Opeth - Heritage review
| Band: | Opeth |
| Album: | Heritage |
| Style: | Progressive rock |
| Release date: | September 2011 |
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
11. Pyre [DVD bonus]
12. Face In The Snow [DVD bonus]
The general consensus when a great band dares to move away from their original Death Metal sound is usually not positive. However Opeth have done it before masterfully with Damnation in 2003. They are back at it with one of the year's most anticipated albums, Heritage.
Cutting to the chase: Compared to their previous releases, Heritage lacks character. Despite the song structures being very progressive rock and the vocals being crazy good, the absence of catchy guitar riffs or memorable growls is a downer. One can positively recognize Opeth as the artist, especially since a lot of the songs borrow tidbits straight from the Ghost Reveries period. Certainly they manage to perpetuate a dark atmosphere throughout the album, but the mellowness of the whole thing is borderline irritating to someone expecting their trademark sound. I know we have been forewarned by Mikael Åkerfeldt himself about this being a throwback kind of release. Still, I believe this would be either catchier or more aggressive. Nevertheless the album does feature good moments, mostly from the jazz-infused portions of the songs.
Most of the vocal work by Mikael is spot on and even more breathtaking than ever before. And yes, we are talking about clean vocals only, which is unfortunate. Technically there is nothing to complain about, musicianship is at an all-time high. But when your band has members or former members of Bloodbath and Arch Enemy, listeners are bound to expect a little ferociousness whether in the form of harsh vocals or hell-spawn guitar riffs.
This is undeniably the one album that will have fans divided. On its own it is a great 70s-inspired throwback progressive rock album. Assessed as part of Opeth discography it fails to win me over completely. It is grand if you are into progressive rock and the band need to be applauded for the effort and guts to do something like this at this stage of their career. But ultimately the dearth of grabbing melodies endures as the downfall of Heritage.
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Written on 20.09.2011 by
Bringing you reviews of quality music and interesting questions such as: "A picture is worth a thousand words. How many words is a song worth?" I have only got so much patience and skills, you do the math. |
Rating:
8.6
8.6
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Rating: 8.6 |
Heritage poses more questions than answers. Have Opeth reached a creative cul-de-sac? Have they chucked their "Extreme Progressive Death Metal" for good? Have they finally shed their "Underground Garage Band" (I am quoting Akerfeldt from an earlier interview) and have ventured out into the Pantheon of the "mainstream" Gods from their hallowed underground temple so frequented by hordes of reverent worshipers? Read more ›› |
Comments page 3 / 5
| R'Vannith ghedengi Posts: 3099 From: Australia  |
Written by Merchant of Doom on 21.09.2011 at 10:20 I suppose you're right, in the end it doesn't really matter whether what the reviewer thinks of when they say 70's prog rock is necessarily the same as what the reader would think, as long as it brings something to mind which is also present in the album. Which does relate back to what I said before that it is a vague description, but if such a description succeeds in giving the reader a general impression of what they're in for when they listen to 'Heritage' and they subsequently identify bits and pieces which they figure sounds like 70's prog rock then that certainly works.
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702 From: UK  |
Written by DragonWisdom on 21.09.2011 at 17:20 well, I thought a band's prerogative would also be to please the fans to a certain extent... how many fans left disappointed last night? Probably lots. It would have cost them nothing to throw in a couple of heavier songs. I really hate it when bands do that. It just shows a total lack of respect for the fans... in name of what? Musical integrity? I hate this "sorry, we have become this famous proggy band now and no way we are going to play the heavy stuff with harsh vocals anymore"-bollocks...
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Posts: 40071 From: The Netherlands  |
Written by Merchant of Doom on 21.09.2011 at 17:41 it's not as if it's a free concert. People pay good money to see them. If they intend to play a totally acoustic gig, for instance, they should make that clear well in advance so fans that want to hear the heavier stuff can decide not to buy a ticket. Now they are just ripped off imo. If it would happen to me I would try and get a partial refund under the guise of the band luring me in there under more or less false pretences.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702 From: UK |
They probably don't care about that... why play live, then? Are they playing for themselves? Possibly... or for the money, more likely... 
