On their 2011 album “Heritage,” the Swedish prog-death juggernaut, OPETH, had completely discarded one of their fortes – the brutal death-metal aspect topped with vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt‘s impressive growls – and opted for immersive sonic adventures in the Neverland of vintage prog. Released on August 26th, 2014, via Roadrunner Records, the band’s eleventh studio album even went “one louder” concerning this (or softer, to be more precise) as it further toned down the heavy-metal guitars and let keyboardist Joakim Svalberg‘s Hammond B3 and Mellotron take center stage. Two tracks even featured strings! Then again, this selection was the first OPETH effort after Åkerfeldt’s and Steven Wilson‘s esoteric joint venture STORM CORROSION whose eponymous 2012 debut had rolled out full-on string orchestra sections among all the Scott Walker and COMUS impressions. Compared to, say, the 2001 masterpiece of progressive death metal, “Blackwater Park,” this moustache-prog extravaganza sure felt like listening to a different band altogether at first. That is not to say I was let down by this album when it came out – quite the opposite. I have been a convert in the parish of vintage prog since the early 1990s and “Pale Communion” was basically a deep dive into the foggy sounds of 1970s progressive rock. Moreover, as far as the songcraft goes, these eight new prog vignettes felt like a breath of fresh air after the somewhat dark and murky predecessor of this album. I have learned to like “Heritage” over the years quite a lot but “Pale Communion” clicked right off the bat because the songs were a little bit better, simple as that.
I have probably mentioned quite a few times already in my previous OPETH reviews that Åkerfeldt‘s guitar phrasing and tone preferences sound almost like a homage to CAMEL guitarist Andy Latimer. Well, here I go again. “Eternal Rains Will Come” is a pretty obvious nod toward that direction. If you don’t feel like pulling on your dusty corduroys and wooden beads while listening to this sepia-filtered opener, I guess that you’ve never actually gone through an all-encompassing vintage-prog phase in your life. After hearing this banger for the first time, my hands almost automatically started reaching for the 1975 album, “The Snow Goose,” by this pedigree British prog outfit. The melodic basslines by Martin Méndez are also worth mentioning. His tasty chops do not get mentioned all too often but they are definitely something worth lending your ear to.
“Cusp of Eternity” bows down to the original hard-rock masters – bands such as RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE – and while it has its moments, it is nowhere near as magical as “The Devil’s Orchard” was on “Heritage,” I’m afraid. No, I’m not saying that the song sucks. Sandwiched between the tight opener and the haunting, 11-minute epic, “Moon Above, Sun Below,” it feels a bit too much like a filler. Then again, this latter prog monolith of a song could make almost any track pale (sic!) in comparison. It is 11 minutes of pure eargasm for the progressively inclined; it has a little bit of everything – dynamic hard-rock riffs, plateaus of fairy-dusted folk prog, delicious vintage synths, and epic vocal harmonies. I think I was ready to proclaim it the pinnacle track upon listening to the album for the first time, back in the day. (Little was I expecting that the last two tracks would make me change my view completely…)
Perhaps, due to having already been familiar with and infatuated by the STORM CORROSION debut, the delicate acoustic folk of “Elysian Woes” didn’t feel like an unpleasant surprise at the time. Sure, the song didn’t sound very much like the OPETH that I had been accustomed to. Vaguely, the folksy guitars echoed the most atmospheric moments of both “Damnation” and “Heritage,” albeit with the song being remarkably less dark and gloomy. I guess my initial thought was, “Okay, OPETH is putting on some paisley-colored hippie paraphernalia, but it still sounds good, so what?”
That said, I was probably slightly relieved as the GOBLIN homage, entitled (surprise!) “Goblin,” presented a complete change of mood. This instrumental banger is OPETH at its jazziest. I must admit that I am not at all familiar with the Italian prog outfit to which this song refers. However, I do know that they created a few film scores for Dario Argento‘s horror flicks in the 1970s, and OPETH‘s take on this certainly conveys a somewhat 1970-ish, turtle-necked, and technicolored vibe by rolling out groovy, eerie, and ominous riffs.
Then, Åkerfeldt‘s signature, clean crooning is probably the only cue giving away that “River” is an OPETH song. Without the vocals, you could be fooled into thinking that you’re listening to THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. Toward the song’s end, the riffs get more and more progressive – and if you put your ear to it, you can spot some licks and riffs that could not possibly be from anyone else but OPETH.
The last two tracks alone make this album a worthwhile addition to any mustache-prog aficionado’s collection. First, “Voice of Treason” is quite an unexpected curve-ball with its diabolically groovy 12/8 string riffs, and, then, “Faith in Others,” is a DEEP–PURPLE-esque hard-rock ballad with a full-on string orchestra. With even the hardcore vintage-prog approach of “Heritage” taken into account, I’m pretty sure no one was expecting anything like this from OPETH in 2014! I guess all of us die-hard fanboys secretly wished for the band to return to the style of “Ghost Reveries” (2005) or maybe even “Blackwater Park.” If one or two earlier tracks in this selection did leave a slight taste of disappointment in my mouth at the time, these last two gems saved the day with flying colors. While I still cannot say that “Pale Communion” is among the best three albums these crazy Swedes have released over the years, this proggy feast is far more solid than its predecessor with which the band did this bold about-face and set their course toward the dusty vaults of the 1970s prog rock. Judging by the comments that flooded online forums right after the release of this album, I wasn’t the only one who was actually glad that OPETH didn’t go back to their old death-metal sound but opted for something entirely different. For me, “Damnation” (2003) is still by far the greatest achievement when it comes to the softer side of this band, but “Pale Communion” comes a close second – a magnificent journey into the murky realms of vintage prog.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Eternal Rains Will Come
- Cusp of Eternity
- Moon Above, Sun Below
- Elysian Woes
- Goblin
- River
- Voice of Treason
- Faith in Others
Lineup
Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, guitars
Fredrik Åkesson – lead guitars, backing vocals
Martin Méndez – bass
Joakim Svalberg – keyboards, backing vocals
Martin Axenrot – drums, percussion
Label
Roadrunner Records
