HERITAGE

There was a point in time when a death-brutal band attempted to creat a create a prog album ( damnation):

By doing so the band become a truthfully prog rock band by the end of it and almost abandon all their death metal darkness ( things of past childhood? an immature genre?)

Opeth literally attempted to to make a prog rock album with damnation however with heritage they didn't just try to make no. they did and successfully succeed. they created an album that prog fan of the glory days of prog will adore years later.

. An album seriously will become one of the greatest prog rock album ever made.

A masterpiece you can hear strongly influence of bands yes, king crimson, camel, early genesis and I can bravely say that I even heard Caravan and harfield and the North. As well a fusion/jazz influences plus pure psychedelic Elements never visited by opeth. bright and brilliant future will arrives to Opeth one the greatest prog band of today.

As you can see so far I didn't mentioned death metal not even once well I did several times ( lol) because Mikael death metal's vocals aren't present on any of this records' songs. According to Mikael this is a direction that he wants to take opeth and put his death in the past. Many Opeth fans will be disappointed and I can honestly say that Opeth might loose some fans but gain many new one. ( hardcore prog fans)

Now I will review each song from the new album

1) Heritage

opens with a sort piano intro and acoustic guitar that brings to mind early opeth song like melinda and many typical opeth tunes, but then moves quickly to pure jazzy improvisation that makes you think that you are listening to keith jarrett album yes keith jarrett . Jazz master and alumni of Early Fusion Miles Davis who become on of the most appreciated jazz improvisation innovator player of today's jazz.

2 The Devil's Orchard

Start with fearful rich guitar riffs accompanied by dark doom organ/ mellotron sounds. perhaps the greatest track of the whole album but you might change your mind by the time you finish listen to the whole album.

with chorus like god's is dead" Mikeal breath taking melodic voice gives the illusion as he was trying to rescue your from your miserable pray where God is not listening or wouldn't listen.

when god don't listen to you prayer is as he was dead.

in about 4:50 the master song transforms itself to a the glory days of prog as bands as caravan, camel. defiantly one of the best.

3) I feel the dark

it start with Mikael calm voice and extraordinary beautiful melodic acoustic guitars riffs that resemble to some of the material of watershed. again beautiful accompanied by the mellotron. by 3;01 min of the song it gets brutally assaulted by this great loud sound and amazing vocals by Mikael. @ 3;36 the song became a great great loud drums & bass guitar that we all love of Opeth. By the time the songs end it had become a very mystical psychedelic track. brilliant stuff

4) Slither

to my prog and mature ears can easily be mistaken by any song of late porcupine tree but with a bit of modem metals elements as well. the only song that isn't real prog but it has a great riffs. real cool.

5. Nepenthe

opeth return when they left on track 4 with track number 5. it gives me the impression that song number 4 was a filler and it shouldn't be in between this 2 songs.

again soft magical acoustic intro giving you an illusion that you are listening to early genesis however once the bass hits the first notes it transform into King crimson meddle section of cat foot and again once Mickael start singing it brings you to the Canterbury hartfield and the north. Again rapidly and brutally like song number 4 meddle section the song get different direction by the brutal rhodes piano notes setting the next mood. it continues with this loud and angry guitar but economical solo and fantastic drums and bass duet. by the end it goes back to the beginning theme of the song. I can honestly say this track is completely like nothing Opeth has done before. A pure prog rock song . very dark, folkly/jazzy/fusion song extremely well done.

6) Haxprecess

continue as well with soft acoustic guitar intro. it gives more folky feels. perhaps this album is more acoustic than electric. ti has the whole mood with the exception of track 5 , No death, hardly any metal riffs. Just pure prog rock like the bands i mentioned before.

7) Famine

the few minutes of the song is pure experimental nothing like the opeth you know. until 2:24 of the song it become a folky again accompanied by the beautiful sound of the mellotron. It can easy be mistaken by a king crimson or jethro tull song. by 5:00 Min of the song metal riffs are present reassembly early Sabbath by accompanied by solid flute solo yes a flute solo. I said before like nothing like opeth has doesn't before. the song end with the same experimental percussion taking you the unknown.

defiantly one of my favorite songs. Alex acuna the legendary percussionist of fusion band weather report.

8) The Lines in My Hand

start rapidly with the rhythm section and a solid bass solo finally Martin has brilliant chance to shine. demonstration how well accomplished bass player he is. well all the player truthfully shines on the song. an very collective song and simply brilliant. Opeth reinvented themselves in this song.

9) Folklore

for some reason the intro riffs reminds of the doors The end but only for a few minutes but t moves to a solid prog rock song embracing once again prog heroes. more acoustic guitar, more beautiful vocals, about 4;35 all loudness come to an end.and the tranquility of the acoustic guitar takes place.but by 6:0 min of the song it rock but this time to a modern sound of bands like porcupine

tree, Riverside, aknedoten.

10) Marrow of the Earth

heritage Finnish with the beautiful acoustic and electric melodic song that reminds me how wonderful this journey had been listening the whole album. it intend to give a happy ending of a love story of how brutal became beauty

Mikeal in my personal opinion ( well the whole album is my personal view) had successfully succeed it with this album. and hopefully more of this fashion will come in the near future. I am not saying with this that I don't want to do his death metal riff or vocals that is why I got to extreme metal thanks to him but it is his choice and i am happy with it.

A true masterpiece 5 stars. Abel A. Adames ( darksideof)

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