAYH), it was just that the songs and riffs were so solid that it didn't matter. Heritage was a big mess that needed to be judiciously pruned. The new song is a step in the right direction.


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## blaaargh (May 28, 2014)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> So either way, we'd have two boring albums. Got it.



unfortunately yep. they kinda went to shit after lindgren left.

^wanker nailed it tho. cautiously anticipating the full album - if they can get this lineup to gel, it could lead to some good shit. will reserve judgement until I can hear it tho


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## Winspear (May 28, 2014)

Me and my friends all _love_ Watershed. I think it's unique, dark, and amazing. It was certainly a new stylistic move for them (I think they had 3 distinct sounds before Heritage) but just as good as any of their albums. Heritage was cool but not my thing. This new single is very nice, I like it. It gives me the same vibes as Watershed but more in the classic style of Heritage. Very good.


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## Icecold (May 28, 2014)

DLG said:


> it's just hard to comprehend why a band that had a sound all its own, literally a very specific and instantly recognizable sound, abandons it and starts trying to sound like something else that isn't original at all.
> 
> it's not even about the growls and the double bass, this song doesn't have any riffs that sound like opeth to me.



I had this exact same thought after I listened to the new single a second time after going back and visiting old Opeth albums to see whether or not it was just me. 

What made old Opeth great was that they were a great "Band". Peter Lindgren and Akerfeldt played off one another beautifully, and Martin Lopez was absolutely perfect for what Opeth was. When the band feel apart in 2007 its no surprise how Watershed and everything after barely even feels like Opeth, it just seems like Mikael and the Akerfeldts. Given that at the time the Roadrunner deal still had fresh ink on it, I could see why carrying on the name for the sake of Brand had to be done, but now this just isn't Opeth, sorry. Opeth was a band that built they own style and sound, was respected and well loved for it, this new Opeth is that crappy 70's Prog Group that got together after listening to waaaaay too many obscure records, and despite the talent of each individual record, pushes the gimmick above all else. 

Old Opeth was Substance over Style

New Opeth is Style over Substance. 

Now, you may look at this and go "Stop QQ'ing that they won't make Still Life again." I'm realistic about this and I will tell you with a straight face that Opeth in its current state won't make an old sounding album, not because they don't want to, not because Akerfeldt "Doesn't Feel Like It", it's because they can't. This current group has nowhere near the chemistry the old one did. I would love to hear what a modern Moonlapse Vertigo would sound like, because it would be a complete goddamn mess. I never understood why Mikael Akerfeldt has gone all in on Hero Worship, because what he has built is far better than what he is making tribute to. 

So this is the band we now have, If you dig it, Great! I don't mean that sarcastically, if you genuinely enjoy the music do not take my rant as me taste shaming. For me, I got 7 Good to Great albums and that is more than most bands can give me.


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## thevisi0nary (May 28, 2014)

Icecold said:


> I had this exact same thought after I listened to the new single a second time after going back and visiting old Opeth albums to see whether or not it was just me.
> 
> What made old Opeth great was that they were a great "Band". Peter Lindgren and Akerfeldt played off one another beautifully, and Martin Lopez was absolutely perfect for what Opeth was. When the band feel apart in 2007 its no surprise how Watershed and everything after barely even feels like Opeth, it just seems like Mikael and the Akerfeldts. Given that at the time the Roadrunner deal still had fresh ink on it, I could see why carrying on the name for the sake of Brand had to be done, but now this just isn't Opeth, sorry. Opeth was a band that built they own style and sound, was respected and well loved for it, this new Opeth is that crappy 70's Prog Group that got together after listening to waaaaay too many obscure records, and despite the talent of each individual record, pushes the gimmick above all else.
> 
> ...



I've read interviews where mikeal states Peter didn't add to song writing from still life on, so it's clear he add nothing to do with it. After damnation every cd had progressively more prog on it it's just what he wants to write. Weather people like it or not is a different story.


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## Icecold (May 28, 2014)

thevisi0nary said:


> I've read interviews where mikeal states Peter didn't add to song writing from still life on, so it's clear he add nothing to do with it. After damnation every cd had progressively more prog on it it's just what he wants to write. Weather people like it or not is a different story.




Adding songs and musician chemistry are two different things. Musicians aren't robots who you just put music in front of and they play perfectly, they add and contribute within the song, even if they are just playing. That is missing element is extremely noticeable from Watershed on.


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## jwade (May 28, 2014)

I dig the new song. It's got a nice Watershed/Led Zep vibe to it. Can't wait to hear the album now, if that song is an indication of the rest of the album, this will be a great autumn record. Stoked!


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## chopeth (May 29, 2014)

Stuff from Mike on the new album:

* The album name "Pale Communion" is a cryptic reference to hard times that Mike feels he has fallen upon lately. Mike says he has been feeling down as of late and the sound on the record is a reflection of that. If he wouldn't have been feeling down it would have sounded differently.

* The album is "exceptionally" dark.

* The interviewer claims that Mike stated that "Badminton became my way out of depression" but it didn't record on the tape that was used for the interview.

* Rockfield studios was awesome, everyone had their own room and Jacuzzi. 

* In the song "Moon above, Sun below", the owner of the studio Kingsley Ward is babbling stuff.

* Mike asked Kingsley if he remembers Judas Priest "Sad wings of Destiny" which was recorded there in 1976, to which he replied "No." and Mike was like...."damn...".  

* Mike was boozing pretty hard during the recording of the album.

* Mike talks about Candlemass and that a riff in "Moon above, sun below" would appeal to Leffe Edling from Candlemass. "Leffe will like this", says Mike. And he was right, when he played the track to Leffe he did like it. "Ooooh, what a cool riff!". Mike thinks many old-school Opeth fans will like it. 

* Also in "Moon above, sun below" the interviewer asks why the amazing vocals only start 9 minutes in to the song?! This song is a power metal tune according to Mike. 

* Apparently there is a similar part in "Voice of Treason" where Mike was hesitant to include at all. Mike says it would sound "too simple to be me" but included them anyway, which the interviewer thinks was a great idea since they sound amazing. Mike says he listened to a band called "Life" and stole some stuff (riffs/vocal line?) for these parts. Mike also says the parts sound like Blind Guardian and Running Wild and the interviewer strongly disagrees. When Mike presented these parts to the band he was like "I apologize for this but I really like it". 

* Mike feels that the song "River" will become the "most hated" song on the album. The band referred to it as the "Countrysong" during the recording. 

* "Elysian Woes" is sad ballad, singer/songwriter style. 

* "Faith in Others" is the Magnum Opus of the record according to the interviewer. A kind of "Stairway to Heaven". 

* Most people close to Mike think that "Cusp of Eternity" should be the first track on the record. 

* "Cusp of Eternity" had the working title of "Zep" since it sounded like "Immigrant Song", especially the drums. Mike says it's very "direct" for being an Opeth song. An older metal song, really. 

* "Voice of Treason" has an odd background. Apparently, Mike wrote a score to a film for a friend using an alias. Mike then "stole" a lot of the music that he wrote and made a song out of it (Voice of Treason). That's why it has a large string section in it the resembles the strings in Deep Purple's "Knocking at your back door". 

* The article includes a "scoop"! When "Still Life" was re-mastered in 2008, Jens Bogren couldn't find the acoustic guitars on any old tapes and Mike did not have them. So Mike had to re-record all the acoustic guitars for the remastered surround sound version. Mike says "I haven't played these ....ing songs since 1999, so I was worried that people would tell the difference".


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## asher (May 29, 2014)

Mid-Life Crisis Mike.


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## wankerness (May 29, 2014)

chopeth said:


> * The article includes a "scoop"! When "Still Life" was re-mastered in 2008, Jens Bogren couldn't find the acoustic guitars on any old tapes and Mike did not have them. So Mike had to re-record all the acoustic guitars for the remastered surround sound version. Mike says "I haven't played these ....ing songs since 1999, so I was worried that people would tell the difference".



That's really interesting. I'll have to listen to them side by side.


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## Esp Griffyn (May 29, 2014)

I like the artwork, the song sucks though, but given what Akerfeldt has said in previous months, I was expecting the album to be a blower, not a grower so I'm not surprised.


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## Opion (May 29, 2014)

wankerness said:


> That's really interesting. I'll have to listen to them side by side.



I KNEW IT! I had a slight feeling that the parts were slightly re-recorded, either that or the re-mastering made them sound completely fresh. That's hilarious.


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## Underworld (May 29, 2014)

Not impressed. Akerfeltd sounds like he is overdoing it, riffs are boring and repetitive. Gonna listen to My Arms Your Hearse to clear my head now.


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## oompa (May 29, 2014)

DLG said:


> it's just hard to comprehend why a band that had a sound all its own, literally a very specific and instantly recognizable sound, abandons it and starts trying to sound like something else that isn't original at all.
> 
> it's not even about the growls and the double bass, this song doesn't have any riffs that sound like opeth to me.



I mean, I think it is fine that they grow older and their own taste/preferences change and so on, and yeah they can keep playing all they want and all that jazz.

Opeth nowdays try to sound like 70's rock and we aaaaall know 70's rock is dead. It can't be done anymore, leave it where it is it was a beautiful thing. It is the exact same thing with grunge, and some would argue about other genres as well, disco, 80's attitude pop etc. (hip hop is dead?).

It is not me saying "no good sir you can not play what you want" it is me saying "you can't do what you want with opeth because the only reason opeth ever was something is because of the fans or you'd still be in a garage somewhere - respect it and just change the name and everybody wins" 

Is my 2 cents that is =D still love the man (Åkerfeldt) ofc.


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## ghost2II2 (May 29, 2014)

A few things:

1. Pleas release an album along the lines of Heritage only better, as to weed out all the Death Metal idiots that haven't seen this shift in musical direction coming over the last 12 years. 

2. Watershed was a ....ing great album. One of their best better albums since Blackwater Park. However, people need to hop of Blackwater Parks dick and give their assholes a bit of a respite. Ghost Reveries ....ing destroyed Blackwater!

3. I'm going to go into this album as I have every one since Still life...with an open mind. If I could ask just one thing of Mikael? Please stop lifting Reznor lyrics? That cheesy move ruined The Devils Orchard for me. To this day, I hit skip on track one 10 out of 10 times.


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## Dyingsea (May 29, 2014)

Man that was tough to listen to. What the heck happened to Mikes clean voice? It used to be so awesome. He's got this weird enunciation thing on now.


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## Richie666 (May 29, 2014)

I really wish they continued in the vein of Watershed. That was a phenomenal album with a very unique, yet undoubtedly Opeth sound.

If this song weren't Opeth I would hardly give it a second chance. It's just so... placid and sterile compared to their old stuff. The solo section is sweet though.

Too bad really. I recently went and listened to all their albums after taking an extended break from them and they're ....ing amazing records. Legendary stuff.


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## wankerness (May 29, 2014)

Dyingsea said:


> Man that was tough to listen to. What the heck happened to Mikes clean voice? It used to be so awesome. He's got this weird enunciation thing on now.



It sounds like he's just trying too hard to sound like someone else, like he's trying to inject more power into his voice than he actually is capable of doing. I don't know exactly how to describe it but I don't like the vocals on this song much at all.

I think the style of this song is fine. It reminds me of something like Amorphis's "Brother Slayer" which is a completely awesome song. It just isn't as memorable as that particular song. But I mean, stuff like that song proves that you can get real life and great material out of totally retro song parts, that song is drowned in mellotron and 70s style noises but it's totally awesome. If the whole album was in this style (it sounds from articles and interviews posted here that it isn't), that would be fine cause I'm sure they'd do some interesting stuff with it somewhere.


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## ghost2II2 (Jun 1, 2014)

I like the song. Is it brilliant? No. But I like the vocals, I like the melody line, and I like the music, 100 times more than The Devils Orchard. I would confidently say that it's a good tune.


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## Korbain (Jun 2, 2014)

just found it on youtube. Cusp of eternity? im digging it...its dark and groovy. I don't get whats wrong with his vocals? He's always done bits of melodic vocal stuff, this is just a whole song of it  

Can't wait for the rest of it! *shakes in excitement*


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## rowanr (Jun 2, 2014)

Terrible song. They should release this shit under an alternative band name and keep the Opeth name for the heavy stuff.


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## AngstRiddenDreams (Jun 2, 2014)

Cusp of Eternity is sick. So damn groovy!


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## Mprinsje (Jun 2, 2014)

That new song bored me to be honest. The guitars also sound really wooly, missing bite or something.


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## ghost2II2 (Jun 2, 2014)

rowanr said:


> Terrible song. They should release this shit under an alternative band name and keep the Opeth name for the heavy stuff.



Mikael probably thinks you should go .... yourself, but he's not posting it on a forum. He's quietly keeping it to himself. I'm sure if you look REAL close, there is a lesson in here somewhere.


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## Thorerges (Jun 3, 2014)

I kinda like the song, definitely dig the vocals and the guitar solo. 

I honestly miss the old Opeth, not necessarily the brutal stuff but that intensity they had even on their 'Damnation' record. However, this sounds a lot more promising than the disaster known as Heritage.


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## rifft (Jun 3, 2014)

Here's Opeth's official version/vid of the new song

Opeth - Cusp of Eternity (OFFICIAL) on Vimeo


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## littledoc (Jun 3, 2014)

Trying to avoid the extremes here, I like the song... but, like most of Heritage, it doesn't capture the essence of why I personally love Opeth.

I love Opeth because of the way they interwove the most extreme metal with classical, folk, and prog-rock influences... sometimes all over the course of the same 12-minute song. 

I like that Opeth does softer stuff. I loved Damnation and "Isolation Years" is one of my favorite songs ever. But that softer material was always countered by the fact that other songs on the album got brutally intense. They were a band of contrasts, and it was impossible to predict what the next song on the album would sound like as you listened to it for the first time.

So, the new song is fine. I don't love it, but I don't think it's sucky or repetitive or whatever. Mainly, it just doesn't speak to me the way their older material did. And frankly, I don't get why some people seem to take personal offense to fans of the heavier side of Opeth being disappointed. Sure, Opeth can take whatever direction they want. But given that they started as a metal band, and were a metal band for over 15 years, and built their fan following in the metal scene, they shouldn't be surprised if completely abandoning that element of their music leaves lots of longtime fans disappointed.


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## jahosy (Jun 3, 2014)

Reminds me of Amorphis's 'Elegy'. 

Love it.


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## Garband (Jun 3, 2014)

I'm so conflicted. I don't really find the music bad. But it's definitely not Opeth.

I understand that Opeth's sound evolved over time. I've seen Opeth every time they come nearby, and Mikael has even spoken directly about how they don't keep the same sound over the course of albums. They may do 1 or 2 in a "genre", then change, which is evident from their discography.

