Aug 27th 2014 - Every time that a majestic band like Opeth releases a new album, I always get super excited. Prog music in general will surprise even the most avid listeners and confuse the newbies to the genre. When Opeth originally announced Pale Communion's predecessor, Heritage, several Opeth and metal fans were disappointed because of the band moving along from death metal to straight up 70s-inspired prog rock. I always considered Opeth as one of the most solid group in the extreme metal genre, but now they are proving themselves as one of the most (or the most) important prog-rock band of the era. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Pale Communion.
When I saw that Opeth announced this album, I was very excited. Considering they had so much negative feedback from Heritage (which I personally found excellent, but not exactly up to par to previous works like Blackwater Park and Still Life), I was very curious the sound that the band would adopt for the new album.
After months of waiting, I decided to listen to the leaked version... and I [kinda] regret it.
This is an album that is definitely worth waiting for, purchasing a physical copy and get lost within the magical spirit that this album releases. When listening to the first track, I was surprised on how the album starts with a huge bang of prog-rock goodness. Very good opening track, although the best is yet to come. I did sense a massive presence of Steven Wilson's input, which is entirely a good thing. The song then goes to a slower tempo, more psychedelic prog-rock feel until the end of the song hits with awesome, technical musicianship. Well, this is going to be quite the journey, my friend.
Second track comes in, being the official single for the album. Good track, yet nothing too special... although it fits very well with the album. I suppose most of you heard this track already, so I'll just skip ahead.
Then, we get to the 3rd track "Moon Above, Sun Below". Clocking at over 10 minutes, you now realize at this point that you're in for a treat. I found that the song starts off very Heritage-sounding, but slightly more haunting and dark. It's a very interesting track, specially when you get past the 2 minutes mark. That riff sounds like it's been taken off Damnation (one of my favorite Opeth album, by the way), very calm yet very dark. It's good to see Opeth going back to their roots without going full-on death metal. Although, this doesn't last very long, since the song abruptly goes to a fast prog-rock phantasmagoria, then goes back to an even more Damnation-sounding part. Honestly, this song gave me massive shivers.
The fourth track, Elysian Woes, starts where the previous song left off. Very calm song, lot of Opeth-sounding riffs which, once again, sound very Damnation with a touch of old-school 70s prog rock. There isn't a whole lot to describe about this song but it holds its place very well within the album.
Next track is where things start to get very interesting. Goblin, the album's instrumental track, is a very groovy and psychedelic piece of music. The riffs sound awesome, and I'm feeling like I'm listening to an instrumental section from Steven Wilson's solo stuff. Near the end of the song, at about 3:50 (until the end), it gets super dark and pretty heavy, too. MAN! This is 100% Opeth right now.
Then, there's River, probably my favorite track on the whole album. It's a very nice contrast to the previous song, as the beginning makes me feel like it's been greatly inspired from Porcupine Tree's Lightbulb Sun... but almost feels too happy-sounding for an Opeth track... but that's until the middle of the track kicks in ; it transforms into a super dark and gloomy feel which quickly transitions to an absolutely wicked instrumental section. Then, at about 2/3 of the song, THIS is what you want to hear. Very evil-sounding riff, crazy bass line, whacky drum pattern... something that sounds like it came out of Ghost Reveries (minus the growling), yet some pretty cool riffing and double bass pedal. The song then ends with probably the most beautiful performance from Mikael... the vocals sound SO right, I mean Mikael always been a very good singer but he's totally outdoing himself at this point.
Now we get to the last 2 songs. Voice of Treason is, once again, a very dark sounding track accompanied by an orchestra that makes the song feel even more evil. Very trippy and captivating track, to say the least. Very good vocals on here as well, and the instrumental section is really satisfying with typical Opeth-riffing... great build up that gets you on the edge of your seat until Mikael goes all out on an awesome vocal performance [once again]. The song flawlessly merges with the last track, Faith in Others. Honestly, I can hardly imagine a more perfect way to finish the album. It's accompanied with a beautiful string arrangement, very hypnotic riffs and vocals... it just sounds right. Not heavy at all but very powerful. I was very impressed how the ending of this album could be so... good.
I honestly think that Pale Communion is one of the best releases from the prog giants. Definitely my favorite album of the year... I already listened to it several times (probably too much) but I just can't get enough of it. One wouldn't think that a prog rock album from Opeth would be as good as previous masterpieces like Blackwater Park, but let me tell you... it is.
Genre(s) : Progressive Rock
From : Stockholm, Sweden
Release date : August 25th 2014
Listening format : MP3 (320kbps)
Production value : 9.0
Mixing : 10
Lyrics: 10
Music: 10
Overall : 10/10
[Not an average]
