Opeth, Opeth, OPETH!

So it's here, it's out, it will divide us all and eventually conquer us!

So after a couple of months of copious amounts of both personal and other various incidents of bullshit and disappointments I was really looking forward to this release just to get my chin back up where it belongs. Does it deliver?

YES

This album is so many things it's hard to even begin to describe it, it's not Opeth, but at the same time it is Opeth, it has amazing songwriting, just as you've come to expect from Mikael Åkerfeldt, it has the usual prog rock element that made Opeth what Opeth is, however it is missing the death metal aspect, there is still a subtle hint of metal lurking beneath the sounds of this album but they never emerges beyond subtle hints. Loads of people will hate this album for that reason alone, me however love this album for exactly that reason, dont get me wrong I absolutely love Opeth and have done so for a while, Ghost Reveries and Blackwater Park is 2 of my all time favourite albums. It's just so refreshing to see a band able to take such a drastic step beyond what the fans have become used to and actually even expect, I love a band that actually dares to make an album for their own sake.

This album is very prog, it's incredibly prog, it's one of those albums you simply have to listen to properly, it's not a background album, it's a "turn of everything else, lock the doors, I do not want to be disturbed" kind of album, it also demands of you that you start from the beginning and listen through the whole album, it's like a story, if you skip something you wont understand whats currently going on. It's such a strong album in so many ways, not just musically, but it shows that Opeth still have the balls to do exactly what they want.

Musically it's as I said what you've come to expect from Opeth, it's quality from beginning to end, it has lots of groove, it has lots of spaced out moments, really it's just propper 70's prog, it really sounds like they are actually truly enjoying themselves and loving what they are doing, the end result is just one great album that will probably be Opeth's most controversial album yet, this will split the fan base, there is no doubt about it, if you are one of those Opeth fans who hates this album please just shut out everything else for an hour or so and listen to this album and I can almost guarantee you you'll come to love it just as much as I do.

Did this album get my chin up? Yes absolutely, everytime I put it on I just shut my eyes and space out and think about nothing but the music. It's an AMAZING album, it's an important album for Opeth.

Recomended songs: Hard to recomend a song when you kinda have to listen to the whole album.

\m/