The problem is that Opeth had a style.. Not a genre. No matter what they were doing, they had the same stylistic nuances. Progressive not for the sake of progressive.. Heavy even when soft.. They effortlessly wove threads from all of their musical backgrounds whether it be folk, jazz, metal, whatever, into one cohesive tapestry of badassness.

Now it just sounds like Steve Wilson has some blackmail on Mikael, and had Akerfeldt promise to sound more like Porcupine Tree forever.. Or maybe they did some acid together and decided this was the type of music to create. I dunno, but ever since Storm Corrosion, Wilson has been in our face via Mikael.

I liked Heritage, and I like this song. But it's not Opeth, and that really worries me. When I saw they signed onto Roadrunner I was scared for what was coming because of Dream Theater. Watershed reassured me, but Heritage and now Cusp have me worried.. Perhaps that's why Per left..

I wouldn't care if Mikael started playing only banjo, Mendez on a stick with a giant rubber band, Axenrot on pots and pans, Akesson on a mandolin, and this Svalberg guy on a xylophone.. As long as I could have the songwriting back. Which won't come.

Damn I'm sad. I guess I'm going to have to retire my Opeth belt buckle.


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## OmegaSlayer (Jun 3, 2014)

jahosy said:


> Reminds me of Amorphis's 'Elegy'.
> 
> Love it.



He could only wish to sound like such a masterpiece and game changer.


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## stevexc (Jun 3, 2014)

Garband said:


> Damn I'm sad. I guess I'm going to have to retire my Opeth belt buckle.



Definitely, because one new song that doesn't sound like what you want Opeth to sound like invalidates their entire back catalogue.


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## sakeido (Jun 3, 2014)

New song sounds really awesome. Love it. Wasn't a big Heritage fan but it sounds like they refined that style. The mix is so tasty... that drum sound is great.


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## ilyti (Jun 3, 2014)

Every album they manage to surprise me and yet I still end up thinking it was the natural turn for them to take. I'm digging this song more and more. It is so groovy, energetic, and the solo is straight out of Al di Meola. Can't wait to hear the rest of this. My own opinion aside, I can understand why it is not everyone's cup of Glögg. They seem to favour one feel/style for entire songs, rather than the sudden changes and genre mixing they are known for. I don't know if that's a bad thing, because it helps the songs stand alone and apart from other songs on the same album. I love Morningrise, but is there really a difference in sentiment/mood between any of the songs? I don't think so. They all have heavy parts and soft parts, the only difference being _how_ heavy/soft and for how long. The newer stuff has many more colours to it I think.


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## DLG (Jun 4, 2014)

hmmmmm


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## Goro923 (Jun 4, 2014)

I like it. It seems more focused than anything on Heritage. It doesn't overwhelm me with emotions like virtually every time I listen to Still Life, but I doubt anything ever will.


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## Jason2112 (Jun 4, 2014)

I really dig it. It captures the sound and feel of early 80s hard rock really well, which is what Mikael said he set out to do. I can hear what others are saying about his vocals, he does sound like he's trying to sing in a range that he's not comfortable with. I don't know if that was intentional, but it's not bad (certainly better than I could do). I'm real excited to hear the rest of the new album.

I laugh at all the drama with what Opeth is doing these days. It's amazing how people get so sideways when a band changes direction, like it's a boyfriend/girlfriend leaving them for someone else. It's a friggin group of dudes who make music - music they want to make. The only people who are entitled to judge their music is the band itself. That goes for every band/artist. If you don't like the direction they're going, no one is gonna force you to listen to it, but what the band does today doesn't diminish anything they've done in the past. This all or nothing bullshit drama is comical.


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## stevexc (Jun 4, 2014)

So, an unnamed news source may have accidentally uploaded the wrong song under the name "Cusp of Eternity". Which people may or may not have quickly realized is not "Cusp of Eternity" but actually "Eternal Rains Will Come". This may or may not have been reuploaded to YouTube and removed, and then reuploaded to LiveLeak and removed.

The audio to said track may or may not bear some resemblance to this.

Which I'm actually enjoying. But it's very not metal and very prog rock. So don't expect Masters Apprentices.


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## littledoc (Jun 4, 2014)

Jason2112 said:


> If you don't like the direction they're going, no one is gonna force you to listen to it, but what the band does today doesn't diminish anything they've done in the past. This all or nothing bullshit drama is comical.



I'm baffled at why anyone would express disdain or incredulity at the idea that longtime fans would be disappointed when a band takes a radically different direction with their sound. Yeah, no one is being forced to listen to it, but no one is complaining about being forced to listen to it, nor is anyone saying that Opeth can't write whatever the hell music they want. People are expressing disappointment that key elements that fueled their love of the band for many years are pretty much gone entirely. 

I mean, let's say Born of Osiris becomes a country band with their next album. Yay for them, they've loved country music all these years and that's the genre they want to explore. Would you not understand fans' disappointment that the band is no longer playing the kind of music that got the fans hooked in the first place? Opeth's changes are obviously not that extreme, but a near-total abandonment of their metal elements is obviously going to disappoint fans who loved them at least in part for those elements of the music.


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## Jason2112 (Jun 4, 2014)

littledoc said:


> I'm baffled at why anyone would express disdain or incredulity at the idea that longtime fans would be disappointed when a band takes a radically different direction with their sound. Yeah, no one is being forced to listen to it, but no one is complaining about being forced to listen to it, nor is anyone saying that Opeth can't write whatever the hell music they want. People are expressing disappointment that key elements that fueled their love of the band for many years are pretty much gone entirely.
> 
> I mean, let's say Born of Osiris becomes a country band with their next album. Yay for them, they've loved country music all these years and that's the genre they want to explore. Would you not understand fans' disappointment that the band is no longer playing the kind of music that got the fans hooked in the first place? Opeth's changes are obviously not that extreme, but a near-total abandonment of their metal elements is obviously going to disappoint fans who loved them at least in part for those elements of the music.



My statement is for the attention-starved people who have said "that's it, Opeth is dead, I'm done with them". If you stop supporting a band because you don't like the direction their last album (or two) have gone, that's your choice and I won't judge you for it. But it's the same band that wrote/performed all of the older stuff that you really like, so you then need to ask yourself if all these years you've been supporting the band or supporting the music? If it's the band, then try to learn to grow/change with the band and wake up from your one-directional nap. If it's just the music, then it shouldn't matter what the band does going forward, all you cared about was a certain style of music that appealed to you in the first place.

This scenario has played out in the exact same way for a bunch of bands - Pink Floyd, Rush, Machine Head, Metallica.... and every time there's a change out come all the damned "Dooms Day" overreacting drama queens who say they've given up on the band and whatever nonsense. That's not giving up on the band, they never cared about the band, only the music. I get what you're saying, people get all passionate and wacky about bands, but sometimes people don't know how to separate the band from the music and which one it was they were passionate about.


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## Richie666 (Jun 4, 2014)

Garband said:


> Now it just sounds like Steve Wilson has some blackmail on Mikael, and had Akerfeldt promise to sound more like Porcupine Tree forever.. Or maybe they did some acid together and decided this was the type of music to create. I dunno, but ever since Storm Corrosion, Wilson has been in our face via Mikael.



I've seen this Steven Wilson argument presented a few times. It doesn't make sense though. Steven produced BWP, Deliverance and Damnation... produced as in he had a say in the songwriting and auxiliary elements to song. And those albums, particularly BWP are fantastic. He only mixed the new one. 

Also the last two Steven Wilson solo albums have been absolutely brilliant while Opeth is unfortunately becoming mediocre. So I don't think it has anything to do with him. 

BTW, I really dig Storm Corrosion and I think it's the best thing Mikael has been involved with since Watershed.


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## tedtan (Jun 4, 2014)

Jason2112 said:


> but sometimes people don't know how to separate the band from the music and which one it was they were passionate about.



Why would someone be passionate about a bunch of guys they don't even know if not for the music (or whatever else the group brings to the table)? Without the music, they're just another bunch of anonymous guys you don't know.


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## Richie666 (Jun 4, 2014)

Just heard the lead track off the album. Now that is some sweet progrock! Still love old Opeth more, but it's a damn good song. Something interesting I noticed to is that Mendez is credited with songwriting on the album. I don't think we've seen that before.

Also, Lopez is on the album?!


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## Jason2112 (Jun 4, 2014)

tedtan said:


> Why would someone be passionate about a bunch of guys they don't even know if not for the music (or whatever else the group brings to the table)? Without the music, they're just another bunch of anonymous guys you don't know.



People do.


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## Mprinsje (Jun 4, 2014)

i'm wondering what the record after this will bring us. First 70's prog rock, now 80's hard rock. Will the next thing be 90's grunge? that'd be something.


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## tedtan (Jun 4, 2014)

Mprinsje said:


> i'm wondering what the record after this will bring us. First 70's prog rock, now 80's hard rock. Will the next thing be 90's grunge? that'd be something.


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## bigswifty (Jun 4, 2014)

stevexc said:


> So, an unnamed news source may have accidentally uploaded the wrong song under the name "Cusp of Eternity". Which people may or may not have quickly realized is not "Cusp of Eternity" but actually "Eternal Rains Will Come". This may or may not have been reuploaded to YouTube and removed, and then reuploaded to LiveLeak and removed.
> 
> The audio to said track may or may not bear some resemblance to this.
> 
> Which I'm actually enjoying. But it's very not metal and very prog rock. So don't expect Masters Apprentices.



I enjoy Heritage, but not as much as past Opeth (Still Life, BWP, Ghost Reveries, Damnation are my favs). 

Cusp of Eternity was okay. Nothing too special. Some cool transitions, overall just a decent track.

THIS however, is pretty awesome! I really hope that the album leans more toward this style, because obviously they have moved away from death metal. I would be okay with an album of this type of prog rock, because it feels like a successor to Heritage (better in many ways) and it carries melody and structure. Thanks for that!


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## Opion (Jun 5, 2014)

I've voiced my opinion about Opeth's radical change in style before, so none of that needs repeating; this album? I know i'm going to love it, because hell, it's Opeth - sure they change, but every band does. But they have that particular sound & aesthetic that is still recognizable as them. This new lead track i'm hearing is pretty awesome - I think this album is going to be a lot more forward and rhythm driven, which is promising after Heritage. Don't get me wrong, that album had its cool moments, but I definitely feel there was a transition going on in the songwriting, and it's not as focused as previous albums.

Color me interested, and my interest piqued...this is gonna be an interesting one for sure!


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## musicaldeath (Jun 5, 2014)

I was never a die hard Opeth fan. I enjoyed Ghost Reveries, Watershed and some of the songs on Heritage. This song was okay. But I feel the same way about this as I do new Dream Theater (and i was a huge DT fan from pretty much SC backwards). It's okay. It doesn't stick with me, and it's almost entirely forgettable. Which is sad.


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## wankerness (Jun 5, 2014)

stevexc said:


> So, an unnamed news source may have accidentally uploaded the wrong song under the name "Cusp of Eternity". Which people may or may not have quickly realized is not "Cusp of Eternity" but actually "Eternal Rains Will Come". This may or may not have been reuploaded to YouTube and removed, and then reuploaded to LiveLeak and removed.
> 
> The audio to said track may or may not bear some resemblance to this.
> 
> Which I'm actually enjoying. But it's very not metal and very prog rock. So don't expect Masters Apprentices.



As far as I can tell, what you just said is someone tried to upload Cusp of Eternity and accidentally uploaded Eternal Rains May Come, and despite the best efforts to have it removed from the internet, it's still there at that link?

I don't really like it but it's better than most of the stuff on Heritage. The vocals actually sound good here, unlike the previous song, but I like everything else about that song more than this one. The sound is so 70s it's ridiculous, especially that drum sound.


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## wankerness (Jun 5, 2014)

Jason2112 said:


> People do.



What?


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## Dwellingers (Jun 6, 2014)

Really excited!


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## I Voyager (Jun 6, 2014)

Being someone who grew up on Deep Purple/Rainbow/70's hard/prog rock, I love the direction they've taken since Heritage. The Blackmore influence is definitely evident and I love it. But I will say I feel the main vocal lines in "Cusp" sounded a little odd to me. Definitely not Mikael's best performance, but I'll hold my judgement until I hear the rest of the album.


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## GiveUpGuitar (Jun 6, 2014)

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but my friend just sent me this;



> Current Opeth drummer Martin Axenrot recently confirmed in an interview with swedishrock.com that (Martin) Lopez recorded the drum tracks for the songs "Goblin" and "Voice of Treason" for Opeth's forthcoming album "Pale Communion," making this his first performance with the band since 2006.


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## rubbieh (Jun 6, 2014)

Cusp was OK, I've warmed up to it since the first listen through. That second song sounded alot better to me. Exciting news about Lopez!


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## wankerness (Jun 6, 2014)

rubbieh said:


> Cusp was OK, I've warmed up to it since the first listen through. That second song sounded alot better to me. Exciting news about Lopez!



Yeah, bigtime. I really didn't like the drumming on Watershed compared to past albums. I'm not a drummer so I can't explain what the difference was, but it was definitely lacking something compared to Lopez's stuff.


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## GiveUpGuitar (Jun 6, 2014)

wankerness said:


> Yeah, bigtime. I really didn't like the drumming on Watershed compared to past albums. I'm not a drummer so I can't explain what the difference was, but it was definitely lacking something compared to Lopez's stuff.



I love Axe for what he's worth, but Lopez had a perpetual groove that held everything together. Lopez practically has a patent on his 6/8 style. Ding ding dih-dih dingding ding, if you will


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## Xaios (Jun 8, 2014)

Finally got around to listening to the new song. I actually like it a *hell* of a lot more than anything on Heritage, but it sounds like Mikael's been listening to The Tea Party lately.


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## stevexc (Jun 8, 2014)

Ain't nothing wrong with some more Tea Party


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## naw38 (Jun 8, 2014)

Never heard of Tea Party before. That song was pretty fantastic.


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## Jarmake (Jun 9, 2014)

This newer song was at least 12 times better than cusp of eternity was. Some really nice melodies there and Åkerfeldt's vocals were much better. Not sounding like angry cat anymore. I even heard a bit of the opeth that I have loved for a long long time now.

I'm really waiting to hear some Lopez's drumming, since he was a shitton better than Axe ever will be. Lopez actually had some dynamics in his playing, and he could go from patting a kitten to slaughtering a brachiosaur with a shovel with ease. Somehow Axe seems to have just the one good gear in his playing and that's banging full on. I'm missing the dynamics from Lopez.


