Opeth - Heritage (2011)
©Roadrunner Records
Sweden

Tracklist:

  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

I remember very eagerly awaiting the release of Watershed back in 2008 and once finally listening to it, being under whelmed at Opeth's attempt to turn into Porcupine Tree. Being an overly-prog metal album more than death, I was quite disappointed at its linearity in structure. Gone were the chaotic buildups and disturbing ambience Opeth had mastered in their craft throughout their career. What had replaced them were cheap acoustic passages and quirky progressive moments that utilized some very strange un-Opethian sound (one section of Heir Apparent sounds like it was ripped right out of Super Mario World). 

However, this is NEW Opeth! "Heritage" is what the kids are calling it. So have the band gone back to their roots? Have they expanded upon the sound they crafted with Watershed? Have they done something completely new? The answer is none of the above. In fact, what this album is, is Watershed. Yes. It's the exact same album with a new cover art and name.  

The fact is, Watershed was boring. Very boring. Unfortunately; Heritage is too. It's a slow, repetitive non-Metal take on 1960's progressive rock. From the first track down to the tacky, album art. What Opeth have done is take Watershed, strip it down to its most basic elements, elongate the slow passages, throw in a bit of old school organs and pressed record. Nothing happens in this album and unfortunately there's nothing much else to say about it. 

This triggers the thought: How come Damnation was such an astounding success? This was because Damnation was well written and had greatly constructed song structures. Heritage does not. As sad as it sounds, Opeth have seemed to disengaged their creativity on this one. 

4/10

-Jeremy

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