Chords for Opeth - Pale Communion ALBUM REVIEW
Tempo:
115.6 bpm
Chords used:
Eb
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Oh, tooth any hot Tano here, the Internet's most humid music nerd, and it's time for a
review of the new Opeth album, Pale Communion.
Famed, Swedish, progressive metal and death metal band Opeth.
New full-length album.
These guys have been active since the early 90s.
I do prefer their gruffer, earlier material in their discography.
Regardless, the band's trademark sound and writing has put them on a commercial and artistic
winning streak throughout much of their discography.
From their late 90s output to the incredible success of [Eb] early 2000s albums like Blackwater Park.
And the band has been able to maintain some incredible momentum building off of this record
for album after album after album after album.
Releases that are mostly incredible fan-pleasers.
Now, in 2011, Opeth's sound underwent a significant and surprising change.
Their last full-length album, while not their most celebrated record, pretty far from being
categorized as a loss in their catalog.
Yet, the band saw fit to undergo a significant overhaul of their sound.
Heritage was pretty much a straight progressive rock record, which is different for Opeth
in a few different ways.
One, the death metal element in their music was completely erased out of the equation.
Which, at the end of the day, I wasn't too surprised by that.
Death metal to me, in Opeth's music, has always been a sidekick, a side dish, never a main player.
So, to see them get rid of it really only highlights the fact that they are more of
a progressive metal band than they are a death metal band.
And two, rather than being a progressive metal band with rock tendencies, they are now simply
a progressive rock band with some metal tendencies.
With this new record of theirs and Heritage, Opeth have essentially gone to the past.
They've gone nostalgic.
And they're sort of trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with their most obvious influences,
from King Crimson to Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, and Porcupine Tree 2.
And the end result on this latest LP, a lot like on Heritage, is pretty underwhelming.
Just some second rate hard rock and progressive rock revivalism.
To me, it was like Opeth was indulging in the past just to do it and not really bringing
anything that new or refreshing to the table.
A lot like the record that Stephen Wilson put out around this time, Grace for Drowning,
and the album he followed that up with.
Apparently some of these projects are related, a part of a trilogy according to Wilson.
This Heritage record is related to Grace for Drowning, which is related to the Storm Corrosion
project that Ockerfelt, the frontman of Opeth, and Stephen Wilson had together.
And with this handful of releases that Opeth and Wilson have put out over the past few
years, they have essentially sapped the rock out of progressive rock.
With pastel performances that feel more calculated and studied than they are thrilling, plain,
ultra clean, sanitized production, vocals that are just a tad melodramatic, and writing
that makes me feel like I'm listening to somebody's school project on progressive rock versus
some legitimately exciting progressive rock.
And this record definitely gets an A-plus on the emulation front, on the very clear
ability that Opeth has to dive into progressive rock, breathe in its intricacies, and recreate
them to a T.
But as a standalone piece of entertainment, this record comes up short.
It's too predictable, even for Opeth.
I don't see this album completely winning you over, unless you're the kind of person
that remembers and curses the day that Yes ever put out the [N] record 90125, and hasn't
really bought many albums since.
Once again, a lot like On Heritage, the musical references on Pale Communion tend to kind
of overshadow and drown out the sometimes legitimately good writing that Michael and
his band bring to the table.
The vocal melody on the opening track here is a dead ringer for Blue Oyster Cult's
Don't Fear the Reaper.
And there are some very nice keyboard and guitar solos on this track, some nice drum
fills, the band's performance is pretty tight.
But overall, the end result is just really ordinary for this genre of music.
The next track on this LP is one of the most concise tracks in the track listing here,
and it's maybe my favorite track on the entire LP, Cusp of Eternity.
It's got this gnarly, nasty, dark, menacing little guitar riff and groove that rides throughout
much of the song.
It's a really nice jam.
I love the ahhhhhh chorus line on this track, it's very devilish.
As well as some of the very mystical, melodic, Middle Eastern flavored guitar leads that
play in this track just occasionally.
These sorts of guitar leads actually appear later in the track list as well.
But the highlights don't really get much higher as the album continues on.
The acoustic interludes are just blatantly reminiscent of King Crimson, as well as Jethro
Tull, maybe a little bit of Led Zeppelin too.
I don't really mind the song Goblin, it's another hard rocker in the track list here.
There are also some acoustic interludes as well, so there is some musical and instrumental
variety across this track listing.