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## Korbain (Jun 9, 2014)

Lopez was amazing, but why does everyone think axe is so shit? He's a pretty talented drummer, he's came in at a different time of opeth's career and fits in perfectly, so i think haha

He has plenty of dynamics in his playing. I'm not ripping on lopez in any way either, he rocks


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## ilyti (Jun 9, 2014)

Jarmake said:


> I'm really waiting to hear some Lopez's drumming, since he was a shitton better than Axe ever will be. Lopez actually had some dynamics in his playing, and he could go from patting a kitten to slaughtering a brachiosaur with a shovel with ease. Somehow Axe seems to have just the one good gear in his playing and that's banging full on. I'm missing the dynamics from Lopez.


Heritage, all of it. To all of that. I really don't think there's anything Lopez did that Axe can't do, but its still kinda cool to see them working together again.


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## Jarmake (Jun 9, 2014)

I don't mean to rip axe. I just like Lopez a helluva lot better. Didn't like Axe live and I still stand by my opinion of Lopez being much more dynamic player.


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## rubbieh (Jun 9, 2014)

Concerning Opeth drummers: 
I come primarily from a drumming background, picked up guitar as a second instrument. When I first started drums at age 13 (11 years ago), I studied Lopez' playing religiously and many of my "goals" that I set for myself were mastering Opeth various songs. To put it bluntly, Lopez oozes groove and creativity that I just don't hear from Axe. He has a very unique and instantly recognizable style, with a distinct latin flavor. His utilization of shuffles and syncopation require great limb independence, if you don't get the subtle dynamics right and lock into the groove then the beat will sound like shit. Learning from Lopez definitely made me into a better, more well-rounded drummer in the long run.

Axe, while he is a great drummer, is nowhere near as unique and sounds a lot more robotic. I'd be willing to bet that 10/10 experienced drummers would agree. Axe is the better "metal" drummer in my opinion, which is ironic considering the direction Opeth has taken with the last two records.

I like them both, but Lopez will always get my vote without second thought.


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## ilyti (Jun 9, 2014)

Xaios said:


> Finally got around to listening to the new song. I actually like it a *hell* of a lot more than anything on Heritage, but it sounds like Mikael's been listening to The Tea Party lately.


I'm not hearing that at all.

I hear a lot of 70s prog... and I don't mean a 90s band doing their best to sound like the Doors. 

This has a lot of dynamics, a lot more even than Cusp of Eternity, and I am really liking it. I'm not sure what I think about the multiple vocal track, but the rest of it definitely still sounds like Opeth to me.


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## jephjacques (Jun 9, 2014)

I, too, have strong opinions regarding this song


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## Don Vito (Jun 9, 2014)

Don Vito said:


> I didn't like this new song at all(sounds like cheesy dad rock), but Heritage is actually the only Opeth album that I paid attention to, although my favorite Opeth song is Harvest.
> 
> Shame cus' the album cover is kind of cool.


The song I was listening to wasn't even Opeth, just one of those fake Youtube leaked songs from another band. The actual song is alright.


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## AngstRiddenDreams (Jun 9, 2014)

The link to that song on SoundCloud is pretty awesome. Hot damn. Definitely sounds like Opeth to me. Groovy groove at 5:30 is groovy.


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## tacotiklah (Jun 14, 2014)

rubbieh said:


> Concerning Opeth drummers:
> I come primarily from a drumming background, picked up guitar as a second instrument. When I first started drums at age 13 (11 years ago), I studied Lopez' playing religiously and many of my "goals" that I set for myself were mastering Opeth various songs. To put it bluntly, Lopez oozes groove and creativity that I just don't hear from Axe. He has a very unique and instantly recognizable style, with a distinct latin flavor. His utilization of shuffles and syncopation require great limb independence, if you don't get the subtle dynamics right and lock into the groove then the beat will sound like shit. Learning from Lopez definitely made me into a better, more well-rounded drummer in the long run.
> 
> Axe, while he is a great drummer, is nowhere near as unique and sounds a lot more robotic. I'd be willing to bet that 10/10 experienced drummers would agree. Axe is the better "metal" drummer in my opinion, which is ironic considering the direction Opeth has taken with the last two records.
> ...




I'm not a drummer, but I've been around enough drummers long enough to get what you're saying and agree fully. 
Lopez had a mastery of dynamics that sounded genuine and fit perfectly with what Opeth was doing. Axe is an amazing drummer and has never disappointed me both on albums or when I've seen Opeth live, but his style is much more metal oriented. His style sounds way more at home with Bloodbath than what Opeth has been doing as of late. Axe can copy pretty much anything Lopez did flawlessly, but copying and creating are different matters altogether. Basically Lopez is a phenomenal prog drummer and Axe is a fantastic metal drummer. Two different styles completely, and it seems almost like Mike felt he had to get Lopez in on some songs because he needed that particular skill set to achieve what he was aiming for in the songwriting.


As for the new song, I don't hate it but I'm also not thrilled about it either. The beginning of the song bores me, but it seems to pick up from the solo on to the ending. 
I agree with the band on this one, it should be an opener for the album. It sounds like it is building up to something, which makes me very curious to hear how the next track will sound. So it does build some interest, but my worry is that this is going to be Heritage 2.0 and that distinct Opeth sound is lost forever.

Regarding what I mean on a "distinct Opeth sound"...
I love their heavy stuff, I love their soft stuff, and I love everything in between. Despite all my meathead metal love, this band quickly became my all time favorite band for two reasons.
1.) They are diverse to the point that they always leave you guessing what they're going to do next. They can play death metal, roll into some jazz, throw some proggy funk stuff in there, and fade out on acoustic 70's rock; often all within the same song and the songwriting was so amazing that they made the transition through all of those genres seemlessly. It's like they didn't even really have to try. It just came naturally to them. I see that as the pinnacle of musicianship.
2.) No matter what they played, they always had a slightly dark undertone to it that I considered a "distinct Opeth sound". Even songs like Windowpane and To Rid the Disease had it. Hell, Coil had it on Watershed. No matter what changes and styles they switched up to, you ALWAYS knew it was Opeth. That sound was kinda somber and ethereal and it always created intense emotions for me. It made me feel something. 

From Heritage on, it's like that feeling is gone. I think if Opeth did only metal stuff, I'd be disappointed too. I think the 70s prog thing is sitting too prevalently and everything else is getting neglected too much. It's great the Mike is really digging 70s prog and what not, but it's not the end all, be all of music either. Embrace all of your influences, not just the one that appeals to you most at the current moment.

Because I'm a whore for Opeth, I'll definitely get the new album regardless. But unlike with other albums where I was practically foaming at the mouth to get my hands on it, this one I'm walking into with some reservations. That makes me sad to even type, but I'm being honest.

I'm really hoping that I'm completely wrong here and that the rest of the album is what Heritage should have been and that clean vox or not, the new album completely slays.


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## Korbain (Jun 16, 2014)

tacotiklah said:


> As for the new song, I don't hate it but I'm also not thrilled about it either. The beginning of the song bores me, but it seems to pick up from the solo on to the ending.
> I agree with the band on this one, it should be an opener for the album. It sounds like it is building up to something, which makes me very curious to hear how the next track will sound.




I got that sorta vibe from the song as well, it really did pick up and get crazier/more technical about half way though. 

Curious to see where the rest of the album goes 

Be awsome to hear Lopez on the drums for a few songs as well


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## Tang (Jul 17, 2014)

It's out and it's... good!

Looking forward to everyone's opinions.


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## Korbain (Jul 17, 2014)

Tang said:


> It's out and it's... good!
> 
> Looking forward to everyone's opinions.



It's out?! where :O i thought it wasn't out till like mid next month?


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## Tang (Jul 17, 2014)

Korbain said:


> It's out?! where :O i thought it wasn't out till like mid next month?



The usual places. 

Yes.


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## Forkface (Jul 17, 2014)

Tang said:


> The usual places.



You kinda should remove the second sentence of your post.


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## Kwirk (Jul 17, 2014)

Tang said:


> It's out and it's... good!
> 
> Looking forward to everyone's opinions.


Moon Above, Sun Below is a really good track. That is all.

That is all as in I haven't really listened to any of the other songs yet.


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## Korbain (Jul 17, 2014)

Forkface said:


> You kinda should remove the second sentence of your post.



agreed. quick smart lol save yourself! 

.... i thought they had officially released it early, i'll end up buying it as i always do so i guess it can't help to have a sneak peak of the album!


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## bigswifty (Jul 17, 2014)

I will listen now. And later.

And buy all the merch. And the book.


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## Kwirk (Jul 17, 2014)

Kwirk said:


> Moon Above, Sun Below is a really good track. That is all.
> 
> That is all as in I haven't really listened to any of the other songs yet.


Okay well I've given it a spin and Moon Above is easily still the best track. So much classic Opeth sound in it.


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## Jarmake (Jul 17, 2014)

This is so much better than heritage. Like a fuggin' miles ahead of heritage better.

There's some really great stuff and i've only listened once. River is quite nice song and that geetar solo makes me a bit hard. So mellow and simple, but effective. Got to put this on a usb stick and listen on my holiday trip.

There's some ghost reveries vibes with all those keyboards and crunchy guitars. And that is not a bad thing at all, I personally love ghost reveries' music and sounds.


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## Adam Of Angels (Jul 17, 2014)

I'm waiting to hear what you guys have to say about it.. I will buy it either way, but I might listen to it if you guys keep raving.

Damnit, I love Opeth.


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## wankerness (Jul 17, 2014)

I didn't dislike it but it didn't really get my attention either. I'll have to listen to it again. It's certainly a LOT better than Heritage cause all of the songs sound like they were fully written instead of 1/2 a song and 1/2 ambient noises. There are some flashes of classic Opeth all over the place, ex, there's a section in "River" which sounds very much like the "searching my way to perplexion" section of "Godhead's Lament," and there's a great climax in "Voices of Treason," but yeah, if it wasn't for the Opeth name I'm not totally sure that I would be giving this a second listen.


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## jwade (Jul 17, 2014)

By the sixth track, I was itching to listen to *anything* else. Cusp of Eternity was good, but everything else is just...so boring. It's like listening to elevator music. I guess one positive aspect is that I don't have to use up any additional space on my ipod for this and Heritage


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## Icecold (Jul 17, 2014)

Other than cusp of Eternity this album is much much better than Heritage from what I have heard so far. Good to hear Mikeal play some of his great leads again. This album sounds like Ghost Reveries except a lack of growls and heavy distortion has been replaced with a Moog.


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## Jarmake (Jul 18, 2014)

Now listened this for about four times and my excitement has toned down quite a bit. There's still some mighty fine moments, which reminds me of oldy-but-goldy-opeth, but that's it. Theres too much of the same stuff as why heritage wasn't good album to me. It's still a fockton better than heritage, but it doesn't come even close to those classic opeth albums, no matter how much ghost reveries-vibes it sends down my ears.

This might be a grower over the months, but I doubt it. And I am going to listen more, that's for sure, but I'm definitely not going to buy a extrahypercollectorsedition of this.

On the funny side... I tried to listen to this while being high as a kite, since most music I listen to gets so many new levels and meanings when high. I had to shut it down on track three. It was just annoying me too much somehow. Switched the music to Type O and eargasmed 'till I fell asleep.


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## naw38 (Jul 18, 2014)

Halfway through River right now. I'm loving this album. It's certainly more solid than Heritage, in that there's a lot less meandering, and there's heaps of classic old school "foresty" Opeth parts that Heritage did not have.


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## Korbain (Jul 18, 2014)

I'm about to listen to it. I personally loved heritage, so i'm guessing i'll enjoy this lol I find some opeth albums do need a few listens to sort of understand and accept, so if you are hating it don't give up on it!


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## wankerness (Jul 18, 2014)

I listened to it again. I liked it slightly more than first listen, until Still Life came on immediately after it (I was filtering my library for Opeth and that was next in alpha order) and every song on that album was like x10000 with so much more stuff going on chordally and it just made me wonder why I'd spend my Opeth time listening to this new stuff when I could just go to their back catalog and get way more enjoyment.  I'll give it a few more listens anyway but yeah, going back to the classic stuff right after it was really jarring.


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## DXL (Jul 18, 2014)

wankerness said:


> I listened to it again. I liked it slightly more than first listen, until Still Life came on immediately after it (I was filtering my library for Opeth and that was next in alpha order) and every song on that album was like x10000 with so much more stuff going on chordally and it just made me wonder why I'd spend my Opeth time listening to this new stuff when I could just go to their back catalog and get way more enjoyment.  I'll give it a few more listens anyway but yeah, going back to the classic stuff right after it was really jarring.



The acoustic parts in Moon Above, Sun Below do remind me of their early acoustic refrains, although the non-acoustic parts of that song are kind of a disappointment.

Actually this album has a couple songs that could just be absolute masterpieces...if they didn't break into obnoxious prog stuff with cheesy keyboards. When I was listening to River I was blown away, I thought i may have been listening to one of the best Opeth songs yet. But then it just breaks into something you'd hear off of a Kansas or Rush album and ruins it. Elysian Woes though was an absolute masterpiece, definitely my favorite off the album.


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## Korbain (Jul 19, 2014)

DXL said:


> The acoustic parts in Moon Above, Sun Below do remind me of their early acoustic refrains, although the non-acoustic parts of that song are kind of a disappointment.
> 
> Actually this album has a couple songs that could just be absolute masterpieces...if they didn't break into obnoxious prog stuff with cheesy keyboards. When I was listening to River I was blown away, I thought i may have been listening to one of the best Opeth songs yet. But then it just breaks into something you'd hear off of a Kansas or Rush album and ruins it. Elysian Woes though was an absolute masterpiece, definitely my favorite off the album.



I've only listened to it once, but i agree. The synth/keyboard stuff sounds pretty much exactly like the stuff of heritage. like the same samples used, which is fine i guess.

But it sounds like a fresh album, but when the keys come in i'm just like hang on thats the exact stuff we heard on heritage. I love heritage, but yeah, i find some of the synth stuff really doesn't fit well. 

It's a great album, like i really enjoyed it first listen, and think the more i listen to it the more i will love it. I just need to set some time to really sit down and absorb it. It's one of those albums where each song sort of connects on to the previous, its not just an album with a bunch of songs (if that makes sense )

Can't wait for it to be properly released and listen to it in higher quality. Unless the mix is a bit of on my sound set up on my pc, it just doesn't seem mixed how i expected it too  probably a fault on my behalf


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## Petef2007 (Jul 20, 2014)

........Nope, not enjoying this. 

The mix is weird. Mikes vocals just kinda sit on top of everything, almost like they were recorded after everything else was already mixed and they just left them as they were going in. 

