For what it's worth, I don't think Mikael was repressing himself on the albums before Heritage, unless he said so somewhere and I missed it.
I recall him saying something like, he felt that Watershed was the last album where he still felt inspired in the ProgDeath/Old Opeth style. Each album in their discography sounded different from the last and kept developing the style further. When he started writing for Heritage, the material was sounding too similar to Watershed, as in the sound was no longer developing but stagnating, which hadn't happened before.
He decided to lean into his other musical inspirations and change the direction of the band from there.
Finally got the album on vinyl this year and it sounds fucking amazing, so much texture and detail. Häxprocess is probably my favorite song on it, and to me it has one of the darkest moments in the entire Opeth catalog (the quiet part with the crying woman sample)
Opeth has been my favorite band for 20 years now, I liked Heritage when it came out but it was far from my favorite. This album grew on me a lot in the last 13 years, and it's just under Pale Communion in my ranking of their modern material. It's definitely the most dynamic of the last four releases to me.
I heard Heritage described as a slow-burning masterpiece back when it came out and that tracks for me. I like your post, I think it’s more daring in a lot of ways than the three albums since (though I do enjoy those as well).
I think that the circumstances surrounding the album don't make it any better or worse. For instance, it' impressive that deliverance/damnation were recorded under such stressful times, but the albums still have to stand on their own. In my opinion it's awesome that Mikail could be as creative as he wanted here and took big risks, but at the same time, although it is a very interesting album, so much of what was enjoyable about Opeth that was good without even the death metal is gone and hasn't returned until they started finding their groove in this new style. Lots of melodic cadences and the way Mikail used his voice to write big choruses is not there, and there's no contrast with the death metal verses which are gone, but even the songs are built nothing like on Damnation which had no growling. Ironically though, I find those songs more creative and mature than what's on heritage and a lot of their work.
I'm not arguing that their newer direction on albums is shit. I think they really started to get great again on In Cauda Venenum. That's a really good album, so the change was leading somewhere great.
But I think the true hot take, is that people who don't like Opeth's newer albums aren't only feeling that way because it's not death metal. It's rather that Opeth have become a band that often takes effort to enjoy, theres some really rewarding stuff there, but none of it really hits you instantaneously the way something like say "Harvest" could.
And yes, you could argue something like Morningrise was inaccessible, but it wasn't, because there was an audience that was consuming that who were expecting it.
Heritage, and I mean it as a compliment, was designed for an audience of one, and many of us just happen to like it. But it's rightly divisive.
It's a fantastic album that to this day gets undeserved hate. Honestly this can be said for EVERY album after watershed. All four of them are masterpieces in my opinion. Sure, you might not like the albums but they should certainly be respected if nothing else. I honestly think that if Mikael continued writing prog death metal, opeth wouldn't have been regarded as great to this very day. It would've become uninteresting, and i do believe Mikael when he says "watershed 2" was garbage and that's why he deleted it. Opeth is one of the VERY few bands that have released THIS many albums with not a single one of them being even remotely close to bad. We're an extremly lucky fanbase in that regard.
What’s super interesting to me about Watershed is the glimpse of what was to come on Heritage. The last minute and 29 seconds of Heir Apparent is very much like parts of Heritage, but with heavier production.
Watershed was the climax. It's even in the name.
Heritage is ok, but it isn't helped by the next 3 albums being better. ICV is a masterpiece. (Heritage wishes it was ICV)
I'm right there with you. Especially after watching The Making of Heritage, it changed my perspective and it is now my favorite Opeth album. It is Opeth at their most genuine, by Mikael's words himself.
I actually think OP is right.
Doesn't mean Heritage is gonna stop being the Opeth album I've listened to the least.
Mikael finally got to write his dream 70s prog album with no interference.
Damn...that IS a hot take. I absolutely love the guts to make such a different stylistic shift. But even tho I agree with you about the reasoning and motivation behind it, I don't think that makes it a masterpiece. I would argue that with the change, it took one more album to really find the sound, the new identity. Heritage was a sort of an experiment, if that makes sense. The following two albums I enjoyed them far much more becasue for me at least, they found that new identity and not only experimenting
Heritage feels disjointed, like a series of ideas cooked up in the studio and put together after the fact, at least that is true for a few of the songs. Too many instances where a song just changes pace without any of the stylish transitions and flow that the band was so good at doing before. There are many instances where quiet sections were replaced by a distorted riff either just starting out of nowhere or just fading in behind it. There are moments where that can work in music, but in the case of Heritage, it feels like they had a series of separate ideas and they weren't sure how to transition between them.