The song The Voice of Treason has a nice symphonic metal edge to it that definitely makes it
stand out in the track listing.
And the closing track here just directly pulls a piano phrase straight out of Pink Floyd's
Dogs off of Animals.
And uh
I don't know, listening to this track it's almost as if I could envision Michael playing
this piano and as he's doing it he's looking back at me smiling like, you know what this
is from, right?
We both know!
And yeah, I know, and it's not cute, it's not a good look.
Not only because this reference is so plain as day, and so plainly incorporated, but every
time this record goes to tap an amazing, classic progressive rock album on the shoulder, it
only highlights how insignificant of a contribution to progressive rock this album is.
Overall, to me, this album merely sounds like a group of people performing music in a genre
that I like a lot.
And nothing more than that.
If that's all your standards are for enjoying a new album, then give this record a listen.
This record, to me, is just standard.
As standard as Heritage, but maybe a little less entertaining because we're getting the
sequel to a movie that was just pretty okay.
I'm feeling a strong 5 to a light 6 on this thing.
Tram.
Zishen, if you've given this record a listen, what did you think of it?
Did you love it?
Did you hate it?
Why?
What do you think I should review next?
And that's it.
Anthony Fantano, Music,
review of the new Opeth album, Pale Communion.
Famed, Swedish, progressive metal and death metal band Opeth.
New full-length album.
These guys have been active since the early 90s.
I do prefer their gruffer, earlier material in their discography.
Regardless, the band's trademark sound and writing has put them on a commercial and artistic
winning streak throughout much of their discography.
From their late 90s output to the incredible success of [Eb] early 2000s albums like Blackwater Park.
And the band has been able to maintain some incredible momentum building off of this record
for album after album after album after album.
Releases that are mostly incredible fan-pleasers.
Now, in 2011, Opeth's sound underwent a significant and surprising change.
Their last full-length album, while not their most celebrated record, pretty far from being
categorized as a loss in their catalog.
Yet, the band saw fit to undergo a significant overhaul of their sound.
Heritage was pretty much a straight progressive rock record, which is different for Opeth
in a few different ways.
One, the death metal element in their music was completely erased out of the equation.
Which, at the end of the day, I wasn't too surprised by that.
Death metal to me, in Opeth's music, has always been a sidekick, a side dish, never a main player.
So, to see them get rid of it really only highlights the fact that they are more of
a progressive metal band than they are a death metal band.
And two, rather than being a progressive metal band with rock tendencies, they are now simply
a progressive rock band with some metal tendencies.
With this new record of theirs and Heritage, Opeth have essentially gone to the past.
They've gone nostalgic.
And they're sort of trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with their most obvious influences,
from King Crimson to Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, and Porcupine Tree 2.
And the end result on this latest LP, a lot like on Heritage, is pretty underwhelming.
Just some second rate hard rock and progressive rock revivalism.
To me, it was like Opeth was indulging in the past just to do it and not really bringing
anything that new or refreshing to the table.
A lot like the record that Stephen Wilson put out around this time, Grace for Drowning,
and the album he followed that up with.
Apparently some of these projects are related, a part of a trilogy according to Wilson.
This Heritage record is related to Grace for Drowning, which is related to the Storm Corrosion
project that Ockerfelt, the frontman of Opeth, and Stephen Wilson had together.
And with this handful of releases that Opeth and Wilson have put out over the past few
years, they have essentially sapped the rock out of progressive rock.
With pastel performances that feel more calculated and studied than they are thrilling, plain,
ultra clean, sanitized production, vocals that are just a tad melodramatic, and writing
that makes me feel like I'm listening to somebody's school project on progressive rock versus
some legitimately exciting progressive rock.
And this record definitely gets an A-plus on the emulation front, on the very clear
ability that Opeth has to dive into progressive rock, breathe in its intricacies, and recreate
them to a T.
But as a standalone piece of entertainment, this record comes up short.
It's too predictable, even for Opeth.
I don't see this album completely winning you over, unless you're the kind of person
that remembers and curses the day that Yes ever put out the [N] record 90125, and hasn't
really bought many albums since.
Once again, a lot like On Heritage, the musical references on Pale Communion tend to kind
of overshadow and drown out the sometimes legitimately good writing that Michael and
his band bring to the table.
The vocal melody on the opening track here is a dead ringer for Blue Oyster Cult's
Don't Fear the Reaper.