The acoustic bits are quite nice, and a lot of the solos have an older, Peter Lindgren-esque vibe to them, but they're kinda sandwiched inbetween meandering, dull prog rock.

Cusp of Eternity is quite good I must admit, some pretty haunting stuff going off in that one. Everything seems to last too long though. Moon Above Sun Below bored me rigid. 

Don't get me wrong, i'm not one of the people who are baying and demanding that Opeth play death metal again, but if you're gonna do prog rock, at least make it interesting. Don't just do acoustic chordwork with creepy hammond organs and 70s sounding riffs for 10 minutes.


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## wankerness (Jul 21, 2014)

Petef2007 said:


> ........Nope, not enjoying this.
> 
> *The mix is weird. Mikes vocals just kinda sit on top of everything, almost like they were recorded after everything else was already mixed and they just left them as they were going in. *
> 
> ...



I dunno if you can really complain about the mix, it doesn't come out for another month and for all we know it might sound a lot better then. Ex, the webrip of "Joy of Motion" was uber bass-heavy and sounded awful. If it's exactly the same as the song that they intentionally released, though, then maybe it's a fair thing to say? I didn't really notice an issue, but I bet next time I listen to it that will be all I can hear


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## oompa (Jul 21, 2014)

rubbieh said:


> Concerning Opeth drummers:
> I come primarily from a drumming background, picked up guitar as a second instrument. When I first started drums at age 13 (11 years ago), I studied Lopez' playing religiously and many of my "goals" that I set for myself were mastering Opeth various songs. To put it bluntly, Lopez oozes groove and creativity that I just don't hear from Axe. He has a very unique and instantly recognizable style, with a distinct latin flavor. His utilization of shuffles and syncopation require great limb independence, if you don't get the subtle dynamics right and lock into the groove then the beat will sound like shit. Learning from Lopez definitely made me into a better, more well-rounded drummer in the long run.
> 
> Axe, while he is a great drummer, is nowhere near as unique and sounds a lot more robotic. I'd be willing to bet that 10/10 experienced drummers would agree. Axe is the better "metal" drummer in my opinion, which is ironic considering the direction Opeth has taken with the last two records.
> ...



You sir are absolutely correct. The subtle markings in his playing just oozes class and I miss him so much because of it.


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## ilyti (Jul 21, 2014)

I like it.


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## MFB (Jul 22, 2014)

I haven't hated what I've heard from it (Cusp of Eternity, Eternal Rains Will Come) but it still comes across still like Opeth Lite to me when compared to Watershed, Ghost Reveries, etc... Oh well, maybe it makes more sense when listening to them one to the next?


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## MAJ Meadows SF (Jul 22, 2014)

MFB said:


> I haven't hated what I've heard from it (Cusp of Eternity, Eternal Rains Will Come) but it still comes across still like Opeth Lite to me when compared to Watershed, Ghost Reveries, etc... Oh well, maybe it makes more sense when listening to them one to the next?



I've resolved within that they just won't be as heavy as they used to be, like on Deliverance. Doesn't stop my insatiable addiction to this band, but I'd love to hear them recall some of that older magic.


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## stevexc (Jul 22, 2014)

None of it was bad. But there wasn't much memorable about it. To me, the mark of success for an album is when I'm half-listening and something catches my ear and makes me go "Hey wait a sec, I need to hear that again!" This had none of those moments.


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## Korbain (Jul 22, 2014)

MFB said:


> I haven't hated what I've heard from it (Cusp of Eternity, Eternal Rains Will Come) but it still comes across still like Opeth Lite to me when compared to Watershed, Ghost Reveries, etc... Oh well, maybe it makes more sense when listening to them one to the next?



def listen to it from beginning to end. I've listened to it a few times so far, and appreciating it more. I think it's one of that albums if you listen to the lyrics properly its pretty cool! 

Still trying to work it out though, it's like heritage, but not lol it has a few moments here and there that remind me of old opeth.


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## ilyti (Jul 22, 2014)

stevexc said:


> None of it was bad. But there wasn't much memorable about it. To me, the mark of success for an album is when I'm half-listening and something catches my ear and makes me go "Hey wait a sec, I need to hear that again!" This had none of those moments.


I had those moments, mostly with the solos. And I keep trying to discern the lyrics, I get most of them but it makes me keep coming back to try and figure the rest out.

I am not surprised at all that this will take some time to digest and get used to. To be honest the first time I heard it I was doing something else at the time, and it lost my attention after the halfway point, so I had to tell myself "It wasn't the album's fault, just try again when you're less occupied." So I did that, and I'm really remembering stuff better now. That's what I had to do with Heritage too, but most of it was never "catchy" in my memory. This already is.

I have to say I'm glad to have another Opeth album besides Damnation that I could potentially listen to with non-metal friends in the car.


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## Rock4ever (Jul 22, 2014)

Love this album! It's much better than heritage. Cusp of Eternity is my favorite song...damn it rocks!. Currently I like Goblin the least.

I love the cleaner tones on the solos and leads.

My only gripe is the album feels like it's over really, really fast.


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## leftyguitarjoe (Jul 22, 2014)

Opeth is one of my favorite bands of all time and nothing will ever change that.

Now, that being said, I'm not even going to bother listening to this album any time soon.


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## UltraParanoia (Jul 22, 2014)

I really didnt like Heritage, I think it caught me off guard & with the amount of new music that comes out these days it was easy to move on to something else.

BUT! Pale Communion is quickly becoming my top album for 2014. It is stupidly amazing, from start to finish. Sure there is no heavy vocals but I really don't care because the songs are so well put together, it's not lacking without them. 

It's safe to say I'll be revisiting Heritage. 

Haters gonna hate. This album rules!!


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## MattThePenguin (Jul 22, 2014)

I must look like a total Opeth fanboy because my first thread is about his sig and my avatar is Still Life, but I really wouldn't consider myself a superfan as I've never heard Deliverance/Damnation all of the way through.

Heritage was my second Opeth album, after Blackwater Park, and it completely blew my mind. My favorites are I Feel The Dark, Hax Process, and The Devils Orchard. I can listen to that album front to back.

Cusp of Eternity was disappointing at first, but it got stuck in my head. Eternal Rains and Moon Above, Sun Below are fantastic songs as well. Really looking forward to this.

So far this has been a great year for me, all of my favorite bands are doing cool things. Lamb of God made a movie, Behemoth release the best album ever freaking made, Mastodon made an album, Gojira made an amazing DVD and both are coming in Nov, Dillinger released a badass song, and now Opeth is releasing Pale Communion. 

2015 is gonna be laaaaaaaaame, no way it can top this.. UNLESS Lamb of God releases new material...


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## osmosis2259 (Jul 23, 2014)

MattThePenguin said:


> I must look like a total Opeth fanboy because my first thread is about his sig and my avatar is Still Life, but I really wouldn't consider myself a superfan as I've never heard Deliverance/Damnation all of the way through.
> 
> Heritage was my second Opeth album, after Blackwater Park, and it completely blew my mind. My favorites are I Feel The Dark, Hax Process, and The Devils Orchard. I can listen to that album front to back.
> 
> ...



Oh man if you love Heritage, you need to check out Damnation now! The songwriting and the melodies are great on that one.


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## HurrDurr (Jul 23, 2014)

Mikael goes through phases in his songwriting, the evidence to support this theory is there. If what you're worried about is the lack of heaviness/growls/etc., rest assured they will soon be back. He's the type of person that gets bored of things then revamps his sound and sometimes he goes forwards; sometimes he goes backwards. This time around he's taking a step back to the 70's prog-rock sounds that got him into music, but I'm confident he'll someday bring back his love of the heaviness from other records as well. All that aside, I love every single Opeth record for what it is and its innovations to the sound of their own eras, but I'm among the few whose favorite album of all is *Damnation*. Besides, if you're still looking for extreme and heavy prog, Ihsahn's been flying the flag quite nicely throughout his solo career with notable releases such as *After*, _*Eremita*_, and the more experimental *Das Seelenbrechen*. His compositions are _masterful_, to say the least.


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## oompa (Jul 23, 2014)

Well, it's been said by others already.

I love the first bunch of albums by Opeth, great, great music. Ghost Reveries was the last stroke of brilliance, Watershed was a similar album but they clearly lost something with Lopez/Lindgren and you could tell they were beginning to get stuck in their tracks. Which is why I respect Mike even further for doing what few, few bands do at that point; innovate themselves.

The problem is that what they changed to is not particularly good in any way to me, and I know my prog and 70's rock, this is bland imo. Mike himself probably loves what he is doing so that is all good, but maybe Opeth should've just called it quits when Lopez/Lindgren left and Mike could've started this as a new project, Idk but I will always have buckets of respect for Mike because of the stuff he did earlier and even this stuff is done with the best intentions I think, it just doesn't float my boat.


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## fps (Jul 23, 2014)

oompa said:


> Well, it's been said by others already.
> 
> I love the first bunch of albums by Opeth, great, great music. Ghost Reveries was the last stroke of brilliance, Watershed was a similar album but they clearly lost something with Lopez/Lindgren and you could tell they were beginning to get stuck in their tracks. Which is why I respect Mike even further for doing what few, few bands do at that point; innovate themselves.
> 
> The problem is that what they changed to is not particularly good in any way to me, and I know my prog and 70's rock, this is bland imo. Mike himself probably loves what he is doing so that is all good, but maybe Opeth should've just called it quits when Lopez/Lindgren left and Mike could've started this as a new project, Idk but I will always have buckets of respect for Mike because of the stuff he did earlier and even this stuff is done with the best intentions I think, it just doesn't float my boat.



I didn't enjoy GR or Watershed much, and have spent the past three years ripping on Heritage. But the other day it finally clicked with me and I love it now. What can you do. I miss Lopez badly though, especially because Heritage is the kinda album I'd have LOVED to hear him play on.


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## DXL (Jul 23, 2014)

Opeth's early stuff had more folk influence than they do now and I really wish if they were to soften their sound that they would've went more folk, kind of like Empyrium did.


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## MattThePenguin (Jul 23, 2014)

osmosis2259 said:


> Oh man if you love Heritage, you need to check out Damnation now! The songwriting and the melodies are great on that one.



I just got the laminations DVD right after I posted that and OHHH MRRRR GAWWWWWWD I love it! I can't wait to order those two albums!


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## Vhyle (Jul 24, 2014)

loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool


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## Vhyle (Jul 24, 2014)

oompa said:


> Well, it's been said by others already.
> 
> I love the first bunch of albums by Opeth, great, great music. Ghost Reveries was the last stroke of brilliance, Watershed was a similar album but they clearly lost something with Lopez/Lindgren and you could tell they were beginning to get stuck in their tracks. Which is why I respect Mike even further for doing what few, few bands do at that point; innovate themselves.
> 
> The problem is that what they changed to is not particularly good in any way to me, and I know my prog and 70's rock, this is bland imo. Mike himself probably loves what he is doing so that is all good, but maybe Opeth should've just called it quits when Lopez/Lindgren left and Mike could've started this as a new project, Idk but I will always have buckets of respect for Mike because of the stuff he did earlier and even this stuff is done with the best intentions I think, it just doesn't float my boat.


 
Yup. Losing Lopez and Lindgren made a more significant impact to them than they possibly fail to realize.

The last GREAT album to me was probably Deliverance. Well, Deliverance and Damnation. Ghost Reveries was good but not as memorable. Same as Watershed. To me personally, their golden era is MAYH > Deliverance. They will never go back to that. That's ok, because I know bands age and change.

But with Heritage and now Pale Communion, the Opeth name should have just been retired, and Mike should have simply started a new band. I wonder how Mendez feels about it all. It's been noted that the Damnation recording sessions was his least favorite period of time.

Oh well. I still have lots of respect for Mikael, because of so many memorable riffs and songs that he has written over the years. Blackwater Park remains to be my favorite metal album of all time, and it has been for years. No other album on earth has ever touched me the way that one did.

For the record - I haven't listened to Pale Communion yet. I will, being the huge Opeth fan that I am. I owe it to them to give it a fair listen, as I did with Heritage. I will try to be as open-minded as possible, but to be brutally honest, my expectations aren't really that high.


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## MAJ Meadows SF (Jul 24, 2014)

This better be more than a tease. I mean seriously, one death metal album every so often would be awesome. It just can't be rushed and commercialized. We want old Opeth to return, even just once more. A man can dream...

OPETH Frontman Says The Band Would Be "Pure Death Metal" If They Ever Got Heavy Again | Metal Injection

So if they are rebelling against metal because they love it so much, and love the new sound they have taken on so much, then they can rebel against that sound by going back to death metal. 4 + 5 = 9.


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## Thorerges (Jul 24, 2014)

I can imagine Opeth writing more death metal again. A pure death metal record would be an enormous surprise, and a pleasant one at that - can anyone imagine Mastodon releasing a metal record again? Not me for sure.


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## Goro923 (Jul 24, 2014)

I think a "Pure Death Metal Album" still wouldn't be as good as the older albums. What made Opeth distinct was the contrast between the Death/Black/Extreme stuff and the Prog/Folk/Acoustic stuff. Any material that focuses exclusively on one of those "sides" just isn't going to sound 100% like Opeth, at least to my ears.


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## MAJ Meadows SF (Jul 24, 2014)

Well I'd never assume it would be completely exclusive to metal, as not one record has ever been that way. But most of the songs would be a majority of heavy tunes. They won't put out a Bloodbath record with their name on it I'm sure.


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## DXL (Jul 24, 2014)

There's enough death metal bands out there and there's enough prog bands out there, but at the moment there is no one putting out what Opeth put out prior to Watershed


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## Vhyle (Jul 24, 2014)

DXL said:


> There's enough death metal bands out there and there's enough prog bands out there, but at the moment there is no one putting out what Opeth put out prior to Watershed



Great post.

Nobody else is Opeth but Opeth, and they're not even being Opeth right now.

namsayn?


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## Korbain (Jul 25, 2014)

it really is only a matter of time before we do get another pure metal album from opeth. Read bits of that article earlier. I love their new sound, i literally enjoy all their albums. 

I do miss lopez as a drummer, but we need to let that go. He's on the pale communion which is good, but end of the day he's in a new band and axe is in opeth.

