When it comes to Opeth, I look at their path similar to that of say, Iron Maiden's..
Both of their first two albums were excellent though a little rough around the edges (finding their niche, if you will). Then came along a couple of pivotal line-up changes which would result in their 'classic' era of releasing a fair few amazing albums before reaching their 'peak' ('Seventh Son..' and 'Ghost Reveries') and perhaps letting off eerie signs that a 'slip up' was in the works.
And so to be when key members leave the band and both their next albums, sounding like they are trying to revisit some of that magic from earlier classics ('No Prayer For The Dying' and 'Watershed'), and whilst are both good albums, fall way flat and short of their classic period. After that, the disaster strikes ('Fear Of The Dark' and 'Heritage').. and then I guess every new album since has to be met with caution.
To be fair.. 'Heritage' wasn't THAT bad. It was just all over the place which is very different to a band that is pretty well structured. I don't really care that the extreme metal element was abandoned, even if I don't agree. 'Heritage' suffered from poor production, two of the worst songs in their catalog ('Slither' and 'The Lines In My Hand') and the rest of the songs, which were good but couldn't match the brilliance of their past.
'Pale Communion' has come along and, well, this is 100 times better than 'Heritage'. The structure is back for starters. It is a little heavier, more melodic and there is not one bad song on the album. The album even overtakes 'Damnation' if you want to compare Opeth's 'soft' albums. Because of the diversity on 'Pale Communion', it practically makes 'Damnation' now sound one dimensional.
In all fairness, some of that classic Opeth atmospheric lead work returns here, even the solos. That dueling lead work in the middle of 'River' is fucking ridiculous and brings to mind some of those classic lead moments on 'Deliverance'. Even some of the riffs have that groove to them reminding me of Blackwater Park, only layers of heaviness removed. The song 'Elysian Woes' sounds like it would meander along with the rest of the songs on 'Damnation' and 'Faith In Others' is probably the saddest song Opeth has written in a long time. It comes off like a more softer sibling to 'A Fair Judgement'.
If anything, this prog direction has made them a little more disjointed with their instruments. 'Goblin' is the perfect representation of that as well as the opening to 'Eternal Rains Will Come'. On top of that, even the synth work is playing a more prominent role and making them more psychedelic. It even helped add an eerie backbone to songs like 'Moon Above, Sun Below' and 'Faith In Others'.
My favourite song on the album, 'Moon Above, Sun Below' is probably the best song they have written since 'Harlequin Forest'. At times it gives off a feeling of the 'Orchid' and 'Morningrise' albums. A song that was too soft back then to make the final cut though. But the way things transform in that song from the groovy opening to the clean melodic middle before the soaring finale. It is wonderful work.
Of course, Mikael Akerfeldt's vocals continue to shine. He just has a way of making his singing 'work', no matter what the style. When he gives his voice a bit more edge on songs like 'Cusp Of Eternity' or 'Moon Above, Sun Below' or goes a little too high like at the beginning of 'River', it might sound a little strange at first. But it does grow on me at least. As his singing gets better with each album, it makes sense why you would leave the death metal vocals behind..
But for all the praise I will give the album, he buck has to stop somewhere. The abandonment of the extreme metal roots has just made Opeth lose their innovation. Opeth got to where they were because of the innovative approach they took by being an extreme metal band with progressive rock elements. They were able to go with at least seven incredible albums by doing this (yes, that doesn't sound like they kept it innovative but they at least kept it interesting).
If only Akerfeldt sprinkled some extreme on this album, I would go as far as putting this up there with the rest of their classic work. He didn't need to do anything more than that. Imagine, if heavy riffs were done like the classic Opeth extreme way.. Imagine the end of 'Moon Above, Sun Below' finishing off like that and the lyrics 'Only circle on the water' were actually Mikael's trademark growl. What if the chorus of 'Voice Of Treason' was the same? What if the ending of 'River' was cranked up and Mikael growled those final lyrics? I hate hearing those heavy riffs and it sounds like Mikael was too stubborn to make them fucking heavy! 'Oh no, if I make those riffs HEAVY, these songs wont sound prog enough'. 'Heritage' suffered from this problem also.
Here is an idea.. After being an extreme metal band with progressive rock elements, why not flip it around now? Become a progressive rock band with extreme metal elements. Now that would be innovative and I know Opeth would pull it off. On top of that, I bet even fans from the beginning would get on board with that.
In the end, 'Pale Communion' can be seen as a 'return to form' but the album will always suffer more for what it could have been. On a cheeky note, now that Martin Lopez played drums on 'Goblin' and 'Voice Of Treason', does this mean he will be back full time? Maybe Peter Lindgren will come back too and Opeth will become a three guitarist band and make a 'comeback' like Iron Maiden did? :-P
Ikil
