By Andrew Bansal
Swedish progressive metal stalwarts Opeth have been an enigma of sorts in recent years, no doubt broadening their horizons with every album but at the same time polarizing fans with changes in musical direction, most prominently on their tenth album ‘Heritage’ (2011) wherein the much publicized and documented discarding of the death metal growls became a reality old-school Opeth fans would have to deal with. Now, the band is ready to release their eleventh full-length ‘Pale Communion’, an album that explores the Heritage sound a bit further.
The 70s progressive hard rock vibe of ‘Heritage’ is largely maintained on ‘Pale Communion’, with similar production values employed by Mikael Akerfeldt and co. The album begins with the very organ-driven ‘Eternal Rains Will Come’ in which that instrument overpowers all else and the guitars are minimal, but Akerfeldt excels with his vocal delivery, albeit with a lot of self-harmonizing and multi-layering involved, hitting high notes aplenty and this aspect of the album can be viewed with positivity by fans of Akerfeldt’s clean singing.
‘Cusp Of Eternity’ is the fastest song on ‘Pale Communion’, strongly reminiscent of ‘Slither’ from the Heritage album. Its high tempo and shortish duration takes the listener swiftly past it, onto ‘Moon Above, Sun Below’ which is hands down the best track on offer here, the 11-minute composition turning back the clock and journeying to vintage Opeth with its transitional arrangements, the prominence of guitar, and the brilliance in the combination of electric and acoustic guitars which singlehandedly compelled millions around the world to fall in love with Opeth in the first place. ‘Elysian Woes’ builds on the expression portrayed by this epic track and stays delightfully acoustic for the most part, ‘Goblin’ picks up the pace again to some extent, but this is perhaps where ‘Pale Communion’ loses direction as its final three tracks ‘River’, ‘Voice Of Treason’ and ‘Faith In Others’ don’t quite make a powerful enough impact and together clocking in 23+ minutes, this segment of the album comes across as unnecessarily elongated, and most notably, too heavily reliant on the synth/organ layers.
Talking of the previous album ‘Heritage’, in all honesty I think it’s a great studio album, makes for an enjoyable listening experience in a laid-back home setting but based on Opeth’s shows in the last couple of years it doesn’t have the power to carry itself when played on stage, although Opeth’s selection of older material to go along with the Heritage tunes for the set lists on these tours didn’t help matters either. I’m afraid the same has to be said about ‘Pale Communion’, which at best would go down in Opeth’s history as a likable studio album, and unless one is high on some serious hard substances, I can’t see it impacting Opeth fans positively in the live setting, save for ‘Moon Above, Sun Below’ and may be ‘Cusp Of Eternity’. But, Opeth do have a North American tour coming up this fall and come December 9th at the Hollywood Palladium, as a longtime unbiased admirer of the band I’d be more than happy to be proven wrong.
From debut album ‘Orchid’ (1995) through early career efforts such as ‘Morningrise’, ‘My Arms Your Hearse’ and ‘Still Life’, the glorious 2000s with masterpiece albums like ‘Blackwater Park’, ‘Deliverance’, ‘Damnation’, ‘Ghost Reveries’ and ‘Watershed’, and even with the transition from that to ‘Heritage’, the one thing that placed Opeth far above and beyond other metal bands was, they never wrote the same album twice. An Opeth fan almost expects a new album to be completely alien to its predecessor, but this isn’t the case with ‘Pale Communion’ as it bears resemblance to ‘Heritage’ in more ways than one and could even be deemed a sequel. So, Opeth’s newest effort is a disappointment in that sense, but it really depends on the manner in which sections of their broad, diverse fan base perceive it, and supporters of the Heritage sound would certainly welcome ‘Pale Communion’ with open arms. Overall, ‘Pale Communion’ is an interesting insight into Opeth’s current state of musical creativity but with very few memorable moments.
Rating: 6/10
Related: Interview: Opeth Mainman Mikael Akerfeldt Discusses New Album, Artwork & More
Record Label: Roadrunner
Release Date: August 26th 2014
Track Listing:
01. Eternal Rains Will Come
02. Cusp Of Eternity
03. Moon Above, Sun Below
04. Elysian Woes
05. Goblin
06. River
07. Voice Of Treason
08. Faith In Others
Links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram
Opeth North American tour dates (w/ co-headliners In Flames & support act Red Fang):
12/03 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
12/04 – Minneapolis, MN – Mill City Nights
12/05 – Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium
12/06 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
12/08 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre
12/09 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
12/10 – Tempe, AZ – The Marquee
12/12 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Ballroom
12/13 – Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Live
12/15 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
12/17 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
12/18 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
12/19 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
12/20 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
12/21 – Toronto, ON – Kool Haus