I can completely understand why people hate opeths new direction of music, but i say let em get it done because i'd almost put money their next album will contain some pretty heavy shit. Well i hope, as much i love the prog rock stuff of late, i do miss older opeth. (still life and ghost reveries being my favourite albums by them)

It sorta sucks they cop so much shit for doing their own thing and trying something different. Because a lot of bands/artists get a heap of shit for not doing something new, just appreciate them for being a true band at heart and playing music feels good to them


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## Opion (Jul 25, 2014)

Korbain said:


> It sorta sucks they cop so much shit for doing their own thing and trying something different. Because a lot of bands/artists get a heap of shit for not doing something new, just appreciate them for being a true band at heart and playing music feels good to them




You're exactly right - people just don't really know what it's like to be in a band, or a band that has a huge cult following like Opeth does, for that matter. I can't imagine any serious musician has ever thought "Hey, we should play this sort of music for the new record, because the fans will like it better!" Making a record is a painstaking effort and it seems to me that the last few albums have come from a very personal place in Akerfeldt-land. So, maybe he just has been yearning to get these things out, and take a break from ethereal-Opeth land for a while. You got to find inspiration somewhere, and it just so happens that this is the sound that Opeth are experimenting with.

I remember Guthrie Govan was asked about whether or not he will ever come out with another solo album, and his reply was that he would only do it if it were completely different from Erotic Cakes. Because "what's the point in repeating yourself/not having anything new to say". This is what I think people fail to realize about bands sometimes, and hell, I sometimes fall victim to that. But thankfully, we have a legendary discography from Opeth to choose from that heavily outweighs their recent efforts.


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## ilyti (Jul 25, 2014)

I asked Mikael if he'd make another death metal album. He said no but I'm gonna keep hammering on him, it's on my bucket list.

No but seriously. I think he means "Because I love metal so much, I don't want to bastardize it TOO much, so I'd rather stay away from it for now."

I WOULD LOVE another Deliverance with Moog and Hammond organs, what you guys think? Yeah!?


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## Sang-Drax (Jul 27, 2014)

I wouldn't mind if they never released anything with growl vocals, as long as it's good. 
Heritage was a very weak album in my opinion, however - the only songs I still listen to are The Devil's Orchard (mostly due to the brilliant solo at the end), Lines In My Hands, and Folklore (again, mostly for the ending riff).

I'm listening to Pale Communion for the first time now. So far... eh. The fact that the Hammond organ is a pet peeve of mine doesn't help, but Amorphis used to make extensive use of it and I'd still like it. I just think the songs themselves aren't that great, TBH. Regardless, I think it's more promising than the previous album so far, at least.


EDIT: wow, the last track is amazing!


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## DXL (Jul 27, 2014)

Sang-Drax said:


> I wouldn't mind if they never released anything with growl vocals, as long as it's good.
> Heritage was a very weak album in my opinion, however - the only songs I still listen to are The Devil's Orchard (mostly due to the brilliant solo at the end), Lines In My Hands, and Folklore (again, mostly for the ending riff).



While Folklore is an amazing song and has a fantastic ending, the ending does sound exactly like a riff in Yngwie Malmsteen's Trilogy Suite Op. 5.

4:40


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## UltraParanoia (Jul 27, 2014)

I cant see them doing a heavy vocals album again, I dont see why they would. This is perfection


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## zombieritual (Jul 27, 2014)

yeah it was better than heritage, but it still just made me want to listen to damnation because it sounded like a more proggy and also worse version of that album. i listened to it once and that'll be that.


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## MAJ Meadows SF (Jul 27, 2014)

UltraParanoia said:


> I cant see them doing a heavy vocals album again, I dont see why they would. This is perfection



It's not even the vocals entirely. They could balance it with singing or whatever. It's about attitude, story, and riffs. I just want a heavy album.


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## Adam Of Angels (Jul 27, 2014)

Sang-Drax said:


> I wouldn't mind if they never released anything with growl vocals, as long as it's good.
> Heritage was a very weak album in my opinion, however - the only songs I still listen to are The Devil's Orchard (mostly due to the brilliant solo at the end), Lines In My Hands, and Folklore (again, mostly for the ending riff).
> 
> I'm listening to Pale Communion for the first time now. So far... eh. The fact that the Hammond organ is a pet peeve of mine doesn't help, but Amorphis used to make extensive use of it and I'd still like it. I just think the songs themselves aren't that great, TBH. Regardless, I think it's more promising than the previous album so far, at least.
> ...




I just want to point out that the Hammond rarely works at all in Opeth, and usually not too well in most Prog, but yes, Amorphis makes it badass


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## Sang-Drax (Jul 30, 2014)

After listening to the album a few several times, I suppose I've changed my opinion a bit. Since I can't sleep anyway, I'll review it track by track for those who, for some reason, are interested in my opinion.

*Eternal Rains Will Come*. The very opening of the album is desolating for anyone who hoped to hear anything that sounds like Opeth. It says "we're Opeth, from Stockholm, Sweden, and we're 40 years late". The senseless Hammond wanking doesn't last much, though: at 1:30, there's a nice piano intro and, soon after, the song itself starts. Well, I've waited longer than that for the start of The Moor.

The song still sounds a little too much like 70's prog for my taste, with its old-fashioned organ and choirs. Take these details away and it sounds like Opeth, though. The vocal melodies are great and so is the main organ riff.

*Cusp of Eternity*. Reminds me a bit of Porcelain Heart, albeit not nearly as heavy, even though it's probably the heaviest song in the album. It sounds a bit more modern than the previous song, but it's not as good: good verse, but very bland chorus. 

*Moon Above, Sun Below*. Arguably one of the best songs in the album. Again, the annoying vintage organ - whatever it is, whether it's Rhodes, Moog, or Hammond - is ever present. The riff at 1:35 or so sounds very much like good ol' Opeth, even if on the lighter side. The acoustic part which follows is incredibly beautiful, as is the (sadly) Hammond-infested section afterwards, which could've very well been pulled off Heritage if it wasn't so good.

Something which has always drawn my admiration for Opeth is the way they could make long songs work, one part following the other like they belong to each other. Since Heritage, however, Mikael's strategy seems to be simply stopping the song altogether and starting something entirely different from scratch. They do this less in this album, fortunately, but one of the times they do do it is in this song. Somewhere after 6:00, the song stops and, at 6:33, what I think is the most annoying guitar riff in the history Opeth starts, duplicated by an irritating vintage organ. Fortunately, it flows into an amazing epilogue which makes you forget the previous part entirely. 

*Elysium Woes* sounds promising at first - a reminiscence of Damnation. It lacks a climax, tough. All in all, a good song I'd be proud of if I had written it myself, but it's subpar Opeth quality, IMO.

*Goblins*. It's so utterly useless I had never really noticed it's instrumental until now. It's just Mikael desperately wanting to have been born 20 years earlier. There are some interesting parts, but the overwhelming 70's prog quality kills it for me.

*Rivers*. It's the first Opeth song I couldn't really listen to its entirety for the first time. Or second. Or third. God, this is annoying. It sounds like anything but Opeth, which is not necessarily a bad thing... but it's just incredibly boring! The same happy chord progressions repeats itself over and over again for three whole minutes. The section which follows isn't great either, but sounds like it's reaching somewhere - and then the guitar solos start. Honestly, they sound like unnecessary wanking to my ears, though I'm sure some of you who enjoy unusual scales will appreciate them. FWIW, I love Peter's weird solo in Deliverance, and the ones in this song still make no sense to me. The irritating organ harmony doesn't help either. 

If you're able to endure them and the proggy parts which follow, the song improves with some stuff which sounds like Opeth with less distortion... and finally, as if to reward the brave fan who could sit through the whole thing, the band presents us with an AMAZING melody by 6:50. Seriously, how come this is not the chorus of the song? I feel like editing the shit out of it and just leave the last 30% of the song. 

*Voice of Treason*. I'm pretty sure I've heard the main strings riff in a rap song. That said, it's an interesting, more modern song. Like Elysian Woes and Cusp of Eternity, it lacks a great chorus - however, unlike these two, and like Rivers, it rewards the listener with a great section at the end which makes the song worth it.

*Faith in Others*. This is it. A FRAKKING masterpiece! The one song in this album which makes you want to listen over and over again, until you're on the edge of insanity. Beautiful, sad, and modern. Its vibe remind me a lot of Hours of Wealth and Isolation Years, only even better. I can honestly say it's one of my favorite Opeth songs ever, and it's completely out of place in this album. 

---

All in all, the comparison with Heritage I did before isn't entirely fair. It's better than the previous album by a long shot, even though the 70's elements are still there (with decent guitar tones this time). If they had released this album instead of Heritage, I suppose I'd be ok with it. I mean, all right, they're trying something different this time, let's see what they've got. After two albums in a row, I can't help but wonder if they really want to be a carbon copy of Camel or whatever forever.

Again, I have nothing against the lack of heaviness. I'm probably one of this board's regulars who least admire growls (I usually no more than tolerate them). I really can't stand 70's prog though, particularly the vintage organs (in case you haven't noticed thus far ). By the way, I don't get the people who claim this is a heavy album, "in its own fashion". No, it's not; stop lying to yourself!

I also can't help but noticing that Pain of Salvation's last three releases were also 70's-oriented, which makes me wonder whether it's a trend in Sweden or something . PoS's releases sound more like a Zeppelin offshoot though, which I'm fine with.

So please, Mikael, I beg you: forsake the heaviness all you want, but stop making me suffer through the annoying organs . Thank you.


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## DXL (Jul 30, 2014)

Last time I listened to the album I never made it to the last track, but now listening to it it's great. It does, however, sound like some kind of remake of Burden, even the bridge sounds exactly like a part in Burden. Not complaining though, both are amazing songs.


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## tedtan (Jul 30, 2014)

Why don't you tell us how you _*really*_ feel about organs, Sang-Drax?


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## Thorerges (Jul 30, 2014)

Moon above sun below is awesome. Sometimes the organ sound is a bit too much, but I am loving this record nonetheless.


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## DXL (Jul 30, 2014)

Don't worry guys, I found hope


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## jwade (Jul 31, 2014)

That was horrid. I'd rather listen to Heritage and Pale Communion


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## VBCheeseGrater (Jul 31, 2014)

Cool review Sanx Drag ... still waiting to hear the whole thing myself. I'm not overly optimistic from what i've heard so far, but i really _want_ to be


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## Opion (Jul 31, 2014)

OK. So I found for a short period of time the album streaming on Youtube before it got taken down. Here's my take.

Is it better than Heritage? - YES, by a long shot. 

Does it stand up to any of their past albums? - Absolutely not. It stands on its own.

Is it more catchy and filled with more interesting, attention grabbing parts? - YES!!! This was such a big deal to me about Heritage. That album was nearly entirely forgettable, except for maybe The Lines in my Hand or Devil's Orchard.

Is the production better than Heritage? - I feel that it's nearly the same, which is kind of a bummer. The drums still sound boxy, as if they recorded it in the most driest, tiny room. There seems to be no "bigness" to the drums, no natural reverb, not organic - dry and flat. The guitar tones are like Heritage, but better (must be because they recorded this album digitally). This is kind of lame IMO, but the other elements that make up Pale Communion fill up the sonic space...do I really need to tell you what other element that is? (I'm imagining Akerfeldt dressed like Chris Walken coming into the recording studio every day saying "this song needs more Hammond..."). Seriously. HAMMOND ORGAN EVERYWHERE. It was cool when they started to use it sparingly on Ghost Reveries/Damnation, but Mikael can't seem to tell that new guy to lay off it. Not that it's bad, but seriously...almost _every_ song.


Choice tracks: Cusp of Eternity, Eternal Rains will Come, Goblin (instrumental), River, Faith in Others.

In all honestly, I really really like this album a lot. Mikael is still influenced by Steven Wilson when it comes to crazy changes out of nowhere, epic proggy vocal harmonies, and intertwining guitar riffs that actually are starting to become pretty cool to listen to. It still sounds like Opeth, and that's the important thing, to me. Opeth has been on a journey through the darkness, and now they are emerging as a band finally able to feel some sort of positive emotion, and songs like River exemplify that. This record really shows that Mikael has a lot of fun writing these songs. Using Heritage as a base for understanding this record, it almost seemed like Mikael was a bit afraid to write that album; it was uncharted territory. Now he is more confident and isn't holding back as much, which shows in his vocals.

I give this record a solid 8. It isn't heavy, but it is more dense and has a lot more going on than Heritage. I enjoy listening to it front to back, which is my favorite way of listening to Opeth - I can't do that with Heritage, I skip half the songs. I will definitely buy myself a copy upon release.


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## ilyti (Jul 31, 2014)

I won't irritate anyone with a glowing review. I'll just say River is a great song and I love the vocals and lyrics in it.


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## Thorerges (Aug 2, 2014)

I honestly never understood the love for Lopez. In almost any category I can think of, there are drummers who both match and outdo him in spades. I guess this is kind of a cultish thing. The only thing I can think of is that he writes pretty solid drum lines, and can play both faster death metal and merge them with prog rock stuff quite well, but that's it.


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## Icecold (Aug 2, 2014)

Thorerges said:


> I honestly never understood the love for Lopez. In almost any category I can think of, there are drummers who both match and outdo him in spades. I guess this is kind of a cultish thing. The only thing I can think of is that he writes pretty solid drum lines, and can play both faster death metal and merge them with prog rock stuff quite well, but that's it.



It's not a matter of skill, it was his feel and chemistry within the rest of the band. Opeth in 2005 was about as good as a band could get. I honestly don't know who could have pulled off the end of Harlequin Forest better than that version of Opeth.


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## Opion (Aug 2, 2014)

Icecold said:


> I honestly don't know who could have pulled off the end of Harlequin Forest better than that version of Opeth.


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## Double A (Aug 2, 2014)

So, Faith in Others is indeed a great song and something I will listen to. But... it sounds like parts from damnation, which is an entirely good thing. But some parts are almost direct copies which I found a bit weird.

That is pretty much the only song I enjoyed on the album.  

For the record, I don't need, nor do I want Mike to do death metal vocals, Opeth can survive without them, but some of these parts if they just used real modern distortion would have been sooooo much better. I just feel like these songs have no emotion or they just come out as flat because the whole album sounds the same.


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## Triple7 (Aug 2, 2014)

Double A said:


> For the record, I don't need, nor do I want Mike to do death metal vocals, Opeth can survive without them, but some of these parts if they just used real modern distortion would have been sooooo much better. I just feel like these songs have no emotion or they just come out as flat because the whole album sounds the same.



I completely agree with this statement. Just look at Hex Omega off Watershed for a great example.

Voice Of Treason is a great song, I knew it was Lopez drumming before I had even read it.


