OPETH — Heritage (review)

OPETH — Heritage album cover Album · 2011 · Metal Related Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Stephen
OPETH stirred a great debate among their loyal fans by creating something wildly far from the growly prog/death touch and incorporated more classic prog elements and I can safely say, distorted instruments are rarely used here, so if you're looking for something heavy, 'Heritage' might not a good choice, but on the other hand, there's a trace of OPETH's heaviness in some of the songs, it's just that it's done in an unusual way that non-metal fans do not feel threatened.

After a calming jazzy intro, OPETH breaks out with complex-built riffs on the first single, 'The Devil's Orchard'. Though I can say that it's not really my fave track here. 'I Feel The Dark' feels very psychedelic and evil with its gloomy atmosphere. This is a good one but my personal fave is on the next track, 'Slither'. A straight forward heavy metal tune, perhaps the fastest song here and less-prog than the rest. 'Nepenthe' is also slow and the old progrock element sounds thick here, I love this track, quite similar to 'Haxprocess' but I think this one's better.

'Famine' is grand, spooky, and the tempo was built slowly and eventually you can hear the original classic OPETH style in it. 'The Lines In My Hand' is energetic but not as heavy as 'Slither'. 'Folklore' is amazing, just like 'Famine', OPETH push the tempo upward gently, infused with vintage jazz touch, and another personal fave, together with the closing track, 'Marrow of The Earth', a very soothing song and a great pick to end the album.

I think OPETH has done something marvelous here. Many has said it's not original, but I'm not really familiar with 70s prog so I don't think it matters at all. Steven Wilson probably helped to create the vintage mix and he did a great job too. 'Heritage' is a brave idealistic attempt to do something that you really want to do without being dictated by labels or anything irrelevant. Not many people will like it, but I know I do.
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