Opeth: Heritage

In my review of Watershed three years ago, I predicted that the follow-up to this album would present a better picture as to where Mikael Akerfeldt wanted to be musically, and Heritage has proven this prediction to have been correct.

No aspect of this album can be called metal, and I doubt any band member would present it as such. Heritage is radically different from its predecessors in shape, sound, and direction. The death vocals and heavy riffing have completely vanished, which will definitely please or disappoint a lot of fans depending on their preferences. In their place, the band builds complex songs that are rhythmically evolved with exquisite drumming. Martin Axenrot takes on a jazzy feel throughout the whole album, accenting the most critical beats during the songs. What many thought was gone for good after the departure of former drummer Martin Lopez is re-established with Axenrot's special attention to groove and detail.

Like all of Opeth's albums, Heritage proves to be an extremely rewarding listen as its internal complexities unfold. The amount of detail to be found in the songs is amazing. Due to Steven Wilson's ingenious mix, the compositions are rife with nuance. I discovered Per Wiberg's creepy keyboards repeating Akerfeldt's vocal melody on "I Feel the Dark" and the very distant vocal hooks during the instrumental part of "Nepenthe" after giving the album many spins. This being Wiberg's swan song with Opeth, I particularly enjoyed his use of a wider palette of sounds, adding textures and atmospheres to the songs like never before. He is the reason why Heritage has become one of Opeth's darkest and most atmospheric statements.

There are no individual riffs or themes that need to be highlighted; everything works to the perfection of the songs. There is a different level of cohesion between the instruments here. Apart from Axenrot's already mentioned drumming, the bass is central in the sound of this album. In the past, when Mendez put down his lines, they didn't always survive in the mix, partly due to the extreme density of the arrangements. On Heritage, his sound is larger and more focused. He covers a broad spectrum of sound colours, enhancing the guitar solos as well as laying down his own leads. "The Lines in My Hand" wraps a twisted bass solo into the tension-filled composition, thanks to the Mellotron swells in the mix. On the extremely haunting "Nepenthe," complete with deep background voices and excellent percussion, Mendez underscores the charging guitar solo, which suggests suppressed emotions breaking free due to the tense silence that precedes it.

Though all songs are great, "Folklore" is one of the standouts. Some fans have complained about the lack of distinct melodies on the album. "Folklore" should please them from start to finish. It harbours indelible melodic contructs with the album's best instrumental break embedded within. Again the bass sound simply coheres better than on any prior release, and Mikael Akerfeldt's vocals at the end are achingly beautiful, not to mention the super-tight drumming. Actually, on this album, Akerfeldt's performance is uniformly stunning. The guitar solo at the end of "Haxprocess" is his most restrained yet emotionally charged solo ever (possibly a single take, too, given it'd sound forced and unnatural otherwise). The shift from Mellotron sounds to the pronounced acoustic passage on this song suggests it was culled from the same material on Damnation due to the way the vocals are applied (think the clean vocals on Blackwater Park) and the whole song is built to its climax.

This may not be a metal album per se, but some of the songs do groove relentlessly. By now, pretty much any fan must have heard "The Devil's Orchard," which uses Nietzche's "God is dead!" line in the lyrics as its chorus to underscore the King Crimson-like instrumental moments. But there is more: "Slither" is a song in memory of Ronnie James Dio and it features a tightly locked groove over which the band lays down coiling guitar melodies. To achieve compositional diversity, the band uses discreet flute sounds, ethnic percussion, and gorgeous pianos on "Famine," one of their most complex tunes seething with emotional breadth. The contribution of Peruvian Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist Alex Acuna is immense, and the transition from the atmospheric parts to hard-hitting passages eclipses just about any song they have written in this style. The only problem with this song is that it ends.

The two instrumental songs, "Heritage" and "Marrow of the Earth," open and close the album respectively. While "Heritage" is comprised by a wonderful Grand piano theme (played by guest musician Joakim Svalberg), "Marrow of the Earth" is more comprehensive as it brings forth acoustic guitars, light-as-air drums, and Mellotron sounds. The band applies small variations to the central themes, and the resulting melody sticks with you for days on end.

Steven Wilson's stereo mixing is top drawer and puts the album in the league of the best in terms of sonic clarity. Travis Smith's artwork is very fitting for the songs on this album, and the black-and-white pictures in the booklet are awesome. You definitely need the whole package.

Anyone expecting this to be a metal album is likely to be disappointed. The album might fall short for those who love Opeth for their relentlessly heavy side with gut-wrenching death growls, but those willing to explore the group's more experimental side and give it the chance it deserves will definitely be rewarded.

Heritage is a slow-burning masterpiece. Its vision and its power are timeless.

Track Listing

1. Heritage
2. The Devil's Orchard
3. I Feel the Dark
4. Slither
5. Nepenthe
6. Haxprocess
7. Famine
8. The Lines in My Hand
9. Folklore
10. Marrow of the Earth

Added: October 27th 2011
Reviewer: Murat Batmaz
Score:
Related Link: Opeth website
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Language: english

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