I don't care what anybody says, opeth are one of the best rock/metal bands out there.

It can't(in metal) always be rage on, pedal to the metal 247, can it ??

This singing is nice on this one...

Elysian Woes(Pale Communion-2014)

Agreed. Love the last couple albums they've put out. Akerfeldt has thankfully taken them away from their "death growl" past into a more prog leaning direction. Mikael has a nice voice. Not sure I understand why that was wasted on death growls for so many years. Got into Opeth through Steven Wilson, who is one of the best out there in any genre right now (I recommend any of his solo albums or Porcupine Tree albums). Figured he had pretty good taste. The album that Wilson and Akerfeldt did together under the name Storm Corrosion is great too.

pzlyprk said:

Agreed. Love the last couple albums they've put out. Akerfeldt has thankfully taken them away from their "death growl" past into a more prog leaning direction. Mikael has a nice voice. Not sure I understand why that was wasted on death growls for so many years.

I...partially agree with you. It took me a couple listens but now I really enjoy Pale Communion. It accomplished what Heritage wasnt able to do, and thats make a record that convinces me that Opeth made the right decision by doing away with the death metal stuff, and exploring the more prog side of their stuff. Heritage has its moments (Folklore is beautiful), but is all in all a pretty weak album, especially for their standards. As for the death metal stuff? Being that Watershed was the last album to feature growls, Watershed didnt set the world on fire like their previous albums, so a change was needed. I think Mikael will return to the dark shit eventually, but right now I can see why and respect why he decided to take the band in this direction currently. But Im personally not the biggest fan of death metal as a style, but Opeth is super-unique in combining beauty with brutality and thats what attracted me to them. In a genre of music thats pretty known for its lack of diversity, Opeth just stood out, and managed to not only make fans out of the most stubborn of metalheads enjoy their stuff, but serious music fans took notice as well. And that hybrid never sounded as amazing than on "Still Life", which is their best record if you ask me and makes "Blackwater Park" look mighty inferior. And "Ghost Reveries" is sooooooo goddamn good. That album is the sound of a band on another planet! And you know what the sad thing is about Opeth going to the softer side? Heritage and Pale Communion and whatever other stuff they release with their current sound will NEVER top "Damnation". But anyway, I love this band with all my heart and its nice to see some other folks on here appreciate this VERY special group as well!