And there are some very nice keyboard and guitar solos on this track, some nice drum
fills, the band's performance is pretty tight.
But overall, the end result is just really ordinary for this genre of music.
The next track on this LP is one of the most concise tracks in the track listing here,
and it's maybe my favorite track on the entire LP, Cusp of Eternity.
It's got this gnarly, nasty, dark, menacing little guitar riff and groove that rides throughout
much of the song.
It's a really nice jam.
I love the ahhhhhh chorus line on this track, it's very devilish.
As well as some of the very mystical, melodic, Middle Eastern flavored guitar leads that
play in this track just occasionally.
These sorts of guitar leads actually appear later in the track list as well.
But the highlights don't really get much higher as the album continues on.
The acoustic interludes are just blatantly reminiscent of King Crimson, as well as Jethro
Tull, maybe a little bit of Led Zeppelin too.
I don't really mind the song Goblin, it's another hard rocker in the track list here.
There are also some acoustic interludes as well, so there is some musical and instrumental
variety across this track listing.
The song The Voice of Treason has a nice symphonic metal edge to it that definitely makes it
stand out in the track listing.
And the closing track here just directly pulls a piano phrase straight out of Pink Floyd's
Dogs off of Animals.
And uh
I don't know, listening to this track it's almost as if I could envision Michael playing
this piano and as he's doing it he's looking back at me smiling like, you know what this
is from, right?
We both know!
And yeah, I know, and it's not cute, it's not a good look.
Not only because this reference is so plain as day, and so plainly incorporated, but every
time this record goes to tap an amazing, classic progressive rock album on the shoulder, it
only highlights how insignificant of a contribution to progressive rock this album is.
Overall, to me, this album merely sounds like a group of people performing music in a genre
that I like a lot.
And nothing more than that.
If that's all your standards are for enjoying a new album, then give this record a listen.
This record, to me, is just standard.
As standard as Heritage, but maybe a little less entertaining because we're getting the
sequel to a movie that was just pretty okay.
I'm feeling a strong 5 to a light 6 on this thing.
Tram.
Zishen, if you've given this record a listen, what did you think of it?
Did you love it?
Did you hate it?
Why?
What do you think I should review next?
And that's it.
Anthony Fantano, Music,
Key:
Eb
Eb
Eb
Eb
Eb
Eb
Eb
Eb
Oh, tooth any hot Tano here, the Internet's most humid music nerd, and it's time for a
review of the new Opeth album, Pale Communion.
Famed, Swedish, progressive metal and death metal band Opeth.
New full-length album.
These guys have been active since the early 90s.
I do prefer their gruffer, earlier material in their discography.
Regardless, the band's trademark sound and writing has put them on a commercial and artistic
winning streak throughout much of their discography.
From their late 90s output to the incredible success of [Eb] early 2000s albums like Blackwater Park.
And the band has been able to maintain some incredible momentum building off of this record
for album after album after album after album.
Releases that are mostly incredible fan-pleasers.
Now, in 2011, Opeth's sound underwent a significant and surprising change.
Their last full-length album, while not their most celebrated record, pretty far from being
categorized as a loss in their catalog.
Yet, the band saw fit to undergo a significant overhaul of their sound.
Heritage was pretty much a straight progressive rock record, which is different for Opeth
in a few different ways.
One, the death metal element in their music was completely erased out of the equation.
Which, at the end of the day, I wasn't too surprised by that.
Death metal to me, in Opeth's music, has always been a sidekick, a side dish, never a main player.
So, to see them get rid of it really only highlights the fact that they are more of
a progressive metal band than they are a death metal band.
And two, rather than being a progressive metal band with rock tendencies, they are now simply
a progressive rock band with some metal tendencies.
With this new record of theirs and Heritage, Opeth have essentially gone to the past.
They've gone nostalgic.
And they're sort of trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with their most obvious influences,
from King Crimson to Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, and Porcupine Tree 2.
And the end result on this latest LP, a lot like on Heritage, is pretty _ underwhelming.
Just some second rate hard rock and progressive rock revivalism.
To me, it was like Opeth was indulging in the past just to do it and not really bringing
anything that new or refreshing to the table.
A lot like the record that Stephen Wilson put out around this time, Grace for Drowning,
and the album he followed that up with.
Apparently some of these projects are related, a part of a trilogy according to Wilson.
This Heritage record is related to Grace for Drowning, which is related to the Storm Corrosion
project that Ockerfelt, the frontman of Opeth, and Stephen Wilson had together.
