Swedish prog metal overlords Opeth return with intense, beautifully delivered but ultimately baffling concept record.
Longstanding purveyors of the elaborate and the unexpected in metal, time has merely exaggerated Opeth's determination to be unique. This album, the Swedish prog-metal lords' 14th, is probably its most ambitious to date – an eight-track production, the majority of which have no proper title, just § (as in, paragraph break) 1, 2 etc, documents the fall-out caused by a father figure’s last will and testament.
Opeth’s attention to detail is never less than extraordinary, and it’s this that’s likely to initially impress before, perhaps, overwhelming the casual listener.
§ one combines melodic fanfare with death metal-friendly grunted vocals, soon building into genuinely haunting tunefulness. The musical background is a tour de force of showmanship and alternating format, very much delighting the ear at this early stage, but the sheer expanse of it as the album progresses does begin to test all but the most patient.
§ two powers in, momentarily a vehicle of charging metal before very quickly dropping both the pace and the volume, transforming into something else entirely. It’s something Opeth maintain throughout – you never know where you are with them – and taking each individual track by itself, it’s rarely less than impressive. It works less well when taken as a whole, and by the time the storyline is resolving itself via final track, the relatively benign A Story Never Told, many will likely have had their fill.
The only thing not to like about The Last Will & Testament, then, is the sheer scale of it, its unwillingness to compromise, plus the lack of anything most metal fans would regard as hooks. Musically of course it’s another monster-sized statement from mastermind Mikeal Åkerfeldt. Not a man who is going to do anything in compromise, nor he is guaranteed to repeat anything he’s done successfully before. In this case Opeth have broken new ground, entered fresh realms both oppressive and melodic – but their rapier-like determination to be different may be too much for some.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: Tool, Polyphia, Dream Theater
The Last Will & Testament is released on November 22 via Reigning Phoenix