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## HurrDurr (Aug 8, 2014)

I love all the Hammond. I'm being completely serious. I was a huge 70's Prog nut a few years back and this is definitely better than that by miles. Again, I love the Hammond


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## liamh (Aug 8, 2014)

My feelings about Heritage and what I've heard of Pale Communion are hard to explain, so forgive me if I sound like a huge pleb.
Anyway, I think my main issue with these two albums is their lack of emotional content. 
Opeth to me were always a band which stood out from other prog metal bands because of their ability to muster up some pretty powerful feels. (See: "AND I'LL NEVER KNOW WHEN!!" at the end of April Ethereal)
Obviously lots of Opeth's stuff has been technical and conceptual, but unlike a lot of other Prog rock/metal, they were at their core a band which made very serious music.
Their more recent (post-Watershed) stuff just doesn't make me feel anything in the feels department. It borders dangerously close to being 'wanky'.
I mean, Watershed had its slightly frivolous moments (like the Keyboard section in The Lotus Eater) but its still a very haunting album, with some brilliantly heavy moments.
I feel like Opeth are one of the few bands who are only at their best when they're making music which is really mournful and takes itself super seriously. I know it sounds pretentious but its how I feel.

tl;dr GIVE US STILL LIFE II


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## TheShreddinHand (Aug 8, 2014)

Sounds like Watershed but subtract the dirty vox and turn amp gain down to 2.

Couple interesting songs, but nothing I would spin repeatedly. Sigh.


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## DXL (Aug 8, 2014)

TheShreddinHand said:


> Sounds like Watershed but subtract the dirty vox and turn amp gain down to 2.
> 
> Couple interesting songs, but nothing I would spin repeatedly. Sigh.



As well as missing songs like The Lotus Eater.


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## lemeker (Aug 8, 2014)

My dad is going to love this album, me on the other hand, not so sure yet. 

Is it good, yes. Is it better than the last, absolutely. Is it what I was hoping for, not at all. I am beginning to miss the heavy Opeth.


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## ilyti (Aug 8, 2014)

liamh said:


> My feelings about Heritage and what I've heard of Pale Communion are hard to explain, so forgive me if I sound like a huge pleb.
> Anyway, I think my main issue with these two albums is their lack of emotional content.
> Opeth to me were always a band which stood out from other prog metal bands because of their ability to muster up some pretty powerful feels. (See: "AND I'LL NEVER KNOW WHEN!!" at the end of April Ethereal)
> Obviously lots of Opeth's stuff has been technical and conceptual, but unlike a lot of other Prog rock/metal, they were at their core a band which made very serious music.
> ...



I think I get what you mean. There's a simple explanation for it though. As people get older, they generally tend to mellow out, and they are not as driven by frustrated "teenager" emotions. I have noticed a huge shift in the lyrics over the last few albums. Mikael has gone from almost entirely "I feel sorry for myself because no girl will ever like me" to confession songs about feeling trapped in a relationship. That's just what I've observed and interpreted from the lyrics, who knows what accounts for the change though. I've noticed in in other bands too. Dream Theater had some pretty frustrated, emotional, relationships-based lyrics back in the day. And John Petrucci wrote those. Now, they don't seem to have relationship drama for the most part, JP is not so inspired by "the feels." This happens to a lot of people and in some way, I welcome it. It means they are growing up, and that's always positive even if the music they now make doesn't inspire you so much. You still have the old albums to listen to.


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## molsoncanadian (Aug 8, 2014)

ilyti said:


> I think I get what you mean. There's a simple explanation for it though. As people get older, they generally tend to mellow out, and they are not as driven by frustrated "teenager" emotions. I have noticed a huge shift in the lyrics over the last few albums. Mikael has gone from almost entirely "I feel sorry for myself because no girl will ever like me" to confession songs about feeling trapped in a relationship. That's just what I've observed and interpreted from the lyrics, who knows what accounts for the change though. I've noticed in in other bands too. Dream Theater had some pretty frustrated, emotional, relationships-based lyrics back in the day. And John Petrucci wrote those. Now, they don't seem to have relationship drama for the most part, JP is not so inspired by "the feels." This happens to a lot of people and in some way, I welcome it. It means they are growing up, and that's always positive even if the music they now make doesn't inspire you so much. You still have the old albums to listen to.


 
Haha I used this exact explanation a while ago while having a conversation regarding this album. Happened to Devin Townsend too, think Strapping Young Lad, to Epicloud. I too welcome the change.

I absolutely LOVE this album. It's like modern day Led Zepplin in a sense.


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## wankerness (Aug 9, 2014)

molsoncanadian said:


> Haha I used this exact explanation a while ago while having a conversation regarding this album. *Happened to Devin Townsend too, think Strapping Young Lad, to Epicloud. I too welcome the change.*
> 
> I absolutely LOVE this album. It's like modern day Led Zepplin in a sense.



This wouldn't be a bad change if it was simply tonal and didn't also involve massively dumbing down his music in terms of amount of stuff going on in it and songwriting complexity (yeah, I know some joker will bring up the mess that is Deconstruction). My issue with bands like Opeth and Devin Townsend are that they seem to equate "maturity" with making their music simpler and catchier and paradoxically sounding like the work of far less mature musicians. To be fair, Opeth is less guilty of this than Devin Townsend, who seems to take a step back every year. If you played his albums in a random order for someone that had no idea who he was, I would expect them to identify Ocean Machine as being the album from latest in his life. 

Likewise with the aforementioned Dream Theater. I would never equate their last couple albums to a band that's matured, it sounds like an outright regression in every single way from their classic stuff other than maybe album production. I don't see a lyrical connection, either, though I will say that most of their lyrics nowadays sure don't seem any more mature than the lyrics to something like say, "Trial of Tears." Their emo teenage lyrical phase seemed to be mainly related to idiocy like "Honor Thy Father" and the Mike Portnoy Alcohol Songs, and maybe Space Dye Vest. I dunno if they've really changed much other than phasing those out (but they were more a feature of their middle albums anyway).

For a counterexample, a band like Anathema with "We're Here Because We're Here" managed to break out of their super-emo youth phase with actual positivity, but continued to develop their music at the same time. Stuff like the first few tracks on that album was simultaneously the most dense, composed stuff they'd ever done while also being a "hey, we're not mopey adolescents anymore, there's positivity out there!" Or Katatonia, or Radiohead, or The Gathering, who have continued to develop their sound and have made some radical changes throughout their career, but have never sounded like they just gave up and wanted to start playing covers of old prog bands or like they're tired of putting effort into writing songs on the level of their earlier stuff and just want to rock out with their buds.

There's aging with grace and having your music develop with you, and there's sounding like you're just losing interest and regressing.  With Opeth, I hear no real improvement in any department other than "sheer volume of organ noise." 

*This is all my opinion, to preempt any responses like "YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID IMO !!!!1", even though it's obvious


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## chopeth (Aug 9, 2014)




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## wankerness (Aug 9, 2014)

That is awesome.


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## fps (Aug 9, 2014)

I struggled with Heritage so hard, and now after 3 years I really like it. I tried a million times and hated it, but I'm now ready to accept Opeth 2.0, and like it a lot more than the GR/Watershed era which I really didn't get along with at all. To the new album! Love the back cover. Go Mikael, be the rock star you deserve to be, dammit you've earned it.


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## fps (Aug 9, 2014)

wankerness said:


> This wouldn't be a bad change if it was simply tonal and didn't also involve massively dumbing down his music in terms of amount of stuff going on in it and songwriting complexity (yeah, I know some joker will bring up the mess that is Deconstruction). My issue with bands like Opeth and Devin Townsend are that they seem to equate "maturity" with making their music simpler and catchier and paradoxically sounding like the work of far less mature musicians. To be fair, Opeth is less guilty of this than Devin Townsend, who seems to take a step back every year. If you played his albums in a random order for someone that had no idea who he was, I would expect them to identify Ocean Machine as being the album from latest in his life.
> 
> Likewise with the aforementioned Dream Theater. I would never equate their last couple albums to a band that's matured, it sounds like an outright regression in every single way from their classic stuff other than maybe album production. I don't see a lyrical connection, either, though I will say that most of their lyrics nowadays sure don't seem any more mature than the lyrics to something like say, "Trial of Tears." Their emo teenage lyrical phase seemed to be mainly related to idiocy like "Honor Thy Father" and the Mike Portnoy Alcohol Songs, and maybe Space Dye Vest. I dunno if they've really changed much other than phasing those out (but they were more a feature of their middle albums anyway).
> 
> ...



Agree with a lot of what you're saying, and some of the bands you call out. On Opeth specifically though, now I adore their back catalogue, MAYH -> Damnation the most. But there are plenty of times when the dynamics they have are quiet loud dynamics, just "well this is coming to an end, smash it into high gear", or pieces strung together. On those albums, I think they happened to hit the nail on the head with almost single decision, but it's a haphazard thing to do.

However, the dynamic range on display in Heritage is amazing. Mikael has literally started using silence, and challenged himself as a songwriter not to fall back on smashing on the gain when a part has reached its natural conclusion (Hessian Peel, I think it is, where this happens the most inappropriately in the back catalogue). This is a challenge in itself, and clean - DISTORTION are often all metal bands end up with for dynamics, however much they window dress it they have gain on and gain off. He's trying to use a whole spectrum of them now, and I respect him for that, it's a completely different way of writing and inevitably meant a change in sound, but watching some of their live shows, it really works.


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## Glosni (Aug 9, 2014)

Basically forced myself to listen to the album a couple of times, hated it. Even the last song, which is sort of okayish, sounds to me like the just glued section to section. Nothing flows.

Also, one of the things I always enjoyed most about Opeth is how many amazing riffs they had. That one heavy riff in the middle of "Bleak" is still one of my favourite. Well, I guess thats gone.

So yeah, Opeth seem to be pretty much dead and sad by now.


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## wankerness (Aug 9, 2014)

fps said:


> Agree with a lot of what you're saying, and some of the bands you call out. On Opeth specifically though, now I adore their back catalogue, MAYH -> Damnation the most. But there are plenty of times when the dynamics they have are quiet loud dynamics, just "well this is coming to an end, smash it into high gear", or pieces strung together. On those albums, I think they happened to hit the nail on the head with almost single decision, but it's a haphazard thing to do.
> 
> However, the dynamic range on display in Heritage is amazing. Mikael has literally started using silence, and challenged himself as a songwriter not to fall back on smashing on the gain when a part has reached its natural conclusion (Hessian Peel, I think it is, where this happens the most inappropriately in the back catalogue). This is a challenge in itself, and clean - DISTORTION are often all metal bands end up with for dynamics, however much they window dress it they have gain on and gain off. He's trying to use a whole spectrum of them now, and I respect him for that, it's a completely different way of writing and inevitably meant a change in sound, but watching some of their live shows, it really works.



This is a thoughtful defense and you're right that the dynamic changes might be less haphazard now. I guess that's something! Some of the old stuff is kinda "riff collages" but I sorta feel like Heritage was even more guilty of that disjointed feeling than anything since Morningrise, while lacking all the amazing riffs that made that album and Orchid so good.


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## fps (Aug 9, 2014)

wankerness said:


> This is a thoughtful defense and you're right that the dynamic changes might be less haphazard now. I guess that's something! Some of the old stuff is kinda "riff collages" but I sorta feel like Heritage was even more guilty of that disjointed feeling than anything since Morningrise, while lacking all the amazing riffs that made that album and Orchid so good.



Yes! Riff collage is so the right phrase, thank you for that, I'll use it often . For my part, I thought he was running low on inspiration to write old-style Opeth kind of music on Watershed, and flat-out didn't like the introduction of keys on GR. A change was needed. But I'm not a Heritage missionary, the album is infuriating. 

I really like Morningrise too, Orchid I don't play much. There's definitely a lack of riffage on Heritage, the introduction of a second "bit" in The Devil's Orchard is scandalous haha. It's sad but Opeth's riffs haven't really clicked for me since Deliverance anyway. My experience - as I say, just didn't like it for years - Heritage finally clicked for me listening in headphones at work. I had nowhere else I could be, time might as well have stopped, and that situation helped, as I'm normally pretty hyperactive looking for music or wanting to be entertained. Right place right time. 

I'll probably hate this new one for three years as well, so it's not all good news!!


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## chopeth (Aug 10, 2014)




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## Kwirk (Aug 13, 2014)

Opeth announce North American tour with In Flames:


> OPETH ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN CO-HEADLINE TOUR WITH IN FLAMES!
> TREK GETS UNDERWAY DECEMBER 3RD IN CHICAGO, IL
> NEW ALBUM PALE COMMUNION ARRIVES ON AUGUST 25TH
> Roadrunner Records group Opeth have announced details of their return to North America for a coast-to-coast co-headline run with In Flames. The nationwide trek, which will also feature support from Red Fang, is set to get underway on December 3RD at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago, IL and traverse North America through the end of the month.
> ...


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## Double A (Aug 13, 2014)

Two bands that lost it losing it together.


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## DXL (Aug 13, 2014)

Do In Flames still play their old stuff live?


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## Der JD (Aug 14, 2014)

DXL said:


> Do In Flames still play their old stuff live?


 
Probably not much. I saw them around 18 months ago and they didn't play anything pre-Whoracle. Only 1 song off Whoracle, nothing from Colony, and I think only 1 from Clayman.


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## wankerness (Aug 14, 2014)

Double A said:


> Two bands that lost it losing it together.



Yeah, but they lost it in very different ways. I don't feel like fans of In Flames' new material would be able to handle Opeth's new stuff.


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## ilyti (Aug 15, 2014)

Them touring together makes as much sense as Dream Theater and Trivium

OK maybe I'm exaggerating but urgh. Nobody who goes to see this will be fans of both bands. It would have made way more sense in 2005.


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## leftyguitarjoe (Aug 15, 2014)

Well guys, I listened to the album on a stream. Its not too bad. Alot of the stuff is pretty chill and there is some groovy stuff. I give it like a 6.5/10.


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## fps (Aug 16, 2014)

ilyti said:


> Them touring together makes as much sense as Dream Theater and Trivium
> 
> OK maybe I'm exaggerating but urgh. Nobody who goes to see this will be fans of both bands. It would have made way more sense in 2005.



That's the exact point of the tour, to introduce each band to people who otherwise may not have heard them or seen them live.


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## wankerness (Aug 16, 2014)

If they played remotely similar styles it would be ok, but a combo like that is probably going to work more like that tour with Devildriver and Opeth where 1/2 of the crowd left after Devildriver was done and most of the Opeth fans wanted to die during the hour they played, haha. That was one of the funnier concert experiences I had, listening to their singer's stage banter. "You know....there's a long way...between sin and sacrifice.....THIS SONG IS CALLED SIN AND SACRIFICE!!!!!!!!" *TEENAGERS GO WILD*


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## DXL (Aug 19, 2014)

Okay finally gave the album a second listen after being incredibly disappointed last time. It does sound better this time and a bit more powerful. But thinking about Mikael's remarks about how much hate the new stuff is getting is making me realize that Mikael does not know his fans nor the impact his music has. He keeps saying that Opeth should be allowed to soften up and saying that they still have death metal writing capabilities in them. But what he doesn't understand is that Opeth didn't soften up, they weakened up. Damnation is a lot softer than their new stuff, but is a lot more powerful.


