Music
[Review] Opeth ‘Heritage’
A new Opeth album is always a mini holiday for me. When Ghost Reveries came out, I was at the store when they opened, put the CD in my car and I only stopped listening to it when I had to move it from my car stereo to my computer, whereupon I continued to blast it for the rest of the day. Honestly, I don’t think there is a Opeth song that I haven’t heard at least ten times. So hopefully by now you can understand my excitement and, also, my apprehension upon listening to Heritage. After all, it’s not that I built myself up specifically for this album. Rather, I have built myself up to the idea of Opeth for years, since I first started listening to them. So how does Heritage measure up to my expectations? Find out after the jump.
Warning: Get used to seeing the word “prog”. It’s going to show up a lot in this review.
After the gorgeous prog-jazz instrumental title track, the album dives into The Devil’s Orchard, a 70’s prog-rock tune that is one of the heavier songs on the album. Gone are Mikael Akerfeldt’s signature death growls, replaced by his beautiful croons and soaring cries. The heavily distorted guitars have been replaced by crunchy, almost slightly fuzzy tones. Feeling suspiciously as though Opeth had been transported back in time, this track, and Heritage before it, set the stage for a prog-rock masterpiece.
To properly understand the production, you have to remember that Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Blackfield) took care of all of the mixing. Considering that Steven has been hard at work remixing and remastering the King Crimson collection (starting with In The Court Of The Crimson King), it’s impossible to ignore the similarities. Now, I am not knocking Wilson or the mix that he created. On the contrary, I think that for what Opeth was going for with Heritage, this mix was exactly what was needed. At several times, the instruments sound like they’re on the verge of cracking and distorting but not because of vast amounts of compression. Instead, they sound like this because it seems like they are pushing the preamps almost to the very peak. This album oozes vintage warmth and begs to be heard on vinyl. Just listen to the last two minutes of Opeth and revel in the sublime, understated beauty.
The Final Word: As I said before, there are no death growls or evil, dissonant guitar tones on this album. As much as this might seem like a deviation for Opeth, the more I listen to Heritage, the more it seems like a perfectly natural progression. Do I miss heavy Opeth? Without a question. However, the surreal, haunting beauty of this album has won me over entirely.
AMC has announced that The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only LIVE, the standing-room-only performance celebrating AMC’s premiere of its newly-released The Vampire Lestat at New York City’s iconic Beacon Theatre last month, will debut on streaming.
The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only LIVE begins streaming on AMC+ on August 23.
Ahead of its streaming premiere, fans can preview the concert event, featuring original songs from series composer Daniel Hart and performed by Sam Reid, in Hall H at Comic Con International on July 24.
Our own Daniel Kurland attended the special event, highlighting how electric the Immortal Vampire is on stage: “It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.”
Based on Anne Rice‘s The Vampire Chronicles book series, The Vampire Lestat is the rock and roll-centric third season of AMC’s “Interview with the Vampire” created by showrunner Rolin Jones.
The Vampire Lestat goes on an electric multi-city tour while being haunted by “muses” from his wild and rebellious past. As his band’s popularity and star power rises, so does Lestat’s influence over vampires and humans alike, leaving others to contend with Lestat’s power in the face of the Great Conversion, an unnatural surge in the vampire population.
Jacob Anderson, Assad Zaman, Eric Bogosian, Delainey Hayles and Jennifer Ehle star with Reid. Executive producers include Jones, Mark Johnson, Hannah Moscovitch, the late Anne Rice, and her son Christopher Rice.
The series finale airs this Sunday, July 19, on AMC and AMC+.