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Opeth: Heritage

23/09/11 || cadenz

From a fan base point of view, Opeth’s tenth album could very aptly be titled “Watershed”. The reactions have been, and will continue to be, extremely divided. Whereas the nine first albums displayed a mixture of death metal, prog rock and ambient acoustics, “Heritage” concentrates wholly on the two latter, driving a stylistic cleft between the more conservative and the more open-minded listeners. While the thought of an Opeth album without growls and distorted guitar walls may seem odd, consider their fantastic, semi-acoustic, 2003 effort “Damnation”. They can bring it, if they want. Does “Heritage” do the job? Let’s see.

We are greeted by an instrumental title track that seems to be a homage to the late, great Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson with its jazz-tinged mellow folk music. The next track, “The Devil’s Orchard”, displays most of the stuff happening during the course of the record, so it was an apt choice for a pre-album-release single. We get hardish prog rock with excellent vocals by Åkerfeldt, abrupt transitions, lots of keyboards, hazy atmospheres and an organic soundscape.

All the tracks on the album are very different from each other. We have fusion-influenced jamming (“Nepenthe”), somber and beautiful chordal playing on bass with an ambient atmosphere (“Häxprocess”), Rainbow-esque hard rock (“Slither”), an eerily fluttering flute coupled with a bone-crushingly heavy doom riff (“Famine”) etc etc. Diversity is found aplenty, and while there is a lot of information coming at you, it has all gone through the Opeth filter. Much of the material is totally new in style for Opeth, but there are many things you recognize from the band’s past: note choices, rhythm patterns, chord structures, and of course – Mike’s voice.

Even though his magnificent growls are not utilized, Åkerfeldt makes his best vocal effort on tape here. His cleans have gotten constantly better, he found his rock voice for real on “Watershed” (especially the bonus cover track of Robin Trower’s “Bridge of Sighs” is stunning), and now he’s even bold enough to insert some very tasteful 70’s style falsetto notes (“Famine”), that for some reason remind me of Ted Neeley. Great vocalist, check him out. The drum and bass tracks were laid live in the studio, which generates a whole different groove. Just like Mike, the Martins Mendez and Axenrot have never sounded better. Tight, groovy and tasteful. Fred Åkesson’s leads deserve to be mentioned as well; the solo at the end of “The Devil’s Orchard” is pure class and the manic fusion outbursts on “Nepenthe” are jaw-droppingly wild.

Just like the whole record, the production strives to be both vintage and pioneering at the same time. The overall volume of “Heritage” is relatively low, which makes the use of dynamics possible. The quiet parts are quiet, and the loud parts are loud. This is natural in all music, but has been stripped away from modern recordings because of the infamous loudness war. As this album’s songwriting gazes back to main man Mike’s musical heritage (hence the title, I presume) from the 60’s and 70’s, it’s more than fitting to have a production that reflects that. Recorded at the legendary Atlantis/Metronome Studios (ABBA), it’s needless to say that “Heritage” sounds ace. Especially the drums and bass sound awesome. The only thing that bugs me is the occasional over-twanginess of the guitars. The lack of distortion is not an issue, but sometimes there’s a nasty edge to the guitar sound that’s not pleasant.

My main concern with this disc is the disjointed nature of some of the songs. Transitions between song parts don’t always have to be smooth – stark contrasts can be very effective – but on some songs the numerous mood swings can cause the listener to scratch his head and wonder where the track is heading, and if there is an aim or point to it at all. Especially “Famine” stands out in this regard. The song structures are very linear, not many parts make another appearance during a song’s course, so discerning and following the red thread can sometimes be a daunting task. The best remedy to this is multiple listens, and I’ve noticed a huge improvement in my enjoyment and understanding of the tracks’ flow from one atmosphere to another after listening to the album for a longer period of time. Also, if not properly arranged, the quality of riffs and melodies gets hampered and they don’t get to live up to their true potential. Same goes here, knowing what’s coming heightens the individual bits and pieces of songwriting; after one listen only one part had me going bananas (the epic closing 2½ minutes of “Folklore”), but for every spin more killer stuff pops out. Like most Opeth albums, “Heritage” is a grower, though maybe even more so than any of the previous nine.

It is evident that Åkerfeldt has chosen to take his band on the road towards prog nirvana, and I applaud his decision. A band should never stay still, but move always forward – especially a prog band. That’s what progressive means. The next album, or observation as they say in the Opeth camp, will hopefully be a little bit more coherent, otherwise there’s not much to complain about. I am pleased.

8,5

Information
Released: 2011
Label: Roadrunner
Website: www.opeth.com
Band
Mikael Åkerfeldt: vocals, guitars
Fredrik Åkesson: guitars
Martín Méndez: bass
Per Wiberg: keyboards
Martin Axenrot: drums

Tracklist
01. Heritage
02. The Devil’s Orchard
03. I Feel the Dark
04. Slither
05. Nepenthe
06. Häxprocess
07. Famine
08. The Lines In My Hand
09. Folklore
10. Marrow of the Earth

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