Opeth - new album Sorceress coming later this year

[battema]

Surprised this hasn't been noted elsewhere:

http://opeth.com/news/item/267-opeth...d-in-late-2016

[gpeccary]

It ends up being about his vocals much of the time! Going to the NYC show and hoping they'll break this new one out!! I look forward to everything they do, one of the best bands out there in my view. And they kill live!

[battema]

It ends up being about his vocals much of the time!

Well, you aren't wrong about that

I'm honestly not a fan of either Heritage or Pale Communion, but haven't seen them do a full show before (saw the semi-acoustic tour for Damnation some years ago) so I'm going to check 'em out in NYC this fall

[polmico]

Surprised this hasn't been noted elsewhere:

http://www.progressiveears.org/forum...ighlight=opeth

[battema]

Oh! In the OT forum, no wonder I missed it.

Sorry to trample on my bud's 100423's thread!

[polmico]

Oh! In the OT forum, no wonder I missed it.

Sorry to trample on my bud's 100423's thread!

No worries, right? It's not getting much traction in the OT forum. Maybe folks are getting (have gotten) off the Opeth train? (Is it a train? Maybe it's a grain silo? a merry-go-round? a cab ride? So damn hard to find the right metaphor some days.)

[Jack in Wilmington]

Well, you aren't wrong about that

I'm honestly not a fan of either Heritage or Pale Communion, but haven't seen them do a full show before (saw the semi-acoustic tour for Damnation some years ago) so I'm going to check 'em out in NYC this fall

That happens. If you're a fan of their earlier "death metal" stuff, then you usually don't like their prog. offerings.

[100423]

Oh! In the OT forum, no wonder I missed it.

Sorry to trample on my bud's 100423's thread!

Hey, the more love the better!!!

[battema]

Hey, the more love the better!!!

Cheers

[chalkpie]

COOKIE MONSTER VOCALS.

God, I miss 'em

I was wondering when a new one was gonna surface and then bada-bing, Johnny Bats hits us over the head with this thread. Nice one, paisano.

I didn't really get on board with the last two, but I will always give these guys a listen. Ghost Reveries remains my fav, although Watershed didn't sucketh mucheth.

[100423]

COOKIE MONSTER VOCALS.

God, I miss 'em

I was wondering when a new one was gonna surface and then bada-bing, Johnny Bats hits us over the head with this thread. Nice one, paisano.

I didn't really get on board with the last two, but I will always give these guys a listen. Ghost Reveries remains my fav, although Watershed didn't sucketh mucheth.

I'm not sure the CMVs will ever come back, but I'd like more of the really heavy instrument sections to return for sure.

[battema]

COOKIE MONSTER VOCALS.

God, I miss 'em

I was wondering when a new one was gonna surface and then bada-bing, Johnny Bats hits us over the head with this thread. Nice one, paisano.

I didn't really get on board with the last two, but I will always give these guys a listen. Ghost Reveries remains my fav, although Watershed didn't sucketh mucheth.

Man...Watershed is pretty uneven but the strong stuff is damned strong. It feels to me like 2 separate EPs stuck together; one tied to the prior era (especially Ghost Reveries) and one that foreshadows their Heritage era.

I have no issue at all with the Cookie Monster on vox, but I don't need it there either. Like John-423, as long as the music still hits me the right way it's all good

[chalkpie]

I'm not sure the CMVs will ever come back, but I'd like more of the really heavy instrument sections to return for sure.

I hear ya. Also, Since he has had a pretty good amount of time since the last one, I really hope that there is a lot of care and detail in the writing. I felt as though some of the material on the last two releases were just sort of going through the motions, especially a few of the harmonic changes. I really appreciate the olde Scandinavian sounding bits on those (now) older releases.

[chalkpie]

Man...Watershed is pretty uneven but the strong stuff is damned strong. It feels to me like 2 separate EPs stuck together; one tied to the prior era (especially Ghost Reveries) and one that foreshadows their Heritage era.

That is a reason right there why I dig it

[marblesmike]

I liked a lot of Heritage and Pale Communion when they came out, but they haven't had the same lasting power with me as say Blackwater Park, Damnation or Still Life. I thought it was cool to hear Opeth do the retro-prog thing because that's another one of my favorite genres, but along with SW's Raven, I lost a lot of interest and realized I preferred it when both artists would do their own thing rather than consciously try to sound like their childhood favorites.

SW started moving away from the retro-prog sound with HCE so we'll see what Opeth does.

