Regressive Rock – 45%
CrimsonFloyd, September 30th, 2011
From 1995-2001 Opeth were on top of the metal world, releasing five consecutive masterworks of progressive death metal, each of which developed their sound and explored new terrain. From the flowing acoustic passages of “Orchid” to the jazzy interludes of “Blackwater Park,” the first five Opeth albums constantly bring something new to the table. However, the second half of Opeth’s career has not been as bright. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s imaginative songwriting has degenerated into a series of predictable tropes (“A heavy passage followed by an acoustic passage? Who saw that coming?!”). Furthermore, the loss of longtime members Peter Lindgren and Martin Lopez has seriously disrupted the band’s once stellar chemistry. Nonetheless, Mikael’s excellent sense of melody has kept the band treading water—that is, until “Heritage.”
On “Heritage,” for the first time Opeth write flat out boring songs. The compositions are sloppy, the melodies are flavorless and any semblance of mood or emotion is absent. “Heritage” is essentially a tasteless rip-off of the great prog rock bands of the 70’s. The finger prints of King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Yes and The Moody Blues are all over this album. However, Opeth don’t take these influences as the foundation from which to create something of their own. Instead, Opeth just lazily rehash the pastoral sound of 70’s prog rock, resulting in a campy mockery of the bands they purportedly are paying tribute to.
The worst part about this album is the aimless songwriting; it is as if the band recorded a bunch of passages and put them together in random order. Seriously, the passages could be rearranged in any 5-8 minute segments and it would not hurt the quality of the compositions at all. While this may sound similar to the non-sequential songwriting style used on “Orchid” and “Morningrise,” those albums traveled through complex emotional landscapes, recreating the unpredictable intensity of real life experiences. In contrast, the songs on “Heritage” lack the emotional sensibility needed to give purpose to such song structures. Yes, there are changes in tempo and intensity, but they are heartless.
To make matters worse, the album is full of the kind of cheesy, flowery melodies one might expect to hear in a TV ad for the local renaissance fair. Even Mikael’s normally stellar vocals are somewhat annoying. His effort to sound like a medieval English minstrel is over the top—yes, even for style of music that gave the world Geddy Lee and Jon Anderson. Sure, there are a couple nice hooks here and there and even a few good vocal lines, but none of the songs come together from start to finish.
A sorry attempt to move their sound in a new direction, “Heritage” is nothing more than a half-baked retro album. In short, “Heritage” is an oxymoron; a regressive progressive rock album.
(Originally written for http://www.deafsparrow.com)
Deixe um comentário