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## sakeido (Aug 19, 2014)

DXL said:


> Okay finally gave the album a second listen after being incredibly disappointed last time. It does sound better this time and a bit more powerful. But thinking about Mikael's remarks about how much hate the new stuff is getting is making me realize that Mikael does not know his fans nor the impact his music has. He keeps saying that Opeth should be allowed to soften up and saying that they still have death metal writing capabilities in them. But what he doesn't understand is that Opeth didn't soften up, they weakened up. Damnation is a lot softer than their new stuff, but is a lot more powerful.



So, fans get to dictate what a band is allowed to do?  

This is why every band should probably ignore their fans after maybe their second or third album. Your fanbase just gets cancerous after a while. It's pretty funny old Opeth fans are still hanging on to the band even though Mikael is saying straight out they won't like the new stuff. Just leave, already... they don't owe you anything.


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## Mwoit (Aug 19, 2014)

Pale Communion stream here:

Opeth stream Pale Communion - Prog


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## DXL (Aug 19, 2014)

sakeido said:


> So, fans get to dictate what a band is allowed to do?
> 
> This is why every band should probably ignore their fans after maybe their second or third album. Your fanbase just gets cancerous after a while. It's pretty funny old Opeth fans are still hanging on to the band even though Mikael is saying straight out they won't like the new stuff. Just leave, already... they don't owe you anything.



Except the fact that us fans made Opeth all the money they have. Look at Slipknot, fans have been wanting a brutal song for a while. So aside from their new album, they wrote a brutal song and released it as an unofficial single and the fans loved it. If Mikael wanted to write this stuff, fine, but he could've made it a solo album like most artists do when they want to experiment with sounds different than what their band is known for. Hell, Mikael has experience with that already by using Bloodbath as his death metal go-to.


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## asher (Aug 19, 2014)

But they're not shareholders. He's not beholden to them.


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## jco5055 (Aug 19, 2014)

I listened to the stream, and idk, Opeth just sounds so flat and boring now imo.


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## John Matrix (Aug 19, 2014)

I've not kept up with Opeth in a while but I can't believe how ambivalent I am to this new sound given I was a big fan few a years ago...couldn't be paid to listen all the way through this now.


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## sakeido (Aug 19, 2014)

DXL said:


> Except the fact that us fans made Opeth all the money they have. Look at Slipknot, fans have been wanting a brutal song for a while. So aside from their new album, they wrote a brutal song and released it as an unofficial single and the fans loved it. If Mikael wanted to write this stuff, fine, but he could've made it a solo album like most artists do when they want to experiment with sounds different than what their band is known for. Hell, Mikael has experience with that already by using Bloodbath as his death metal go-to.



So what? They didn't sign up to be slaves to idiots who will do nothing but bitch and moan when the band attempts to grow up and play something else. They already gave you up to nine albums (depending on when you think good Opeth starts and ends) of awesome music. Album #11 isn't your style, so you bitch about it and want to tell Mikael how to go about his artistic endeavors?  

Really, just shut up. This is why I hardly venture into band threads anymore. The internet is just infuriating. If you bought all nine of those albums, congrats. You gave Opeth probably about $4.50 split between the whole band. Obviously, you are extremely important to them and your opinion counts for a whole lot with the guy who wrote ....in Blackwater Park.


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## Thorerges (Aug 19, 2014)

I honestly love this record. I am a huge fan of Opeths old stuff, but I can't listen to death metal even all the time; if it does contain a lot of acoustic and clean singing. Blackwater Park in my mind is one of the most complete records of all time, as is Ghost Reveries - but I still love this record even though I hated Heritage. 

For one the drums are actually alive, this is a real proggy record with a ton of emotion throughout every song. For me, I would not mind it if Opeth stuck to this style. 

That being said, I find it hard to see Akerfeldt completely ignore death metal for 10 years or so. Perhaps he doesn't find that type of singing attractive, and maybe he'll start down tuning a bit and singing clean? I'm not sure. I expect another death metal record from Opeth, just don't know when. 

Also, how much of the music does mikael write? Seems to me like he writes everything.


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## mgh (Aug 19, 2014)

this album is about ten times better than Heritage!

As a fan of prog rock I figured I should like Opeth Mark 2...but really hated Heritage. The guitar sound was awful, the songs meandering and riffless, the production flat...but this album is so much better, the fusion of classic Opeth and prog Opeth we all wanted; a modern guitar and drum sound, even some techy solos, but also the vocal harmonies and organ goodliness we want from a prog band. back on form!


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## Dwellingers (Aug 20, 2014)

DXL said:


> Except the fact that us fans made Opeth all the money they have. Look at Slipknot, fans have been wanting a brutal song for a while. So aside from their new album, they wrote a brutal song and released it as an unofficial single and the fans loved it. If Mikael wanted to write this stuff, fine, but he could've made it a solo album like most artists do when they want to experiment with sounds different than what their band is known for. Hell, Mikael has experience with that already by using Bloodbath as his death metal go-to.



Shit bro - artist are allowed to do whatever the .... the want - get a grip. Don´t spend your hard earned 10 bucks or whatever. Its not like you are purchasing a painting worth 10k.


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## wankerness (Aug 20, 2014)

I am still waiting for the album to actually come out before I give it a really serious listen. I love how there's been a ton of discussion on the album and the dust is already settling and basically no one's even heard it legally yet! This particular leak was so far in advance I think it will really hurt potential sales, it's going to be faded from consciousness before anyone even has the chance to pay them. Well, besides nerds like me that still buy every Opeth album despite not liking the last couple


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## bln (Aug 21, 2014)

Well.. I really love Pale Communion. 

I'm happy that it's end of heaviness and growling. I love every Opeth album, Heritage was great too. In my humble opinion it's good that they changed their style. They had metal albums and after years they were oversaturated. It's time for something new. 

Also it's really annoying to see whiners and haters like " omg where's tr00 opeth, fufu heritage is crap ". How any fan can act like this? It's embarrassing, it's retarded. 
And there's lots of people who are saying that Mikael don't write good songs anymore. Imo they are still great, just few examples - Haxprocess, Folklore, Elysian Woes, Faith In Others. And people compare Heritage&Communion with Damnation. Oh dear.. it's completely different style!

I'm grateful for Opeth and all their music. I'm not fanboy. I'll buy this album.


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## wankerness (Aug 22, 2014)

bln said:


> Also it's really annoying to see whiners and haters like " omg where's tr00 opeth, fufu heritage is crap ". *How any fan can act like this?* It's embarrassing, it's retarded.



Maybe...they don't like the last two albums?


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## bln (Aug 22, 2014)

I'm not talking about polite people who just don't like last two albums. Thats totally fine to dislike something. I'm talking about haters who are constantly flaming these albums all over internet.


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## fps (Aug 22, 2014)

Gave first three tracks a listen, I will buy, good stuff \m/


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## littledoc (Aug 23, 2014)

sakeido said:


> So what? They didn't sign up to be slaves to idiots who will do nothing but bitch and moan when the band attempts to grow up and play something else. They already gave you up to nine albums (depending on when you think good Opeth starts and ends) of awesome music. Album #11 isn't your style, so you bitch about it and want to tell Mikael how to go about his artistic endeavors?
> 
> Really, just shut up. This is why I hardly venture into band threads anymore. The internet is just infuriating. If you bought all nine of those albums, congrats. You gave Opeth probably about $4.50 split between the whole band. Obviously, you are extremely important to them and your opinion counts for a whole lot with the guy who wrote ....in Blackwater Park.




Dude, what are you on about? Who are you even arguing with? No one's said that Akerfeldt "owes" anybody anything. He's an artist, he can do what he wants. But he shouldn't be surprised, and neither should anyone else, when a large number of fans are disappointed when core elements that defined the band's sound for 15 years are being completely abandoned in favor of a radical new direction. Nor should anyone be surprised that said fans are going to voice their disappointment  it's what fans friggin' do. If the internet infuriates you so much, take your righteous indignation outside and chase a ball instead.


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## Cnev (Aug 23, 2014)

Listened to the entire thing start to finish last night and again this afternoon, and I'm fairly confident I can rank this one up there with BWP and SL, which are my personal favorites. Aside from some awkward vocal sections, I'm totally in love with what they've done on this one. No doubt one of my favorites so far this year.


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## PlumbTheDerps (Aug 23, 2014)

Cnev said:


> Listened to the entire thing start to finish last night and again this afternoon, and I'm fairly confident I can rank this one up there with BWP and SL, which are my personal favorites. Aside from some awkward vocal sections, I'm totally in love with what they've done on this one. No doubt one of my favorites so far this year.



Totally agree. With a couple of exceptions of jarring transitions, which for some reason have gotten worse since BWP, it's such a good album. Really moody and beautiful. Except Goblin, which is just 70s bebop-prog.


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## ghost_of_karelia (Aug 23, 2014)

I really like it.

(inb4 ded)


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## jco5055 (Aug 23, 2014)

PlumbTheDerps said:


> Totally agree. *With a couple of exceptions of jarring transitions, which for some reason have gotten worse since BWP*, it's such a good album. Really moody and beautiful. Except Goblin, which is just 70s bebop-prog.



See that's one of my problems with this new style; the songwriting just doesn't seem as good. I can totally accept that the first two or so albums had bad transitions, but then he seemed to master it but now it's a step down again.


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## The Mirror (Aug 24, 2014)

Some people talk like Mikael actually deleted the old Opeth records and erased every persons memory about them with the last two Albums.

Guys, if you want Blackwater Park, listen to Blackwater Park.
If you want Deliverance, just listen to god damn Deliverance.
It's still there. No one stole it. 
And while you do that and stop complaining I'll just listen to Pale Communion because I think Mikael is a ....ing genius and it's as much of an Opeth record as every single one before that.

I hate Metallica after AJFA, so I just don't listen to any record of them that came out after it. I never in my life heard more than one song from St.Anger or more than the famous singles from Load/ReLoad. I didn't like them so I won't listen to them. It's not like AJFA and MOP are gone forever.


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## KFW (Aug 24, 2014)

I don't know how you can listen to Eternal Rains Will Come and not get completely stoked.


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## naw38 (Aug 24, 2014)

littledoc said:


> Dude, what are you on about? Who are you even arguing with? No one's said that Akerfeldt "owes" anybody anything. He's an artist, he can do what he wants. But he shouldn't be surprised, and neither should anyone else, when a large number of fans are disappointed when *core elements* that defined the band's sound for 15 years are being completely abandoned in favor of a radical new direction. Nor should anyone be surprised that said fans are going to voice their disappointment  it's what fans friggin' do. If the internet infuriates you so much, take your righteous indignation outside and chase a ball instead.



See, I feel that although the elements may have changed, it still feels and sounds like Opeth. The sound, to me, isn't so completely different as to warrant it being a solo record - Storm Corrosion does not sound like Opeth. Pale communion may not sound like Damnation, or Blackwater Park or anything, but to me, it still sounds like Opeth. And I love it.


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## Korbain (Aug 25, 2014)

Cnev said:


> Listened to the entire thing start to finish last night and again this afternoon, and I'm fairly confident I can rank this one up there with BWP and SL, which are my personal favorites. Aside from some awkward vocal sections, I'm totally in love with what they've done on this one. No doubt one of my favorites so far this year.



Every time i listen to it from start to finish i love it more. It's an amazing album, different. But amazing  Just don't like some of the keyboard/synth bits here and there. Overall i love it 

Can't wait for them to tour and play some of this live


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## wakjob (Aug 25, 2014)

On my third listen... absolutely brilliant.

It's mellow without being overly dark or depressing.


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## JohnIce (Aug 25, 2014)

My buddy Therés just did this interview with the guys, hot off the presses  First few minutes are about fans reacting to the new albums, how about that  Enjoy!


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## Opion (Aug 26, 2014)

KFW said:


> I don't know how you can listen to Eternal Rains Will Come and not get completely stoked.



When it comes back from that really dreary quiet part, and the organ comes in, I get this really awesome redemptive feeling. That song is such a cool opener for the album - it flies all over the place, then finally, things become clearer in the middle of it. 

I can't wait to buy the physical copy/vinyl, the artwork looks like it's gonna be super fun to look at this time around...

(Sidenote: My 666th post is about Opeth. I can dig it.)


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## Cnev (Aug 26, 2014)

JohnIce said:


> My buddy Therés just did this interview with the guys, hot off the presses  First few minutes are about fans reacting to the new albums, how about that  Enjoy!




I wish more interviewers took this approach. She does a great job of naturally creating questions from the thoughts and comments they respond to her preceding inquiries with. Creates a nice organic flow, that feels like a conversation rather than an interview.


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## Threadnaught (Aug 27, 2014)

Good interview, thanks for posting!

Got my copy on the day of release (and didn't listen to tracks beforehand kind of on purpose but also through laziness) - and love it, great tracks, obviously very carefully considered and composed. 

But then I liked Heritage. Equally I like previous albums like Blackwater Park and Deliverence for the different tone. Like previous people have said, if I want to listen to the darker stuff, I will - and if I wanted to listen to more proggy stuff, there's that too. So that's nice.

Have tickets to see them in October (seen them live 6 or 7 times now) and look forward to seeing what their set list will be.


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## fps (Aug 27, 2014)

I'm on my first listen proper, having listened to three tracks as a preview to make sure it wasn't rubbish.

I really, really like it.


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## Korbain (Aug 27, 2014)

JohnIce said:


> My buddy Therés just did this interview with the guys, hot off the presses  First few minutes are about fans reacting to the new albums, how about that  Enjoy!




loved the interview. Mike is such a cool guy


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## VBCheeseGrater (Aug 27, 2014)

Threadnaught said:


> Got my copy on the day of release (and didn't listen to tracks beforehand kind of on purpose but also through laziness)



I'm in the same boat - just ordered the CD from amazon so i can give it a proper old school listen with the booklet, pics, etc and uncompressed audio.


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## ghostred7 (Aug 27, 2014)

I **LOVE** this album so much. Gettin a bunch of 60s-70s era prog/psychadelic stuff: Dixie Dregs, Yes, Blue Oyster Cult, King Crimson, etc. The vocal harmonies are amazing on this one too.


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## mgh (Aug 27, 2014)

ghostred7 said:


> I **LOVE** this album so much. Gettin a bunch of 60s-70s era prog/psychadelic stuff: Dixie Dregs, Yes, Blue Oyster Cult, King Crimson, etc. The vocal harmonies are amazing on this one too.