FWIW I was never a big fan of the cookie monster vocals but now that they're gone I kinda miss them...

[battema]

I liked a lot of Heritage and Pale Communion when they came out, but they haven't had the same lasting power with me as say Blackwater Park, Damnation or Still Life. I thought it was cool to hear Opeth do the retro-prog thing because that's another one of my favorite genres, but along with SW's Raven, I lost a lot of interest and realized I preferred it when both artists would do their own thing rather than consciously try to sound like their childhood favorites.

SW started moving away from the retro-prog sound with HCE so we'll see what Opeth does.

FWIW I was never a big fan of the cookie monster vocals but now that they're gone I kinda miss them...

For me personally (i.e. very much IMHO), Katatonia has done a much better job of transitioning from more outright doom/death metal (i.e. the vox) into something with a more melodic vocal style, but still with enough bite in the music to keep me engaged.

For those who kind of miss the sound of Opeth from the prog/death/metal era...maybe consider giving Uneven Structure's album "Februus" a listen: it isn't by any stretch an exact copy (Uneven is more djent than Opeth) but the blend of heavy/clean music with growls/clean vocals works kinda well for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUqeYEN6ca4

[gpeccary]

^^^thanks for the intro. Yeah, they immediately reminded me of Meshuggah, which is NOT a bad thing, but with the relief of clean vocals. I'll dig into them a bit more.


That is a reason right there why I dig it

Me two!

[100423]

I hear ya. Also, Since he has had a pretty good amount of time since the last one, I really hope that there is a lot of care and detail in the writing. I felt as though some of the material on the last two releases were just sort of going through the motions, especially a few of the harmonic changes. I really appreciate the olde Scandinavian sounding bits on those (now) older releases.

I like Heritage and Pale Communion, but like marblesmike said, I find myself returning to the earlier material more often. The mixture of the very heavy and the very folky with prog-ish embellishments is what I love about the pre-Heritage era.

[tallliman]

Wembley? Why oh why?

[glawster2002]

Wembley? Why oh why?

Why not?

It'll be their largest headlining show so far in the UK, so I wouldn't say interest in Opeth is waning here.

Really looking forward to it.

[Valen]

Opeth's musical direction.......a devil's orchard or a bitches brew?

I don't blame Akerfeldt for steering clear of online discussion as the last couple of albums really seem to have polarised fans. I ended up being hounded off another forum because they were adamant that 'Old Opeth good, new Opeth crap', and wouldn't tolerate an alternative point of view.

I do get why older fans might feel left behind with the band's newer approach, but for me it's a win-win. I liked the older stuff a lot, and I've got 9 albums of it to play whenever I want, but I also like the last two albums just as much.

To my ears, the band have been on this trajectory for quite a while, and it's a continuing evolution which I'm happy to join them on. There's no point in Akerfeldt writing stuff that doesn't inspire him just to keep the fans happy - he'd be better calling time on Opeth and doing something else.

I can sympathise with those calling for him to sideline the softer stuff into a solo project, and keeping Opeth heavy, but having read the new book and it recounting all the struggles the band have had, particularly Akerfeldt constantly beating himself up to come up with something fresh with each new album, the Opeth legacy is pretty much his responsibility nowadays with all the earlier members bar Mendez having departed. And from a business view, it makes sense to keep putting his vision out under the Opeth banner - let's face it, he still needs to earn and provide for his family (and vinyl collection!).

The Sorceress snippet isn't much to go on so far, but I trust the guys to come up with an interesting album.

As for the Wembley gig - it's probably just a holding pattern to keep their profile going until the new album comes out. I'd be surprised if there's not a fuller tour next year on the back of the album.

[battema]

Yep, quite true.

When I want to hear that sound, I am happy to just go and pull out Ghost Reveries or Deliverance.

It's Akerfeldt's band and his muse...even if I don't love where he goes, I'd rather he be true to himself and not just pandering to one particular set of fans.

[Progatron]

I honestly like every Opeth album. I do like the direction Mikael has moved in over the course of the last few though. The death metal stuff is great, but as it's overall a more narrow sound, I think he's done all he can with it.

Was just listening to My Arms, Your Hearse the other day and remembering what a great album that is!

[Liquid Tension]

Anyone wanting to hear the heavier sound with very little Cookie vocals try Poem.

https://poemband.bandcamp.com/

[Magic Mountain]

Was just listening to My Arms, Your Hearse the other day and remembering what a great album that is!

I did that with Still Life on Saturday. Another great album that I hadn't played in a while.