And with this handful of releases that Opeth and Wilson have put out over the past few
years, they have _ essentially sapped the rock out of progressive rock.
With pastel performances that feel more calculated and studied than they are thrilling, plain,
ultra clean, sanitized production, vocals that are just a tad melodramatic, and writing
that makes me feel like I'm listening to somebody's school project on progressive rock versus
some legitimately exciting progressive rock.
And this record definitely gets an A-plus on the emulation front, on the very clear
ability that Opeth has to dive into progressive rock, breathe in its intricacies, and recreate
them to a T.
But as a standalone piece of entertainment, this record comes up short.
It's too predictable, even for Opeth.
I don't see this album completely winning you over, unless you're the kind of person
that remembers and curses the day that Yes ever put out the [N] record 90125, and hasn't
really bought many albums since.
Once again, a lot like On Heritage, the musical references on Pale Communion tend to kind
of overshadow and drown out the sometimes legitimately good writing that Michael and
his band bring to the table.
The vocal melody on the opening track here is a dead ringer for Blue Oyster Cult's
Don't Fear the Reaper.
And there are some very nice keyboard and guitar solos on this track, some nice drum
fills, the band's performance is pretty tight.
But overall, the end result is just really ordinary for this genre of music.
The next track on this LP is one of the most concise tracks in the track listing here,
and it's maybe my favorite track on the entire LP, Cusp of Eternity.
It's got this gnarly, nasty, dark, menacing little guitar riff and groove that rides throughout
much of the song.
It's a really nice jam.
I love the ahhhhhh chorus line on this track, it's very devilish.
As well as some of the very mystical, melodic, Middle Eastern flavored guitar leads that
play in this track just occasionally.
These sorts of guitar leads actually appear later in the track list as well.
But the highlights don't really get much higher as the album continues on.
The acoustic interludes are just blatantly reminiscent of King Crimson, as well as Jethro
Tull, maybe a little bit of Led Zeppelin too.
I don't really mind the song Goblin, it's another hard rocker in the track list here.
There are also some acoustic interludes as well, so there is some musical and instrumental
variety across this track listing.
The song The Voice of Treason has a nice symphonic metal edge to it that definitely makes it
stand out in the track listing.
And the closing track here just directly pulls a piano phrase straight out of Pink Floyd's
Dogs off of Animals.
And uh_
_ _ _ I don't know, listening to this track it's almost as if I could envision Michael playing
this piano and as he's doing it he's looking back at me smiling like, you know what this
is from, right?
We both know!
And yeah, I know, and it's not cute, it's not a good look.
Not only because this reference is so plain as day, and so plainly incorporated, but every
time this record goes to tap an amazing, classic progressive rock album on the shoulder, it
only highlights how insignificant of a contribution to progressive rock this album is.
Overall, to me, this album merely sounds like a group of people _ performing music in a genre
that I like a lot.
And nothing more than that.
If that's all your standards are for enjoying a new album, then give this record a listen.
This record, to me, is just standard.
As standard as Heritage, but maybe a little less entertaining because we're getting the
sequel to a movie that was just pretty okay.
I'm feeling a strong 5 to a light 6 on this thing.
Tram.
Zishen, if you've given this record a listen, what did you think of it?
Did you love it?
Did you hate it?
Why?
What do you think I should review next?
And that's it.
Anthony Fantano, Music,
review of the new Opeth album, Pale Communion.
Famed, Swedish, progressive metal and death metal band Opeth.
New full-length album.
These guys have been active since the early 90s.
I do prefer their gruffer, earlier material in their discography.
Regardless, the band's trademark sound and writing has put them on a commercial and artistic
winning streak throughout much of their discography.
From their late 90s output to the incredible success of [Eb] early 2000s albums like Blackwater Park.
And the band has been able to maintain some incredible momentum building off of this record
for album after album after album after album.
Releases that are mostly incredible fan-pleasers.
Now, in 2011, Opeth's sound underwent a significant and surprising change.
Their last full-length album, while not their most celebrated record, pretty far from being
categorized as a loss in their catalog.
Yet, the band saw fit to undergo a significant overhaul of their sound.
Heritage was pretty much a straight progressive rock record, which is different for Opeth
in a few different ways.
One, the death metal element in their music was completely erased out of the equation.
Which, at the end of the day, I wasn't too surprised by that.
