Opeth – Pale Communion

People love to rag on this album or forget it a-la 'meh, it's another one' but I actually really enjoyed it. The ones immediately before and after are pretty stupid, so this one doesn't really get a fair chance I feel. I'm a pretty oldschool opeth fan, since MAYH but I had long-since lost interest in em by the time this came out, not cuz I'm a death metal purist, but after the 1-2 punch that was the pretty bland GhostR album and the flat out shit Waterc̶l̶o̶s̶e̶t̶shed, I just thought they were done, so I bought Pale for sheer morbid curiosity and surprisingly I actually find myself replaying it now as often as MornRise.

Track 8 is especially nostalgic, but 2, 3 & 7 are also excellent. And Goblin is plenty fun... And River has great vocals and keyboards...... And track 1 which sounded like a strange different band at first but now is so memorable it's stuck in my head. The ending of track 7 is superb. And the solo in track 2. I better stop, but heaps of good moments here really, not a crap song in sight. Incredible mixing/mastering too (CD & digital versions)

Pale communion is the best album of the nO-death-peth albums, by a looooooooong shot, even beats Damnation actually, and side note: the Royal Albert Hall live album was also really energetic too, with actually good growling for a change and an excellent setlist + Last Will is quite nice with its sorta cinematic feel - maybe opeth are interesting again afterall.

Excellent mastering for CD (Paschal Byrne)

DR11

If you don't want the background noise of poorly made vinyl, the cd version of this record is very good.

Great album. But what a crappy vinyl. The problem already starts with the vinyl mastering which is too loud, muddy, and causes distortion all over.

I just got this and it’s all staticy sounding and skips. This is the second copy I’ve opened brand new from the shrink wrap and both have done the same thing. What a bummer. Some songs sound great then skip out of the blue. Brand new records should not skip. Great album but hard to bear listening with the obvious album flaws.

Pale Communion is my favorite album from Opeth. I also like '' old Opeth '' but the songs on Pale Communion have totally won me. A masterpiece in which amazingly composed guitar solos (River). Imaginative riffs all the time, clear vocals, drums keep accurate and progressive beats. Elysian Woes is a wonderful insertion between progressive songs. And just as Eternal Rains Will Come is an amazing start and entry to the album, so is Faith In Others a beautiful ending. I admire Herritage, but I love Pale Communion.

So how can I tell which is The version to get? I want the Lp but don’t want the crap pressing.

This is something else. Starting off with a weird mix of drums, breakdowns, hammond organ and whatnot, it becomes a great track with beautiful soloing. One of my favourite Opeth tracks(Eternal Rains Will Come).”Moon above, sun below” is another favourite, with great acoustic parts, and when Mikael hits those high notes it’s really stellar. But to me, “River” is the best song off the album. Not that it’s complex, but the opposite. Beautiful vocals, and a very distinct guitar sound. And “Faith In Others” is perhaps the saddest song Opeth has ever written.

I've come to the conclusion that Opeths Pale Communion is for me the best album of 2014 so far, and the best Opeth album till date. Dark, profound, melancholic, melodic. This band has come a long way since their death metal/progressive rock struggle which often sounded flakey and incoherent (imho). This album is fascinating from beginning to end. Did I mention the vocal harmonies that remind me of Abba? (They are swedish band, you know) A masterpiece.

I realize Opeth's last endeavor Heritage was bound to alienate many longtime fans. Even Mikael Åkerfeldt would admit to that. Especially when he drops those growling vocals and go a more prog oriented route. It's not that they went the Yes or Genesis route, more of a heavier end of prog, included some Mellotron and other vintage keyboards, and perhaps a tamer approach than before. But whatever fans they lost with Heritage would probably cry "treason" with Pale Communion. Åkerfeldt still loses the growling vocals, the band goes further into prog territory, and to many long time fans worst nightmare: the presence of strings on some of the songs. But as a lover of prog rock in general, Opeth succeeds, and in fact makes a better album than Heritage, as it's less disjointed, has a better flow, and better compositions overall. "Eternal Rains Will Come" sounds like a proggy version of Crosby, Stills & Nash, with some nice organ from newcomer Joakim Svalberg (who already played on one song on Heritage). Mellotron is also used. "Cusp of Eternity" has a heavier feel, so there is some of that metal still left, but no growling vocals. "Moon Above, Sun Below" is a lengthier piece alternative between heavier passages and gentler, more acoustic passages. "Goblin" is in honor of the Italian band Goblin (most famously heard on Dario Argento horror flicks like Suspiria). The band really got that Goblin sound down, even Joakim Svalberg attempting Claudio Simonetti's style of keyboard playing. "Voice of Treason" has a more Middle Eastern feel to it, while the heavily orchestrated "Faith in Others" is a nice closing piece. As I suspected here, it's the same strings heard on Steven Wilson's The Raven That Refused to Sing, as it too was conducted by Dave Stewart of Egg, Hatfield & the North, National Health (but not the Eurythmics for which a different Dave Stewart is responsible for, and often called David A. Stewart to avoid confusion with the Canterbury prog keyboardist). I don't think I was too surprised the Opeth would end up playing more genuine prog rock. Mikael Åkerfeldt had always been open about his love of prog rock (as much as he does for metal) so he's letting his prog side show more in these last couple of efforts. All I have to say, if you love death metal, you'll probably end up disappointed with Pale Communion. If you love prog, you'll be loving this.