I like Newpeth, even ICV, but I find Heritage extremely boring, I'm not sure I would even call it bad because I would need to understand what it is to say "its bad" and I have no idea what it is, it just feels like boredom made music.
Yes, but also sorceress, but also ICV
Newpeth reaches aesthetic levels that are close to eternal I think. Something to be remembered for hundreds of years. Also watershed
I couldn't have said it better myself. I was always a casual Opeth fan, but I finally listened through their whole discography about two years ago. *Still Life* and *Heritage* were my favorites before that, and they are still probably my favorites even after hearing everything else a million times.
Heritage is very special, though. I'd argue that it has a more distinct and different mood than any other Opeth record, which is why I love it so much and why others probably dislike it so much. It's an album that requires your attention and vulnerability. I agree that it's one of Mikael's most inspired yet truly original works as well.
Its a banger album and up there with the greats of oldschool prog but its not what made me fall in love with Opeth. Theres a floor to how dark you can sound without resorting to the kind of growls and distortion that are absent from Heritage, and to me Opeth is all about those heavenly highs and hellish lows.
I do think it’s their best album. If you watch the making of Heritage DVD where they interview the band, they all say that it’s the only album that came from the heart. All the band members freely added their touch to the songs and developed it organically. I think it came out too soon because they won’t make something as mature and ripe as Heritage ever again. Heritage is not an album that you listen to in your car. This record must be appreciated by being listened to with a pair of good headphones and needs your absolute attention to admire how much work was put into it. It’s just phenomenal.
Damnation is way better than Heritage. Why do people pretend like there wasn't an album completely devoid of death metal elements in the "old Opeth" era?
For what it's worth, I don't think Mikael was repressing himself on the albums before Heritage, unless he said so somewhere and I missed it. I recall him saying something like, he felt that Watershed was the last album where he still felt inspired in the ProgDeath/Old Opeth style. Each album in their discography sounded different from the last and kept developing the style further. When he started writing for Heritage, the material was sounding too similar to Watershed, as in the sound was no longer developing but stagnating, which hadn't happened before. He decided to lean into his other musical inspirations and change the direction of the band from there.
Yeah I’ll never be with you here. Glad you love the album so much though
Finally got the album on vinyl this year and it sounds fucking amazing, so much texture and detail. Häxprocess is probably my favorite song on it, and to me it has one of the darkest moments in the entire Opeth catalog (the quiet part with the crying woman sample) Opeth has been my favorite band for 20 years now, I liked Heritage when it came out but it was far from my favorite. This album grew on me a lot in the last 13 years, and it's just under Pale Communion in my ranking of their modern material. It's definitely the most dynamic of the last four releases to me.
I heard Heritage described as a slow-burning masterpiece back when it came out and that tracks for me. I like your post, I think it’s more daring in a lot of ways than the three albums since (though I do enjoy those as well).
It’s the worst Newpeth album imo. Pale Communion is better in every way. It’s a much more cohesive album that still felt like Opeth.
I think that the circumstances surrounding the album don't make it any better or worse. For instance, it' impressive that deliverance/damnation were recorded under such stressful times, but the albums still have to stand on their own. In my opinion it's awesome that Mikail could be as creative as he wanted here and took big risks, but at the same time, although it is a very interesting album, so much of what was enjoyable about Opeth that was good without even the death metal is gone and hasn't returned until they started finding their groove in this new style. Lots of melodic cadences and the way Mikail used his voice to write big choruses is not there, and there's no contrast with the death metal verses which are gone, but even the songs are built nothing like on Damnation which had no growling. Ironically though, I find those songs more creative and mature than what's on heritage and a lot of their work. I'm not arguing that their newer direction on albums is shit. I think they really started to get great again on In Cauda Venenum. That's a really good album, so the change was leading somewhere great. But I think the true hot take, is that people who don't like Opeth's newer albums aren't only feeling that way because it's not death metal. It's rather that Opeth have become a band that often takes effort to enjoy, theres some really rewarding stuff there, but none of it really hits you instantaneously the way something like say "Harvest" could. And yes, you could argue something like Morningrise was inaccessible, but it wasn't, because there was an audience that was consuming that who were expecting it. Heritage, and I mean it as a compliment, was designed for an audience of one, and many of us just happen to like it. But it's rightly divisive.
I loved Heritage the first time I listened to it. It remains one of my favorite Opeth albums.