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| DragonWisdom Posts: 33 From: USA  |
Written by Merchant of Doom on 21.09.2011 at 17:41 They DID play heavy stuff... But nothing with the death growls... This tour and the set theme is very close to how damnation was... There were def people who left disappointed but the flow and set list IMHO was bold and worked very very well... I understand the side of the argument that there should of been the brutality side of Opeth (that we all love) but i don't want to get into an online pissing contest because what I believe the band did was great...
---- Keep it Brutal!!!
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| DragonWisdom Posts: 33 From: USA |
Also here was the set... The Devil's Orchard , I Feel the Dark, Face of Melinda, Porcelain Heart, Nepenthe *Acoustic: The Throat of Winter, Closure, Patterns in the Ivy II* Slither, A Fair Judgement, Hex Omega, Encore: Folklore
---- Keep it Brutal!!!
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702 From: UK |
Yes, it is a bit OT, I agree...  I'm sure the set was great, but even in the present review, after all these years, the lack of growls is mentioned... I think we all love/loved the harsher side of Opeth and we are always a bit disappointed when we don't get to hear it/see it... but this probably could be the subject of another topic entirely (yes, this is how boring I am)...
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| DragonWisdom Posts: 33 From: USA |
Written by Merchant of Doom on 21.09.2011 at 19:03 Not boring... just addicted ... I do have a theory that the next album will be out a lot faster than Heritage and be so ferocious that this bump in the road will soon be forgotten.
---- Keep it Brutal!!!
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702 From: UK |
Written by DragonWisdom on 21.09.2011 at 19:08 I think a mix of fast (harsh) and atmospheric would be appreciated... But I doubt they'll do that... they'll turn into Anathema soon...
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| Ghostdancer Posts: 196 From: USA  |
Straight prog rock and no metal. This is the first album they've ever released that disappointed me. Damnation lacked the death vocals but the song structures were less of a burden on my nerves. This simply GRATED on my nerves from the moment the intro ended until the end of the album. If that setlist mentioned above is the setlist they're going to use during their show here next month, I guess I won't be going to see them. (And I've seen every Opeth show in the Phoenix area since 2003.) I hope the next record is better.
---- "Bullshit! You didn't convince me!"
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| AXA Posts: 199  |
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| John B Posts: 1 From: USA |
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| Opethian Posts: 1728 From: USA  |
Written by DragonWisdom on 21.09.2011 at 17:20 Pure fucking Poetry! + 1 
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| advent Posts: 268 From: Egypt  |
Written by Merchant of Doom on 21.09.2011 at 20:49 I'm afraid they are going in this direction, being simple and losing a lot of their diversity , complex songwriting and atmosphere for simplicity sake.
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| @gent_-_orange Posts: 905 From: UK  |
Written by advent on 22.09.2011 at 01:28 IMO this is a well executed and at times beautiful album, But you are right I think, This kind of album is good for Opeth every once in a while, But I seriously hope Opeth dont continue down this path permanently.
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| Misfit74 Posts: 443 From: USA  |
I'm of the thinking that 1. the album is brilliant and 2. the album is brilliant in part because of who made this album. That's why it's 'original' - not original to prog rock or whatever, but original because a more or less progressive metal/death-metal band did such a brilliant album of prog rock, jazz influence and that's such a diversion (see: original) from the bulk of the band's other works. They didn't just try and go the direction or try and add more prog influences: they produced an entire album at a masterful level of workmanship. Those are reasons the album should score highly - even if it shouldn't score highly in direct relation to previous Opeth or other death-metal (or other similar Opeth-related genres or sub-genres). All that said I hope the next Opeth album delivers some power and brutality! For now, I'll get that from other bands I enjoy and hope when I see Opeth in a few weeks that they play a good portion of previous work. 
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Posts: 15250  |
Written by John B on 21.09.2011 at 23:08 in a nuthshell that's about it. the dichotomy of approach - though i wouldn't call them brutal. they dropped a lot of what made them Opeth in this release. i kinda dig the album... but it's missing what i enjoyed most about Still Life or Morningrise. i can understand why fans would get upset. i like the band but don't care enough to get militantly fired up one way or another.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Daggon Underpaid M.D. Posts: 1689 From: Mexico  |
I feel quite lazy to read the shitstorm of comments above so, the only thing I have to say is that I like this album, sounds really cool, but I can't stop feeling disappointed, I expected, well, you know, more METAL. Thanks
---- "Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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| ATG Posts: 59 From: Canada  |
Heritage is a great and in fact a classic Opeth album, only real fans who understand the progressive nature of Opeth's style and as Mikael Akerfeldt's opinion of him not wanting every album to sound the same, it may not be the best, but for real fans of Opeth who appreciate there music, should know this is totally in the lines of Opeth's work, and it sounds the way it did because they went back to basics something very interesting, as metal should also have no boundaries, hense the meaning of progressive.
