Opeth’s new album Heritage has been receiving some unfounded negative feedback. Understand that this turn in direction was a conscious decision; your expectations have been denied purposefully. The album is called Heritage, it is an ode to the music that inspired the band, and an ode to the bands who paved the way for generations of metal. I think the main issue diehard Opeth fans have with this album is entirely down to selfishness; they wanted more of the same and weren’t provided with it.
Writing the same style of material for years and years must eventually become tiresome, and even though Opeth’s back catalogue is heavily varied, they have never deviated away from their trademark sound as much as they have with this album. Try listening to the album without the familiar connotations the name Opeth brings to mind. Even try listening to the album ignoring the fact that Opeth are indeed playing it. You need to listen to this album and try not to pre judge it before giving it a chance.
Where does metal’s heritage begin? The answer lies within baroque, classical and romantic music. So what better way to start this album than have a classically influenced piano instrumental entitled Heritage? This is a tip of the hat to the virtuosic technicality and compositional structures taken from these styles. It is a beautiful song.
We are then transported forward in time and greeted to a schizophrenic amalgamation of monumentally important bands such as Deep Purple, King Crimson, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Led Zeppelin, amongst countless others who established the riff and aura of macabre. Songs such as The Devil’s Orchid, Famine, and The Lines in My Hand, embody a nostalgic sweetness, darkly representing the stylistic qualities of progressive rock, whilst somehow simultaneously holding on to a style of their own.
The somber composition Nepenthe shows an interest in jazz, through use of syncopated rhythms, modal improvisation, and sophisticated modulations. This is a thank you to those techniques which have been relentlessly borrowed throughout the whole genre of metal.
Folk music, a style that opened metal’s door to mythology and unconventional guitar tuning, plays a prominent role throughout the album, notably in the song Folklore.
For me personally though, the songs that really encompass the true genius of Heritage, are the unexplainable Haxprocess dominated by a prog influenced riff in 7 time, and the classically influenced, ever melting, Marrow of the Earth.
Music which has the potential to alienate its core audience is often overlooked and underappreciated. Please do not disregard this album, give it another listen, hear it in a different way than you have. It will work if you let it. This is an important recording.
http://www.opeth.com
Stephen Evans
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