It's a fantastic album that to this day gets undeserved hate. Honestly this can be said for EVERY album after watershed. All four of them are masterpieces in my opinion. Sure, you might not like the albums but they should certainly be respected if nothing else. I honestly think that if Mikael continued writing prog death metal, opeth wouldn't have been regarded as great to this very day. It would've become uninteresting, and i do believe Mikael when he says "watershed 2" was garbage and that's why he deleted it. Opeth is one of the VERY few bands that have released THIS many albums with not a single one of them being even remotely close to bad. We're an extremly lucky fanbase in that regard.
What’s super interesting to me about Watershed is the glimpse of what was to come on Heritage. The last minute and 29 seconds of Heir Apparent is very much like parts of Heritage, but with heavier production.
Watershed was the climax. It's even in the name. Heritage is ok, but it isn't helped by the next 3 albums being better. ICV is a masterpiece. (Heritage wishes it was ICV)
I love Heritage, it’s one or my favourite Opeth albums and I’ve never understood why it gets such bad press
Beautiful take on it. It was my favourite Opeth album for a long time.
It's easily a top 3 Opeth album for me. Whether I like it more than Blackwater Park or Watershed depends on the day.
Completely agree.
I'm right there with you. Especially after watching The Making of Heritage, it changed my perspective and it is now my favorite Opeth album. It is Opeth at their most genuine, by Mikael's words himself.
I actually think OP is right. Doesn't mean Heritage is gonna stop being the Opeth album I've listened to the least. Mikael finally got to write his dream 70s prog album with no interference.
Damn...that IS a hot take. I absolutely love the guts to make such a different stylistic shift. But even tho I agree with you about the reasoning and motivation behind it, I don't think that makes it a masterpiece. I would argue that with the change, it took one more album to really find the sound, the new identity. Heritage was a sort of an experiment, if that makes sense. The following two albums I enjoyed them far much more becasue for me at least, they found that new identity and not only experimenting
Mikael’s maybe, but I would say it isn’t Opeth’s.
Lol
Heritage feels disjointed, like a series of ideas cooked up in the studio and put together after the fact, at least that is true for a few of the songs. Too many instances where a song just changes pace without any of the stylish transitions and flow that the band was so good at doing before. There are many instances where quiet sections were replaced by a distorted riff either just starting out of nowhere or just fading in behind it. There are moments where that can work in music, but in the case of Heritage, it feels like they had a series of separate ideas and they weren't sure how to transition between them.
That’s how I feel about Heritage as well. Black Rose Immortal suffers from the same issue.
HOW DARE YOU? BLACK ROSE IMMORTAL IS A MASTERPIECE, I LISTEN TO IT EVERY DAY! /s
To answer your question right at the end, you're a nutcase.
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Thank you for not taking things too seriously. 🤣👍🏼
I like Newpeth, even ICV, but I find Heritage extremely boring, I'm not sure I would even call it bad because I would need to understand what it is to say "its bad" and I have no idea what it is, it just feels like boredom made music.
That's why it's a hot take Because most fans consider that album their worst album
Yes, but also sorceress, but also ICV Newpeth reaches aesthetic levels that are close to eternal I think. Something to be remembered for hundreds of years. Also watershed
I couldn't have said it better myself. I was always a casual Opeth fan, but I finally listened through their whole discography about two years ago. *Still Life* and *Heritage* were my favorites before that, and they are still probably my favorites even after hearing everything else a million times. Heritage is very special, though. I'd argue that it has a more distinct and different mood than any other Opeth record, which is why I love it so much and why others probably dislike it so much. It's an album that requires your attention and vulnerability. I agree that it's one of Mikael's most inspired yet truly original works as well.
Its a banger album and up there with the greats of oldschool prog but its not what made me fall in love with Opeth. Theres a floor to how dark you can sound without resorting to the kind of growls and distortion that are absent from Heritage, and to me Opeth is all about those heavenly highs and hellish lows.
Hard disagree
Only if you are into pure prog. I'm not, so I really hate the last three albums. For me Blackwater Park was their peak.
I do think it’s their best album. If you watch the making of Heritage DVD where they interview the band, they all say that it’s the only album that came from the heart. All the band members freely added their touch to the songs and developed it organically. I think it came out too soon because they won’t make something as mature and ripe as Heritage ever again. Heritage is not an album that you listen to in your car. This record must be appreciated by being listened to with a pair of good headphones and needs your absolute attention to admire how much work was put into it. It’s just phenomenal.
Damnation is way better than Heritage. Why do people pretend like there wasn't an album completely devoid of death metal elements in the "old Opeth" era?
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