Opeth - The Last Will and Testament

[Trev]

Due out in October,  first single just released. The harsh vocals are back which I was absolutely not expecting

Haven't really got much interest in the 70s prog Opeth, but I'm liking the sound of this so far

https://youtu.be/bwDrIelXirY

Track listing:
01. §1
02. §2
03. §3
04. §4
05. §5
06. §6
07. §7
08. A Story Never Tol

[Thorn]

Surprising indeed, Maybe oul Mikael isn't ready for a mellow middle age just yet.

[Pagan Saviour]

Sounds as dull as anything they've released post Ghost Reveries. Some of those "Prog" albums were awful Heritage etc

And not much of a surprise, it's an age old trick - when you run out of ideas return to your original template. There'll be some short lived euphoria from long term fans when a band provide them with something that reminds them of better material. Paradise Lost, MDB and tonnes of others have gone down this path.

[astfgyl]

I quite like that but my least favourite thing about it is the rough vocals. I'd be hoping it's more of a sprinkle through the album than full on because it's a bit weird against that general tone

[Ducky]

Sounds alright, but nothing great. The big thing for me isn't that he ditched the dirty vocals, rather he ditched writing good songs.

Watershed was the last one I properly enjoyed (and even at that you could hear the dip in quality). Was Peter Lindgren the special sauce that held it together for them?

And this is what, album number fourteen? Most bands are long since creatively knackered by this stage.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Enjoyed that on first listen, will look forward to the rest.

And I'll once again stan the fuck out of their album In Cauda Venenum, especially the Swedish language version, which is absolutely cracking and reflects not a shred of creative exhaustion.

[Don Gately]

Ghost reveries for me was their best,  not really into them apart from that.

[open face surgery]

I enjoyed that. Look forward to hearing the album.

[Carnage]

Didn't think much of that TBH. Overall I prefer the clean vocal/proggy Opeth to the harsh vocal material - the exception being Blackwater Park, which is my favourite of theirs - and the mixture here is just jarring to my ears. Got a big Mastodon buzz off it, despite it not sounding much like them.

[Trev]

Enjoyed that on first listen, will look forward to the rest.

And I'll once again stan the fuck out of their album In Cauda Venenum, especially the Swedish language version, which is absolutely cracking and reflects not a shred of creative exhaustion.

I need to give that a go. Didn't think much of Heritage and Pale Communion, didn't bother with anything else after that. Heard a few people though say In Cauda Venenum is the best of Progpeth

[open face surgery]

It is the best of the later era for sure. Unreal album.

[astfgyl]

Thought the last two were great and the run from Blackwater Park to Ghost Reveries is flawless, but it's mostly poor otherwise bar the odd tune.

[Naraka]

Everything up to and including Blackwater Park is class.
Sorceress is my favourite of the later albums.
That's a very fair point about Lindgren. I thought they lost a bit of their spark when Lopez left too.

[Anvil]

Don't think this album is for me, didn't like that at all. 

[The Butcher]

Liked it more with each listen. Got a bit of everything thrown in. Interested to hear the rest now. Must revisit the past few proggy albums, didn't really give them much time after Watershed came out.