It’s been a protracted wait for brand spanking new Opeth music. Within the five-year interim between releases, the band have switched file labels, leaving Nuclear Blast for Reigning Phoenix Music, and there’s a recent face on the drums as Waltteri Väyrynen replaces Martin Axenrot.
But regardless of the novelty of those adjustments, musically, The Final Will And Testomony feels in some way very old-school for the Swedes. Mikael Åkerfeldt and his bandmates have crafted a full-blown, unabashed idea album – a format they haven’t explored since Nonetheless Life method again in 1999.
Twenty-five years on, Opeth’s sound has advanced by leaps and bounds, however Åkerfeldt’s means to construct an album wealthy in environment, characters and drama stays as spectacular because it’s ever been.
The story is about within the Twenties and considerations a fractious household introduced collectively for the studying of a will after the loss of life of the clan’s patriarch; however the gathering reveals darkish secrets and techniques lengthy stored hidden. Unusually, seven of the eight tracks don’t have typical titles – as a substitute they’re merely numbered and marked with the paragraph image ‘§’. It’s solely the closing tune, A Story By no means Instructed, that has what is perhaps thought-about a standard title.
The album is led primarily by the guitars of Åkerfeldt and Fredrik Åkesson, reasonably than the keyboards and organ of Joakim Svalberg, who featured prominently on releases from the final decade reminiscent of Sorceress and Pale Communion. That’s to not recommend a return to the acerbic, abrasive sound of their early years, nonetheless. The guitar tone is earthy and crunchy, reasonably than brutal, however on the identical time this file feels darker than its rapid predecessors.
There’s weight and density to the preparations and a knotty high quality to the riffs because the guitars and drums are locked tightly collectively, taking part in difficult patterns. It’s by no means as ostentatiously virtuosic because the method of youthful prog bands like Arch Echo, nevertheless it actually appears like an evolutionary step for Opeth.
The pure gravitas to Ian Anderson’s voice works a deal with to speak the drama of the unfolding narrative
The one musical ingredient that may recommend a throwback to the previous is the return of Åkerfeldt’s growled vocals – however they seem right here in a really totally different context, used to articulate key moments within the narrative, reasonably than being a default vocal method as they have been within the group’s outdated loss of life steel days.
Despite the fact that the singer hasn’t used such supply within the studio since 2008’s Watershed, his growls sound suitably deep and menacing, suggesting he hasn’t misplaced any energy with the passing of the years. And there’s rather more than menace to his efficiency as he reaches virtually a falsetto vary in §4 and brings a fragile contact to the quiet moments of §3.
The album is produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman, who labored on In Cauda Venenum; whereas Dave Stewart of Hatfield And The North and Nationwide Well being handles the string preparations. The latter serves to develop Opeth’s palette; setting the temper in §1, making use of one other layer of color to the melody in §3, and launching into surprising instructions in §4: it’s the strings that lead the monitor right into a Center Jap vibe.
In comparison with their post-Heritage output, The Final Will And Testomony is probably not Opeth’s most instantly accessible work
Stewart isn’t the one British prog veteran to contribute to the album. Ian Anderson supplies spoken dialogue for among the key story beats, and the occasional flute solo. The pure gravitas to his voice works a deal with to speak the drama of the unfolding narrative.
The opposite visitor is Europe’s Joey Tempest, who lends his dulcet tones to §2, offering a counterpoint to Anderson’s proclamations – and apparently reaching notes that have been exterior Åkerfeldt’s consolation zone. Nonetheless, Tempest is surprisingly far again within the combine, and it’s simple to overlook his contribution on the primary move.
The musicianship is persistently spectacular, although: the lead guitar work in §6 is distinctly tasteful, with a bluesy inflection that might make it proper at house on many a classic prog album. Svalberg punctuates §7 with transient however interesting keyboard options. Recording the album on the fabled Rockfield Studios lends the file a heat that reinforces that old skool vibe.
Equally, the acoustic passages of §2 and §4 articulate the affect of Jethro Tull and early Genesis, whereas A Story By no means Instructed has a contact of symphonic rock within the lush string part.
In comparison with their post-Heritage output, The Final Will And Testomony is probably not Opeth’s most instantly accessible work. The complexity of the shifting rhythms and riffs, the a number of narrative and performative voices, and the entire household drama idea make for the type of materials that calls for time to be correctly digested and absorbed. Nevertheless it guarantees to be time nicely spent.
The Final Will And Testomony is out now through Reigning Phoenix Music.
