Opeth released the first single from Heritage this week, giving all of us a chance to hear the sweeping changes Mikael Åkerfeldt has been talking about these last couple of months. Before I go on, go over to Stereogum and have a listen to The Devil's Orchard.
I'll be honest, I'm not sure what to make of it. It's not the Opeth we all know and love. Less metal, more jazz-prog, lots of noodling and split-second tempo shifts. Anyone still expecting a death metal album will be sorely disappointed, I think, although those who appreciate the prog side of Opeth more than the death metal side will be more than happy. The minor chords and signature downtuned Opeth riffs are still there, albeit in a more subtly muted style. There's no way anyone could describe this track as up-beat, either musically, lyrically or stylistically.
After a few listens, it's growing on me. I think I expected something more like Harvest; prog-folk metal rather than prog-jazz twiddliness. It's going to take a few more listens, most likely along with the rest of the album, to get my head around it properly.
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