Opeth, Heritage

I’ve always been fascinated with Opeth, but I could never listen to it unless I was in the certain mood. The alternation between the aggressive growling was too tough to swallow when I was feeling tired and the atmospheric and burdening calmer parts was tough to swallow when I was in a good energetic mood. It was part of their genius, but it also made those moments where I was in the exact state required to enjoy them very rare. And then Heritage came along. Giving up the aggressiveness almost completely and focusing on the mellow weirder side of Opeth, Heritage turned out to be my favourite Opeth album so far.

It has everything I love about this band – that eerie instrumental, the strong presence of keyboards, the crying electric guitar, the classical guitar, the sudden changes of rhythm and Akerfeldt’s unmistakable clean vocals. I have to make a special mention for the vocals. I always thought Akerfeldt to be an incredible vocalist, the way he goes from those demonic grunts to that gentle clean voice is fascinating and I love the colour of his voice, there is something really special about it. It’s so full of warmth and sadness and melancholy and all sorts of mixed emotions. Definitely a mesmerising voice! Given all the jumps and changes and breaks that are characteristic for Opeth and present in this album as well, I have to say the simplicity of the opening and ending instrumental and the way they flow so beautifully are very refreshing, especially as a way of introducing you and then taking you out of the atmosphere of an album with obvious impact over the listener’s emotions.

The fact they completely gave up the grunts and the fast paced death metal drumming doesn’t mean that they gave up the metal altogether, in fact except for that aspect, they’re still very much themselves (albeit toned down a bit) and you can tell them apart from a thousand. I find that very interesting about them, that they completely gave up a large part of their identity (to the point where it can be called a huge change of style), but at the same time they’re completely identifiable and unique and you can find that Opeth signature all over the album. That’s true genius!

It’s a very dark album, both thematically and musically, but it’s the kind of darkness that you can appreciate, not get driven crazy by. Personally I love the burdening and slightly creepy atmosphere, they’re one of those bands that transport you to another place and make you sink into their world completely. Also, I find it very rare for atmospheric songs to be also memorable, usually memorability is associated with a certain catchiness and accessibility, but Opeth somehow are able to have both. They’re such a band of contrasts, I find it enchanting. And on this album they explore and experiment even more, going through jazz, folk, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, horror movies soundtracks, psychedelic rock, Latin instrumentals… and strangely it doesn’t sound all over the place. I have no idea how they manage to do that, but it’s such a coherent and yet eclectic album. Yes, a band of contrasts through and through. I can understand why not everyone appreciates it, though, it’s… I can’t even find a word for it. It’s just Opeth.

Best songs: I can’t make up my mind. Every time I listen to a song, I go “ok, this is the best from the album”. And then the next comes and I go “no, this one”. It’s an amazing album!

Weakest songs: after calling each song a favourite at some point, it’s impossible to name a weak one, they’re all exceptional and the style is very similar in all of them (luckily without becoming redundant). So there you go, an album where I can’t find a single weak track, not even by comparison. I’m running out of superlatives here, but I have to say it’s a brilliant brilliant album.