If vocal harmonies are your thing check out Neal Morse/Spocks Beard and also Moon Safari


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## TimothyLeary (Aug 27, 2014)

ghostred7 said:


> I **LOVE** this album so much. Gettin a bunch of 60s-70s era prog/psychadelic stuff: Dixie Dregs, Yes, Blue Oyster Cult, King Crimson, etc. The vocal harmonies are amazing on this one too.



I like some of that stuff from 60s/70s like king crimson, gentle giant, soft machine, etc.. but i've heard like half of Pale Communion, and I just can't find any really that resembles that era apart from the synth/keyboard sound and some melodies.


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## tacotiklah (Aug 27, 2014)

I listened to the whole album and I enjoy it for what it is. I can hear massive Yes, Rush and other influences and I enjoy that. The only track I couldn't gel with was Goblin because it became a really weird elevator-music type jam that just didn't sit with me (not that it matters, but yeah).

I will enjoy this album as a great way to chill and relax and listen to music made by and for music nerds. At first listen, it seems all over the place, but I'm sure with a few more listens, I'll mine more goodness out of it. I still love this over Heritage by and far.


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## fps (Aug 27, 2014)

I don't like it as much as Heritage currently, possibly because of the clarity of the influences again. The way the last track floats in like Starless.... 
But I'll spend plenty of time with it. I like it.


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## wankerness (Aug 27, 2014)

mgh said:


> If vocal harmonies are your thing check out Neal Morse/Spocks Beard and also Moon Safari



I'd say if you do the Spock's Beard/Neal Morse thing you should start with stuff pre-Snow. Beware of Darkness and V are pretty good. Snow is a very silly Christian concept album (ripping off that movie Powder in the process) with considerably simplified songwriting and his solo stuff is just progressively more in that vein. I haven't heard any spock's beard post-Neal Morse but I'm guessing it sounds considerably different.


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## ilyti (Aug 27, 2014)

Has anyone bought the version of the album that includes a download of "audio commentary" on the making of the album? I saw that and I wondered what on earth that was. In my mind I'm picturing Mikael talking about nothing over top of the album as it plays. Actually that would be awesome.


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## wankerness (Aug 28, 2014)

I last saw him live back on the GR tour and still vividly remember his stage banter. "We had.....a first CD. Perhaps some of you have heard it....florists tend to like it....it was called Orchid.....it had an orchid on it..." And for the encore, "yes...the whole waiting backstage thing is quite stupid...we will admit that...but it feeds our egos. Would you like to hear some more rock and roll? Can you headbang for 13 more minutes? I would like to see some headbanging in the crowd....it would make me very horny." Commentary like that on the entire CD? Sounds good to me!


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## ZeroS1gnol (Aug 29, 2014)

Ive listened a couple of songs, I think it's a lot better than Heritage, because it ironically has more ties to Opeth's Heritage ;p I do think the drum production is extremely distracting. I can't shake off the idea about how awesome these songs would sound with a modern drum sound and I don't mean extremely loud and compressed.


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## Defi (Aug 29, 2014)

molsoncanadian said:


> Maybe I'm the minority here, but I thought Heritage was wicked. I loved how raw and vibe-y the whole album sounded. I think in the wake of where "metal" is today it's refreshing to hear this kind of material. Of course I love ALL of their previous work as well.
> 
> I enjoyed really early Veil of Maya, Periphery, AAL, but with how these bands tend to produce as of late (tight as shit, over processing, stitched together guitar parts, techno breakdowns ect ect) It's nice to hear some bands just getting back to basics, and going for it as naturally as possible, and jammin.



I am late to this party, but agree with this. Here's my opeth story!

-loved them @ blackwater park and beyond
-watershed propelled them to my favorite band ever at the time
-heritage released and i was crushed, hated it for a few months, then it grew on me
-present day: heritage is by far the best opeth album. I mean, my favorite. Whatever, it's damn good, the only drawback is slither, that's a shitty song, but every other minute is fantastic. ESPECIALLY the last half of the album. It first started growing on me when I just listened to that half of it... I don't even really like old opeth anymore. Hessian peel, grand conjuration, the moor, bleak... those are maybe the only older songs by them I really like. The musicianship on heritage is top notch. Everyone in this band is damn good at what they do.

Anyway, checked out the first "singles" from this album and was really bored. Soo... check back in a few months and see if it makes sense to me again.

edit: All this "for the fans" stuff is such bullshit. Art is an expression of the artist, not a desire to please people. I doubt Opeth (Mikael) wants fans that want them to write music they don't like. They want fans that like the same stuff they do, forming a connection comes from honest music. Go listen to top 40, they're doing it for the fans.


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## HaloHat (Aug 30, 2014)

I didn't think it was as horrible as most I guess? 

The thing I didn't like is how the entire "sound" is like in another room instead of in the room I'm listening from. 

Take the same song and get all the instruments sounding more raw. I don't know, I listened to some songs off Watershed then the new song and I just like the overall tone of the older recordings.


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## fps (Aug 30, 2014)

My favourites of Opeth's are My Arms You Hearse, Still Life, and Blackwater Park, and Damnation, and possibly now Heritage. They all have very different production, the dingy griminess of MAYH in particular, which is great for the music.


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## wankerness (Aug 30, 2014)

Their production is interesting in how different it is on the first 5. Morningrise and Orchid are very thin and the guitar tones are pretty dirty but it's always completely clear what every instrument is playing. My Arms Your Hearse is all trebley and icy with a weird swirl to it (it was the first one where they really started doing the riffs with the gigantic chords and super-lush guitar harmonies, ex the end of April Ethereal or the break/outro on When or the outro on Demon of the Fall), the vocals in particular are reverbed to heck and it perfectly suits the lyrics since it's all from the perspective of a ghost. Still Life is the one album of theirs where the production actively went wrong, the first release is famous for the drop-outs and stuff. I think it still sounds pretty good, the vocals and guitar riffs are often just massive, and the cleans shimmer. Blackwater Park was where things finally got entirely slick and smooth and they've pretty much just been working with that ever since, with variants on the guitar tone used. My favorite sounding album of theirs is Ghost Reveries, I think the guitar and bass sound on that is the best they ever had, it's definitely the most modern though. My Arms Your Hearse remains my favorite album by a mile.

I just picked the special edition of this album up at my local record store yesterday so I'll probably get around to listening to it closely today. I was kinda disappointed that the second disc in it was a bluray instead of a DVD, so I don't think it is going to be possible to rip the surround version to my harddrive as the five separate audio tracks like I could with the 5.1 still life. The artwork on the back with the band members as playing cards is hilarious, I love that kind of thing.


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## fps (Aug 30, 2014)

wankerness said:


> Their production is interesting in how different it is on the first 5. Morningrise and Orchid are very thin and the guitar tones are pretty dirty but it's always completely clear what every instrument is playing. My Arms Your Hearse is all trebley and icy with a weird swirl to it (it was the first one where they really started doing the riffs with the gigantic chords and super-lush guitar harmonies, ex the end of April Ethereal or the break/outro on When or the outro on Demon of the Fall), the vocals in particular are reverbed to heck and it perfectly suits the lyrics since it's all from the perspective of a ghost. Still Life is the one album of theirs where the production actively went wrong, the first release is famous for the drop-outs and stuff. I think it still sounds pretty good, the vocals and guitar riffs are often just massive, and the cleans shimmer. Blackwater Park was where things finally got entirely slick and smooth and they've pretty much just been working with that ever since, with variants on the guitar tone used. My favorite sounding album of theirs is Ghost Reveries, I think the guitar and bass sound on that is the best they ever had, it's definitely the most modern though. My Arms Your Hearse remains my favorite album by a mile.
> 
> I just picked the special edition of this album up at my local record store yesterday so I'll probably get around to listening to it closely today. I was kinda disappointed that the second disc in it was a bluray instead of a DVD, so I don't think it is going to be possible to rip the surround version to my harddrive as the five separate audio tracks like I could with the 5.1 still life. The artwork on the back with the band members as playing cards is hilarious, I love that kind of thing.



It's funny, I consider MAYH quite a muddy album, like the low end feels big just because of the lack of clarity in it? His voice is so emotive on that record, I prefer it over new "pro bluesman" Mike  From the start they definitely proved you don't need to have a big budget to produce your records in a proper, clear manner, I'm glad they're not full-on black metal in a bathroom- sounding. Guess I should relisten MAYH, swirl is definitely the right word, and it's a very alive, live-sounding thing to me too. Still Life, yeah the drop-out, and that's the one I'd consider a little thin in the production if any. But it's an amazing journey.


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## jacksonplayer (Aug 30, 2014)

I love this new album from start to finish.

The one I don't like about where Opeth has been going since Ghost Reveries is that they had their own distinctive sound, and they've been avoiding that by chasing vintage prog textures. As much as I love Mellotrons and Hammonds, the band might be well-served by going for more unusual sounds.


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## chopeth (Aug 30, 2014)

I hope it grows the more you listen to it, because I listened to it for my first time yesterday and I found it the most boring MEH I've listened to since heritage. Where the hell are the guitars? maybe deep understanding is needed here, I really feel weird reading all of your positive comments. I wish Opeth the best anyway, great musicians and better people, but not my musical cup of tea anymore. Sadly my nickname doesn't collaborate.


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## Mwoit (Aug 31, 2014)

I thought this album was really good.


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## wankerness (Aug 31, 2014)

I listened to it a couple times yesterday, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. There are lots of cool riffs and sections of songs, and I actually can listen to it start to finish without wanting to hit the skip button, but it feels so EMPTY. A lot of the sections of songs sound like half-finished demos, like they're missing some guitar tracks or something, the sound is just so thin on a lot of riffs. It's obviously a huge improvement from Heritage, but I don't love it yet. It's something I'll continue listening to for a while, though, so it could definitely continue growing on me.


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## VBCheeseGrater (Sep 2, 2014)

The album came in mail over the weekend. ITS GOOD! I'm really surprised how much i'm enjoying it, considering the two tracks I heard early didn't blow me away at first. Probably only had about 3 listens but it's already sinking in nicely. I LOVE the ending to "Moon Above, Sun Below". It's definitely a straight Prog album, but unlike Heritage, it's full of meat, less filler.

Color me impressed


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## fps (Sep 2, 2014)

Elysian Woes is just To Rid The Disease?


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## Jarmake (Sep 2, 2014)

fps said:


> Elysian Woes is just To Rid The Disease?



I don't hear it? There's some bits from heritage that i can hear on the album, but to rid the disease is superior by far, compared to any song on heritage or pale community.


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## wankerness (Sep 2, 2014)

Jarmake said:


> I don't hear it? There's some bits from heritage that i can hear on the album, but to rid the disease is superior by far, compared to any song on heritage or pale *community.*



Check out how my record store had it labelled:


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## DXL (Sep 2, 2014)

That's why it was on sale


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## Churchie777 (Sep 2, 2014)

Cusp Of Eternity kicks some mellow arse! reading some of the comments on youtube make brain cells die i hate how people keep living off the past (and i mean very very early) and hate the fact that bands evolve change their taste or direction it happens but again i don't see how this is a shock they have mellowed for a while now


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## witeter (Sep 11, 2014)

Over the last couple of days I am starting to feel like this album is really growing on me. Even though I am a huge Opeth fan, they have always been a band that I have to commit listening time too; i cant dip in and out of their music. They almost demand me to listen and immerse myself in their soundscapes. I love the production of this album, everything sounds alive and real, the vocals are gorgeous and the textures and harmonies are beautiful. This album strikes me as a very personal one to Mikael, and i think that translates into the emotions portrayed in the songs- I have no doubt that he is a true musical genius. At one point I was sure that Goblin would be the first Opeth song I had ever hated; however I am now happily bopping along to it. I look forward to listening to it more in the coming weeks and time will tell how it fits for me amongst their back catalogue. So far, it strikes me as a confident, brave, focused, personal and beautifully crafted piece of work and i cant wait to see them live in October.


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## Zalbu (Sep 21, 2014)

I just listened to this and I honestly don't see what the fuzz is about, it's just some straight up, solid prog rock. Way better than Heritage, that's for sure. Bands are always going to evolve and change their sound and it's not like their back catalogue is gone. People who were expecting another Blackwater Park or Still Life can go back and listen to those albums.


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## Opion (Sep 21, 2014)

witeter said:


> Over the last couple of days I am starting to feel like this album is really growing on me. Even though I am a huge Opeth fan, they have always been a band that I have to commit listening time too; i cant dip in and out of their music. They almost demand me to listen and immerse myself in their soundscapes. I love the production of this album, everything sounds alive and real, the vocals are gorgeous and the textures and harmonies are beautiful. This album strikes me as a very personal one to Mikael, and i think that translates into the emotions portrayed in the songs- I have no doubt that he is a true musical genius. At one point I was sure that Goblin would be the first Opeth song I had ever hated; however I am now happily bopping along to it. I look forward to listening to it more in the coming weeks and time will tell how it fits for me amongst their back catalogue. So far, it strikes me as a confident, brave, focused, personal and beautifully crafted piece of work and i cant wait to see them live in October.



Very well said. Previous classic Opeth albums (need I mention which ones) I immediately fell in love with, took time to immerse myself in, and picked apart every little detail and noticed how well they fit together. But Heritage, Watershed and Pale Communion marked a turning point for the band and it took me time to digest some specific songs, but I feel that's just a sign of a change in style, emotion and ambition for an artist to put out something that's different and not the same old, same old. And I respect Mikael & Co. for striving to achieve something they haven't done before. I used to not really care for Heritage, but I still find myself getting songs like Lines in My Hand stuck in my head, for example. I feel this album really hit the mark with the direction Opeth are heading in, and am super excited for what's to come


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## fps (Sep 22, 2014)

I definitely like Heritage more than this. The first three tracks are amazing though.


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## ElysianGuitars (Sep 22, 2014)

I can't get into this album at all, and Heritage sort of grew on me (to the point I won't turn it off if it comes on in the car, but I don't actively seek to listen to it) but I really wish Opeth stopped at Watershed. This new stuff would easily fit under another project. To me, Pale Communion is boring, uninspired, regurgitated 70s prog. There's not much originality there, and there's nothing to keep me interested.


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## Chiba666 (Sep 23, 2014)

Really like this album, production is great. Vocals are so so clear and well I'm not a prog guy but this I like


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## wakjob (Sep 23, 2014)

Well hell. When I saw them live last year, 90+ percent of their set was older heavier stuff anyway so...

Who cares what they do in the studio now. Still diggin' the album weeks later. Kudos Mikael and gang!


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