Death metal to me, in Opeth's music, has always been a sidekick, a side dish, never a main player.
So, to see them get rid of it really only highlights the fact that they are more of
a progressive metal band than they are a death metal band.
And two, rather than being a progressive metal band with rock tendencies, they are now simply
a progressive rock band with some metal tendencies.
With this new record of theirs and Heritage, Opeth have essentially gone to the past.
They've gone nostalgic.
And they're sort of trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with their most obvious influences,
from King Crimson to Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, and Porcupine Tree 2.
And the end result on this latest LP, a lot like on Heritage, is pretty _ underwhelming.
Just some second rate hard rock and progressive rock revivalism.
To me, it was like Opeth was indulging in the past just to do it and not really bringing
anything that new or refreshing to the table.
A lot like the record that Stephen Wilson put out around this time, Grace for Drowning,
and the album he followed that up with.
Apparently some of these projects are related, a part of a trilogy according to Wilson.
This Heritage record is related to Grace for Drowning, which is related to the Storm Corrosion
project that Ockerfelt, the frontman of Opeth, and Stephen Wilson had together.
And with this handful of releases that Opeth and Wilson have put out over the past few
years, they have _ essentially sapped the rock out of progressive rock.
With pastel performances that feel more calculated and studied than they are thrilling, plain,
ultra clean, sanitized production, vocals that are just a tad melodramatic, and writing
that makes me feel like I'm listening to somebody's school project on progressive rock versus
some legitimately exciting progressive rock.
And this record definitely gets an A-plus on the emulation front, on the very clear
ability that Opeth has to dive into progressive rock, breathe in its intricacies, and recreate
them to a T.
But as a standalone piece of entertainment, this record comes up short.
It's too predictable, even for Opeth.
I don't see this album completely winning you over, unless you're the kind of person
that remembers and curses the day that Yes ever put out the [N] record 90125, and hasn't
really bought many albums since.
Once again, a lot like On Heritage, the musical references on Pale Communion tend to kind
of overshadow and drown out the sometimes legitimately good writing that Michael and
his band bring to the table.
The vocal melody on the opening track here is a dead ringer for Blue Oyster Cult's
Don't Fear the Reaper.
And there are some very nice keyboard and guitar solos on this track, some nice drum
fills, the band's performance is pretty tight.
But overall, the end result is just really ordinary for this genre of music.
The next track on this LP is one of the most concise tracks in the track listing here,
and it's maybe my favorite track on the entire LP, Cusp of Eternity.
It's got this gnarly, nasty, dark, menacing little guitar riff and groove that rides throughout
much of the song.
It's a really nice jam.
I love the ahhhhhh chorus line on this track, it's very devilish.
As well as some of the very mystical, melodic, Middle Eastern flavored guitar leads that
play in this track just occasionally.
These sorts of guitar leads actually appear later in the track list as well.
But the highlights don't really get much higher as the album continues on.
The acoustic interludes are just blatantly reminiscent of King Crimson, as well as Jethro
Tull, maybe a little bit of Led Zeppelin too.
I don't really mind the song Goblin, it's another hard rocker in the track list here.
There are also some acoustic interludes as well, so there is some musical and instrumental
variety across this track listing.
The song The Voice of Treason has a nice symphonic metal edge to it that definitely makes it
stand out in the track listing.
And the closing track here just directly pulls a piano phrase straight out of Pink Floyd's
Dogs off of Animals.
And uh_
_ _ _ I don't know, listening to this track it's almost as if I could envision Michael playing
this piano and as he's doing it he's looking back at me smiling like, you know what this
is from, right?
We both know!
And yeah, I know, and it's not cute, it's not a good look.
Not only because this reference is so plain as day, and so plainly incorporated, but every
time this record goes to tap an amazing, classic progressive rock album on the shoulder, it
only highlights how insignificant of a contribution to progressive rock this album is.
Overall, to me, this album merely sounds like a group of people _ performing music in a genre
that I like a lot.
And nothing more than that.
If that's all your standards are for enjoying a new album, then give this record a listen.
This record, to me, is just standard.
As standard as Heritage, but maybe a little less entertaining because we're getting the
sequel to a movie that was just pretty okay.
I'm feeling a strong 5 to a light 6 on this thing.
Tram.
Zishen, if you've given this record a listen, what did you think of it?
Did you love it?
Did you hate it?
Why?
What do you think I should review next?
And that's it.
Anthony Fantano, Music,