Heritage stands out within the band’s rich discography not
only because of how drastically different it sounds to Deliverance or My
Arms Your Hearse, but also because, as different as it is, there’s so much
in common here with the band’s past work that this album fits in the band’s
catalog as a sign of extremely natural evolution. If you like Opeth for the
rhythm changes, strong acoustic instrumentation and progressive structures, you’re
going to feel right at home with Heritage – despite having no death
growls whatsoever and much gentler guitar distortion, Heritage definitely
does sound like Opeth
That said, Heritage
also doesn’t sound at all like Damnation. This album doesn’t have an
Opeth ballad in the vein of Benighted, Credence, Isolation
Years or even Burden. All the songs in Heritage (excluding
the opening and closing instrumentals) come, at some point, to a level of
intensity that easily matches their heaviest parts, even if it isn’t as loud. However,
as expected from a progressive album, there are soothing moments of incredible
beauty here - dark, foreboding sounds that harken back to the likes of Face
of Melinda and To Rid the Disease.
What is it?
Heritage has so many influences that it’s hard to
pinpoint exactly what it sounds like. The insanely Jazzy Nepenthe is a psychedelic
journey through absolutely psychotic musicianship, mixing the famous brush-sticks
with strong bass work, disturbing keys and shredding guitars courtesy of the
masterful Fredrik Åkesson who, by the way, does a spectacular job playing leads
throughout this album, elegantly walking the fine line between sheer metal
crunch and gentler melodies that would fit rather nicely in a blues song.
You’ll hear much more than jazz here – the second half of Famine
is a delightful mix of keys, vocals, ominous flutes and one of the band’s
heaviest riffs to date, a trudging sound that brings Candlemass to mind. The
appropriately-named I feel the Dark and Häxprocess put a heavy
emphasis on classical guitars, and the latter also has an Hours of Wealth-like
guitar solo from Åkerfeldt concluding it that will surely have you shut your
eyes and revel in its melodic licks.
There are two oddballs here, though. Opeth’s tribute to the
great Ronnie James Dio, titled Slither, sounds a lot like A Twist in
the Tale from Deep Purple, and its fast-paced, short structure may feel a
bit out of place to some listeners. On its own, it’s a fantastic ride, but this
writer feels it would fit better as a bonus track. The other is The Lines in
My Hands. Unlike Slither, this shorty fits perfectly in the middle
of a run of three 7 –and 8-minute songs, and is the only song on Heritage
that doesn’t sound like anything Opeth’s done before whatsoever. It is
completely fresh-sounding, juggling between incredible bass grooves, playful
acoustic guitars and vocals that serve no other purpose really than to layer
the enchanting instrumentation, right before going into a frenzied mix of
distorted guitars and some of Åkerfeldt’s most rock star-ish vocals yet, setting
the intensity level high enough for the beginning of Folklore (an
absolute highlight of Åkerfeldt’s career as a musician) to slowly creep into
your consciousness with its Swedish folk melody.
The voice of growth
Anyone who’s familiar with Opeth would look forward to
hearing Åkerfeldt’s vocals on any new material the band releases, and with good
reason – Mikael’s emotive voice is one of the band’s selling points, yet the
guy decided to take more of a back seat on this one. Whereas on albums like Ghost
Reveries and Watershed his vocals were always up front, here they mix
with the mix, never loud enough to obscure the powerful instrumental work done
here, but never low enough as to let it overwhelm him. You’ll hear much more of
the rasp heard in Burden and Hessian Peel – Åkerfeldt is not a
professionally trained vocalist, but he confidently lets it all out here,
resulting in a more intense vocal performance than on past endeavors, casting
care to the wind and shipping the thing complete with vocal imperfections. With
that in mind, you’ll still hear plenty of the softness he’s become famous for,
and the two styles mix wonderfully.
From an instrumental standpoint as well, Heritage is
an absolute delicacy. Despite incredible guitar work from Åkerfeldt and Åkesson,
it’s the work by bassist Martin Mendez and drummer Martin Axernot that nearly
steal the show here. Recorded live, the drums and bass on this album are
absolutely inspiring, with nary a moment of tedious, just-there rhythms. The
two work together magically to provide a deep, necessary layer to the music
that will have the listener pondering why so many bands choose not to emphasize
those instruments enough. Per Wiberg is to be commended as well, as this
talented keyboarding does an amazing job of upgrading the songs with the diverse
sounds of organs and mellotrons. To top it all off, classical instruments such
as flutes and oboes are used in precise quantities, granting Heritage
some continuity with Watershed and enriching the band’s sound.
Recorded using more traditional techniques and equipment, Heritage
doesn’t sound as sonically refined as Ghost Reveries, but enjoys a more
natural sound that’s more reminiscent of something recorded in the 70s. A
balanced mix courtesy of mixing expert Steven Wilson rounds things up nicely,
and nothing ever sounds out of place or overwhelming.
The only real glaring issue I have with Heritage is
that it’s not a very lyrically strong album. Opeth has never been known for its
complex, ocean-deep lyrics and sadly Heritage is no exception. It’s hard
for me to make sense of most of the songs here, and Åkerfeldt’s foray into
political themes (The Lines in My Hand) could have been handled better,
if not discarded completely.
Closure
Heritage is definitely a progressive rock album, but
it manages to sound wholly new in a well-tread genre. It is dark, intense, emotional
and sophisticated, and it’s absolutely impossible to ignore the musical
achievements reached here. All members of the band come together and create a
stunning musical whole that’s better than the sum of its spectacular parts. It
might be tarnished a little bit by the inclusion of Slither and the
less-than-impressive lyrics, but one short replay of the ending melody of Folklore
(an incredible reference to The Drapery Falls) will mitigate any shortcoming
this album has. It is chock-full of moments that will have you grinning with an
incredible sensation of listening to something that’s warmly familiar and
delightfully fresh at the same time.
Mikael Åkerfeldt proves his potency as a musician in that,
in creating something that’s undoubtedly very different from the band’s
previous efforts, it still retains that Opeth atmosphere of darkness and beauty
that we’ve come to love him for. Heritage is definitely a doozy, and a
hallmark release not just for Opeth, but for progressive rock, and music, in
general.
Score: 9.7/10
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