Opeth – Heritage

Releasedate: 20-09-2011; Label: Roadrunner Records
By: Lara Cappelli

Opeth is a metal band from Sweden. They formed in 1990 and since then released ten albums. “Heritage” is their latest one.

Opeth is known to be a band that experiments quite a lot with its sound, making it grow and develop into something new through every release. Their latest album is certainly no exception, although it takes the plunge even further from that. This time, every metal trace is left behind, to totally face progressive rock. It all starts out smoothly with the piano notes of the intro, that soon leads the listener to the core of the sound: the growls and heavy riffs are totally gone and replaced by visionary and shaped melodies that hardly lapse into the immediacy of an easy listening. What the band proposes has some clear references to the biggest names of progressive music, although it manages to unleash itself from that. Indeed, the band has successfully shifted from one genre to another, still keeping a natural flow in this process that maintains the dark essence of Opeth, which is the ultimate heritage of their music. As the highly symbolic cover of the album suggests, “Heritage” is built on memories and influences: deeply rooted in the past but still well orientated towards the future, it probably represents the biggest leap of a band that has decided to step away from metal once and for all. As brave as it is, the risk is run to find back inspiration and deliver it straight away to the listener.
“Heritage” is definitely an album to be discovered, no matter how many listening’s one might need to get it sunk in. It’s all worth it.

Line Up:
Mikael Åkerfeldt – Vocals, guitars, mellotron, grand piano
Fredrik Åkesson – Guitars
Martin Mendez – Bass
Martin Axenrot – Drums
Per Wiberg – Mellotron, grand & electric pianos
Joakim Svalberg – Grand piano on ”Heritage”
Alex Acun_a – Percussion on ”Famine”
Björn J:son Lindh – Flute on ”Famine”

Links:
Opeth Facebook
Opeth Official