Review Summary: Change has never felt so good.
Throughout their illustrious career, Opeth have managed to consistently balance their death metal ferocity with their beautiful folkish aesthetic. Their earlier offerings even managed to bring some black metal elements into their ever welcoming musical pallet. Evolution is something the band has mostly only dabbled in slightly, with 2003's
Damnation being the only exception.
Damnation saw a full realisation of their folk-like roots, with breath-taking acoustic tracks scattered across the record. All the death metal elements of their earlier records had been all but banished, and this move, surprisingly, went unscrutinised by much of their fanbase. With classics such as ‘Windowpane’ and ‘Hope Leaves’, many fans seemed willing for the band to continue in this minimalistic direction. However, when Opeth decided to take their musical direction into full blown progressive rock which was then to be their newest record,
Heritage, why was it such a big problem? The lack of death growls maybe? Each explanation is as possible as the next, this is certainly Opeth as never seen or heard before.
The musicianship found on
Heritage is one of marvel and seamlessness. In true Opeth fashion, mostly every song found on this album take many twists and turns throughout their respected run times. ‘The Devils Orchard’ begins with a jazzy guitar riff which eventually segways into a quite spectacular climax, with Martin Mendez bringing some of his finest bass work to the fold throughout. The longer tracks found here such as 'Folklore' are so multi-faceted they require multiple listens to fully sink in, in true Opeth style. From the off-kilter opening riff to the grandiose bass driven outro, the song truly encompasses what the band is all about; taking the listener on a musical journey. ‘Slither’, one of the more straightforward tracks on the album, still showcases Opeth's ability to rock a humongous groove. There isn't much in the way of experimentation here, but the song still remains as a nice change of pace to what is quite a slow burner of an overall record.
The centrepiece of every Opeth record is undoubtedly their frontman, vocalist and lead guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt. Whilst there is nothing even resembling a death metal roar on here from Mikael,
Heritage truly showcases his swooning clean vocals perfectly. With every song on this record virtually being quite a slow and quiet affair, Mikael's vocals are brought to the forefront. Whether its his heart pounding highs found in 'The Devils Orchard', or his fantastic smooth, quiet styled vocals found in ‘Häxprocess’, Akerfeldt never misses a beat when it comes to injecting emotion into
Heritage. the aforementioned 'Häxprocess' is arguably one of Opeth's most intimate and tear jerk-worthy songs ever. Starting out with an angelic piano passage which then leads into a beautifully executed acoustic passage with a fantastic mellotron overlay, the track is truly a marvel, especially with its fantastic fade out solo towards the end of the track. The song further strengthens the albums unique personality, even though
Heritage borrows heavily from the 70's progressive rock scene, it’s still undoubtedly Opeth, both in terms of sound and songwriting.
As mentioned before, the musicianship found on
Heritage is a marvel. However, along with Mikael, there is one musician who stands out even more so: drummer Martin Axenrot. Axe's performance throughout the album gives the record a free flowing personality, which works incredibly well given the number of musical segways there are throughout. His fills found in songs such as 'Häxprocess' and 'Famine' are blasting with so much flamboyance that one cannot help but just appreciate the skill and imagination executed. The bending riffs meld perfectly with Axe's bizarre drumming style, giving the album yet another irresistible dynamic.
When all is said and done,
Heritage is yet another stellar triumph for Opeth. Regardless of whether the album received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, the record still showcases a willingness to experiment and not just to rehash past albums in the bands catalogue.
Heritage is the progressive rock classic that was never released in the 70's, whilst still retaining enough of the bands traits to set it apart from any other album found in the genre. The complaints are without a doubt understandable, but for this reviewer personally, change has never felt so good.
