HERITAGE

This is a remarkable change of sound - and for someone who hates growls and stuff, this is a change for the better. I do not have much experience with Opeth, having heard so far only Blackwater Park (which I gave 3 stars) and Damnation (4 stars). I began to get curious about a recent Heritage, because of all this "controversy" about your style is radically different from other albums (even Damnation, although many can compare), and I can say frankly that is more than I expected.

I love the voice of Mikael Akerfeldt ... when he is not growling. And thank God his voice is 100% clean here (one of the points in common with Damnation). In fact, as I said before, Heritage is totally unlike anything the band has done before. No death metal (and I am grateful to them for that), just a retro-prog rock and healthy touches of jazz-fusion - courtesy of the excellent Martin Axenrot, it really is a primacy on drums. While the title track, which opens the album, it seems more like a jazz of the first half of last century, with piano and double bass, other songs like Famine go more along the lines of heavy prog, sounding like a crossover between Black Sabbath and Jethro Tull. Other great songs here - and that is my favorite album for sure - the last three are: The Lines In My Hand (with strong bass lines), the fusion-psychedelic Folklore and the instrumental beautiful Marrow of the Earth. In general the songs are very diverse and I love it.

But Heritage is not something specifically retro as some albums we've seen in recent times, as Wobbler's Rites at Dawn, for example. There is no intention in the band recording with analog equipment or anything like that, but it is a feeling that permeates the album all the time, and there are times when even "metal" is not as heavy as seen in works such as Blacwater Park. Abundant elements throughout the album are the wonderful keyboards Per Wiberg - an amazing batch of pianos, mellotrons and the best : many, many organs! (why you left Opeth, Per? I imagine he would have other wonderful contributions to the band's future albums, even if she returned to their old sound).

A great and heterodox work. I do not care if this proposal remains Opeth sound to their albums, but I know that many fans will not share my thoughts. 4 stars.

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