Stockholm, Sweden’s own Progress Metal band Opeth often comes served with a splattering of Death Metal vocals matched with guitar by the creatively technical mind of Mikael Åkerfeldt. They have been in a class of their own since their 1995 debut album Orchid. Releasing one captivating album after another, while 2002’s Deliverance will always remain untouchable in more ways than one, there is a new Opeth album in town releasing November 22, 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music called The Last Will and Testament.
Sometimes, people are in such a hurry to escape their past. In turn, they also escape the roots that bind them to their truest self. The truth is that going back to one’s roots after a full-circle exploration of one’s capabilities can be the most rewarding step toward the future. In the case of Opeth, there are many more of those Death Metal vocals reigning through the eight songs of this new album… plus there are also a couple of guest vocal surprises. This leads us to the band themselves. The most recent addition to the Opeth team is Drummer/Percussionist Waltteri Väyrynen. His technical prowess comes from a Death Metal background, and he is a great fit with all other band members including Fredrik Åkesson on the guitars/backing vocals, long-time Bassist Martín Méndez, and Joakim Svalberg on the keyboards/backing vocals.
In regards to all that, The Last Will and Testament is a concept album that does quite the opposite of serving as a coffin for the band to lay to rest in. It has the progression of someone who was just let loose into a wildlife exploration of the rarest animals out there these days. The fact that guest artist Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull can play the flute on two tracks and do guest vocal spots throughout the album, is a noble feature in itself. Then intertwining that with the heavier guitar, beats, and death-growling vocals reminiscent of Opeth’s older sound, is a luxurious combination. As mentioned, the album includes eight tracks, but only the last one has a title, and it is called “A Story Never Told.” For an Opeth album that does include 7-plus minute-long songs, it goes by pretty quickly. With this in mind, the album needs to be relished in multiple times before forming any opinion, because it is different, yet stems from the roots that modern-day Opeth remembered that they once came from.
As for another surprise on The Last Will And Testament, there is none other than Europe’s Joey Tempest handling the backing vocals on ‘track 2.’ As mentioned, it is wise to listen to this album at least three times in any order; because each track is unique in its own way. What makes Opeth stand out is that they have such an unusual sound and way of structuring songs, and are masters at flowing from one extreme to the other musically within one song in the blink of an eye.
About midway through The Last Will and Testament, it starts to come alive with exciting extreme musical fluctuations. The somber woes of the dead and evil conceptualize the album in a musically complex way. Thinking about this for a minute, the ideology it takes to represent Progressive Metal uniquely is also not an easy task. Overall, Opeth does all this with a beautifully written grace, and The Last Will and Testament is one of a kind that has Opeth’s best compromise of soft to heavy music yet. For this and more, Cryptic Rock gives this fresh new Opeth album a 5 out of 5 stars, as die-hard Opeth fans will be very pleased with this one.
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