Opeth’s ‘70s odyssey

Even as progressive metal goes, Opeth is an extremely diverse band. Within individual songs, you can find everything from death metal to psychedelic rock and even funk. This is why it seems somewhat strange that the excision of rough vocals and blast beats should have such a striking effect on its latest album.
“Heritage” is Opeth’s 10th album but only its second without death growls, after 2003’s “Damnation.”
But unlike “Damnation,” which was almost exclusively acoustic, “Heritage” maintains many of the heavier characteristics of the band but puts greater emphasis on funk and psychedelic rock than any album previous. The end result is very good.
None of “Heritage” feels gimmicky, the songwriting and musicianship are top notch, and yet it still feels incomplete. Sure, this is an experimental album, but that is all it really feels like: an experiment and not necessarily an effort to move Opeth’s sound in a new direction.
Ultimately, “Heritage” will probably end up being remembered as Opeth’s funk album and not much more. Don’t think for a second that the album isn’t good. It just isn’t particularly memorable.