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| Powerslavex Alexskywalker Posts: 777 From: UK  |
I genuinely dislike this album no offense (6/10)
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| Surion Posts: 21 From: Bolivia  |
I honestly prefer Watershed over this, but still think it's an excellent album, maybe needs some more spins since I'm not a fan of 70's prog.
---- Ereßµ§ ø? ßløøð
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| Mad Mike Posts: 163 From: Canada  |
What's this with their setlist on this tour? Are they pulling an Iron Maiden?
---- Did you ever notice that the people who tell you to get a life are normally people who should be dead in the first place?
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| ToMegaTherion Posts: 718 From: Australia  |
I am really enjoying Heritage, it is an excellent album IMO. maybe not up there with their earlier works, but I like the sound even though it is perhaps a little more mellow then other Opeth albums with the exception of Damnation. I think 7.8 is perhaps a little low for me, but I can understand that this album may not be what some Opeth fans were hoping for. 8.5 would be more my vote, its good, not great, but worth a listen and is a decent effort. I like the almost power metal undertone to it, which is perhaps the source of some disappointment for some.
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| elekctric Posts: 105 From: USA  |
I finally!!! got my copy today and I got to say I loved it first run through.... I think the haters need to realize that there is more than just metal out there to listen to... broaden your horizons a bit and you may find something that you love other than just death metal or black metal etc.... I would rate it at least an 8 for sure ... then again I love me some prog rock/metal so maybe a bit biased... But as always Opeth did it awesome and their way... Its not a real reach anyhow with their prog influences... They are inherent in a lot of their music anyhow..
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| Garth Vader Posts: 72 From: USA  |
I think the debate here centers around two different points of argument. First is the argument that the current Opeth we are now faced with is somehow not the same band that released "Blackwater Park". The second argument is that Opeth is still releasing quality material. In my opinion, Opeth will always find a way to release a quality album, well constructed, deliberately assembled, and critically important. I say that while I readily admit to not being much of a fan of "Heritage". It meets the criteria of being a well produced and important album but for me fails on that first argument, that it is still the same band that released some classic metal music that we all know and have come to regard so highly. If I was into jazz-fusion rock or 70's-esque prog rock this album would be something to behold I'm sure. But it is not metal. It is sort of like watching Matt Groening paint still life after having enjoyed his animating the Simpsons and Futurama for so long. It just wouldn't hold my interest for much longer than a curious look. This is a big difference from the "Deliverance" and "Damnation" albums which I thought fit so well in the Opethian catalog because they were paired. I buy Opeth for that combination of subtle and overt, the juxtaposition of the beautiful and the brutal and the way they interplay. I don't find "Heritage" holding my attention in the same way, and that is a shame.
---- Now I so clearly see how I have murdered me
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| MightyFuckinThor Posts: 29 From: USA |
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| Víctor Posts: 13  |
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| bluemobiusx Account deleted |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada  |
Funny...I finally start "getting into" Opeth (as in not actively hating 90% of their material) and then I get around to this and it just makes all my effort seem wasted. For me, Opeth needs to sound dark, heavy, somber, and incorporate clean vocals into the sound; not sound like what so many people are saying about their '70s prog rock without any harsh vocals to balance the light mood. At the end of the day it doesn't matter to me...I don't consider myself enough of a fan to be offended nor do I really care what direction they take in the future. All I know is some of their early works were pretty good, but everything they've done post-Blackwater Park has just made me apathetic towards them.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Hammer Pie Posts: 43 From: USA  |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 28.09.2011 at 04:49 Sad but true. Some of what they've done post-Blackwater Park has been at the "pretty good" level, but none of it has the creative spark that they had for the first five albums.
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