I just don't understand Opeth's last two albums.

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   I've had that issue with Opeth for a long for the same reasons as the OP and Raff, also with Edge of Sanity for a while. A lot of progressive metal sounds like an outsider approximation of either parent genre, and usually is. Some of them end up turning that to a positive, like Voivod for instance, but in Opeth's case I find it results in their longer more ambitious songs not being anywhere as well composed as most of the 1970s prog rock bands they're imitating. Found them way better at being a Katatonia-style death/doom metal group that happened to be a bit spacier than usual.

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Toaster Mantis Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898	Posted: March 15 2015 at 12:29
	I've had that issue with Opeth for a long for the same reasons as the OP and Raff, also with Edge of Sanity for a while. A lot of progressive metal sounds like an outsider approximation of either parent genre, and usually is. Some of them end up turning that to a positive, like Voivod for instance, but in Opeth's case I find it results in their longer more ambitious songs not being anywhere as well composed as most of the 1970s prog rock bands they're imitating. Found them way better at being a Katatonia-style death/doom metal group that happened to be a bit spacier than usual.
	"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook

The Dark Elf Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: February 01 2011 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 13202	Posted: March 15 2015 at 11:30
	Perhaps Opeth wants to be seen as being great musicians rather than great death metal musicians, whereby they have limited their options to a select group of listeners who somehow think death growls are pertinent to the music. As for myself, I see death growls as a metal stereotype that serves no real purpose, and, being so ubiquitous in so many bands for so many years, is neither innovative, clever or anything more than bad halloweenish theatrics. I purchased the last two Opeth albums, whereas I never considered buying their previous material. Edited by The Dark Elf - March 15 2015 at 11:30
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LearsFool Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: November 09 2014 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 8644	Posted: March 15 2015 at 11:27
	I'll be the second to note that many longtime fans from metal side ended up being as keen on the new album as almost all from the purely prog side were. It's pretty good, but it's more for those who are down with modern takes on the '70's symph sound.


wrax Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: June 15 2005 Status: Offline Points: 12	Posted: March 15 2015 at 11:04
	I didn't like Pale Communion on first listen. Or second listen for that matter. The dodgy 5.1 mix didn't help either as I had a faulty disc which was later replaced. Moans aside, nearly six months after buying it I have changed my opinion. After recent repeat listenings, I have come to the conclusion that this is a very good and sophisticated album after all. I understand the frustration of the metalheads out there, wanting more "Demon of the Fall" or "Deliverance" or "White Cluster" when we end up with is something nearer to Comus or mid-70s Jethro Tull without the flutes. It is a record which needs time but it does eventually sneak up on you without you noticing.

Rivertree Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Band Submissions Joined: March 22 2006 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 17648	Posted: March 15 2015 at 05:51
	^I'm underway quite in the opposite direction - Pale Communion is one of my favourite 2014 albums, probably because I'm not a declared metal fan ...


Raff Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 29 2005 Location: None Status: Offline Points: 24429	Posted: March 15 2015 at 05:45
	I don't hang around metal forums, so I wouldn't know anything about the reception the metal community gave to those two albums. What I know is that I found Heritage terminally boring, and Pale Communion rather unimpressive on my first and only listen. I definitely liked Opeth much better when they still had a strong metal component to their music - and that includes the growls.

sleeper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: October 09 2005 Location: Entropia Status: Offline Points: 16449	Posted: March 15 2015 at 05:19
	First off, I disagree with you about the metal commuinity completely hating on the two most recent Opeth albums, when I saw them last year there were a lot of people that were very excited when they started to play Cusp of Eternity, which went down really well. I don't particualrly like Heritage, it's a mish-mash of ideas lacking in any real coherance resulting in noodly, meandering affairs that don't really do much. Pale Communion takes similar ideas but applies much more focus to the composition and development of said ideas, with the result being their best album since Blackwater Park. It's been a damn long time since they were last this good.
	Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005

ole-the-first Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: January 03 2012 Location: Russia Status: Offline Points: 1534	Posted: March 15 2015 at 04:35
	I think that Heritage was one of the best Åkerfeldt's works, it's a quintessence of Opeth's style and atmosphere, but without death growls. I don't think it was a plain 70's styled prog, it was really an Opeth album. Pale Communion, on the other hand, was a disappointment to me, it's surely too keen on 70's prog, and also borrows too much sound and atmosphere from 'Watershed'. The only albums I would rate lower than Pale Communion are My Arms Your Hearse and Still Life (yes, I believe Still Life is way too overrated here). Edited by ole-the-first - March 15 2015 at 04:35
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ProgSword Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: June 23 2014 Status: Offline Points: 48	Posted: March 15 2015 at 02:41
	What am I missing? Heritage was decently received here on PA, and Pale Communion has a surprisingly high rating. This is in stark contrast to the poor reception of the metal community (although they hate these albums for shallow reasons, but I still find myself in their camp). I just don't think Åkerfeldt's strong suit is prog. When I heard Heritage was going to be a straight prog album, I was ecstatic, and I hated how all of Opeth's metal fans basically condemned it before even listening (just because it has "no balls" or something ridiculous). After all, I consider myself a prog fan before a metalhead. But then, I jumped right on the hate bandwagon after listening, because Heritage was just boring as sin. Most of the music feels dry and uninspiring. I understand this is the album Åkerfeldt's wanted to write his whole life, but it reminds me of the musical equivalent to poor fanfiction. Pale Communion felt like an extension of this. I will say though, I count Folklore and River as part of my top five Opeth songs. If both albums showed the promise of their respective standout tracks, I would fully endorse this prog Opeth over their metal past. But it just feels to me like Åkerfeldt's best song writing comes out when he writes metal with prog elements. Anything else comes off like some King Crimson rejected material. But maybe I just don't get it. I had similar feelings about Tales of Topgraphic Oceans, but at least that sounded original from the get go.