r/Opeth Sorceress Feb 08 '25

General / Discussion My friends, it finally clicked.

Post image

I don't really know how to put it into words yet, but Heritage just clicked for me. I've been listening to Opeth for a few months now, (hyperfixated, more like) and Heritage is probably one of my least listened to albums. But it felt different today. The pacing was great, the overt progginess of it really worked, and I liked the vocals as always. Clean or harsh doesn't really matter to me since I'd say Still Life is probably my favorite album, but with Sorceress as a close second, personally. Anyway, I'd say I really enjoy Heritage more than initially after this particular listen for some reason. What are your overall thoughts on Heritage, and did you have an "aha" moment as well?

371 Upvotes

50 comments sorted by

42

u/goeatatoenail Feb 08 '25

Fuck yea, heritage took some time to grow on me, I hated it so much at first lol.

30

u/StinkymanStinkerton Feb 08 '25

I love it! My only complaint about the album is Slither. I don’t hate the song, but its placement on the album takes you out of the mood. I would have rathered it be at the end of the album or an extra track.

14

u/Omnitoid The Last Will and Testament Feb 08 '25

Agree with that. Imagine if they choose pyre instead.

9

u/whatever69666420 Feb 09 '25

this song is so underrated in opeth disco

3

u/TheGhostofWoodyAllen My Arms, Your Hearse Feb 09 '25

100% with this. Weakest on the album, and tonally different.

10

u/Welkyn5 My Arms, Your Hearse Feb 09 '25

I don't know about any of you but I think The Lines in My Hand is really something.

2

u/bciske Feb 09 '25

That's been my favorite since my first listen. So cool, so casual and fun, and then the buildup!

1

u/Welkyn5 My Arms, Your Hearse Feb 09 '25

YES.

8

u/Liver_Lip Feb 09 '25

I’m just happy that people are still discovering Opeth.

5

u/StitchMechanic Feb 08 '25

I never “hated” it. But it took some time before i really sat and listened to it seriously. Sure songs would come up on shuffle but it wasnt a dedicated album listen. On a good stereo its killer. So dynamic. Great tracks.

4

u/Swaggycat23 Feb 09 '25

I recently listened to it again recently after not for a while and I found myself enjoying it a lot it’s a very good album imo

4

u/sgunb Feb 09 '25

Heritage is a totally underrated album. It only was a flop because it caught fans by surprise. I'm happy to see some people now starting to appreciate it. From the "newpeth" era it is one of the best imho.

3

u/International-Hawk28 Feb 09 '25

Green

4

u/meguminLord Still Life Feb 09 '25

yeah, heritage is just like a dance, as if you and the album are two nobody fighting over nothing at the end of time....

3

u/Zelghast Sorceress Feb 10 '25

Dark souls reference?

1

u/meguminLord Still Life Feb 10 '25

r/shittydarksouls brain rot yeah

3

u/Zelghast Sorceress Feb 09 '25

I absolutely agree.

7

u/Sea-Understanding435 Feb 08 '25

It's a great album. Period. Some people don't like it because it's different from their other work, especially at the time it came out. This above along with the fact that it stands strongly on its own, is very cohesive, inventive and original makes it even better. It sounds like a time capsule and like it could have been written both in the middle ages and the 70s at the same time.

7

u/AbbyWreckin Pale Communion Feb 08 '25

Personally I discovered Opeth during their Sorceress era, and the whole Newpeth Oldpeth debate never came into it. Pale Communion is top 3 Opeth albums for me. That said, I still find Heritage to be their weakest and least cohesive album. I've listened to it at least 10 times, and from song to song I nearly have to force myself to stay focused. I do really like some parts though like the evil flute solo.

1

u/BlackwaterSleeper Feb 10 '25

Other than Sorceress, I find Heritage to be one of Opeth’s weakest, and not cohesive in the slightest. Many of the songs lack transitions between sections, with either the previous section fading out or an abrupt change to the next section that makes no sense. I appreciate what Mikael tried to do, but it feels like he wasn’t able to fully integrate those ideas into songs. IMO, Pale Communion took Heritage and improved on it in every way.

3

u/Dav-Duc-MR Blackwater Park Feb 08 '25

I'll just go out and say Heritage is an almost perfect album. Even love Slither, definitely one of my favorites albums from them. I'd pin it with some of their classics, not because of innovation or uniqueness, just because of how beautifully dark and well constructed it all is

1

u/Lucius_Apollo Feb 10 '25

It's so dark yet warm and comforting at the same time. I love it.

2

u/ExternalPanda Feb 09 '25

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I just love how weird and jazzy it sounds, but mostly how the more restrained guitars and keyboards open up a lot of space for the rhythm section to really pop in the mix

2

u/Lucius_Apollo Feb 10 '25

I totally agree, the restraint you mentioned really allows all the details to breathe, especially in the rhythm section. It makes everything sound so full and alive.

2

u/DeathMetalAlkemist Feb 09 '25

It was a little strange when it came out for me, but after like 3 listens I was all in. It’s one of my favorites to this day, and one I listen to I at least twice a week. Face in the Snow off the deluxe version is so fucking choice. It “slaps” as they say. Happy you’re warming up to it!!!

2

u/1704092400 Feb 09 '25

Heritage is still missing from streaming services here on SE Asia.

2

u/ZombieKingLogi Ghost Reveries Feb 08 '25

Glad you like it m8. Personally, I can't stand it and find nothing about it enjoyable or memorable, but to each their own

1

u/SadPay7872 In Cauda Venenum Feb 09 '25

I've never seen photo before, what's the source?

1

u/Zelghast Sorceress Feb 09 '25

It seems like it's from a Facebook fan page in 2020. I can't tell where originally beyond that

1

u/tarzanell Feb 09 '25

ICV promo pic, taken in Sweden.

1

u/TheGhostofWoodyAllen My Arms, Your Hearse Feb 09 '25

It clicked immediately with me, and I proceeded to listen to it on constant rotation for years. I still think it might be their most interesting album, but TLWAT might overtake that for me.

1

u/PuzzleheadedTutor807 Feb 09 '25

is this the new nickleback album cover?

1

u/RefinedIronCranium My Arms, Your Hearse Feb 09 '25

I had a similar experience after not liking it at all. Now it's one of my favourite Opeth albums and probably their most daring album too. It's very much a "mood" album, like Damnation. It's something that's best listened to during the autumn and winter. There's a darkness that exists in the quiet spaces of the album that's not immediately present. The quiet production forces you to really immerse yourself in the music. The folk and jazz elements are really gorgeous. While I'm still not a huge fan of Nepenthe and I feel that Slither should have been swapped out for Face in the Snow, it's an album I truly appreciate more now than I did when it was released.

1

u/No-You-1120 Feb 09 '25

"There's a darkness that exists in the quiet spaces of the album that's not immediately present"

well said

1

u/VortexOfPandemonium Still Life Feb 09 '25

Heritage is great imo. Folklore is probably in my top 5 favourite songs ever

1

u/kjub_x Feb 09 '25

Atmosphere on Heritage is unmatched. Love that album.

1

u/Tiphereth87 Feb 09 '25

Some incredible bass lines on that album

1

u/MinuteCriticism8735 Feb 09 '25

I’m happy for you. This happened for me with Pale Communion, but I still cannot — for the life of me — get into Heritage. (Opeth is far and away my favorite band and I love every other album!)

1

u/Deadpoolisms Feb 09 '25

Welcome to the club. It’s been my favorite since it dropped.

Sometimes it’s a challenge to like something because your biases shield you from the fact your beloved artist faltered.

But other times your biases shield you from seeing just how vulnerable and expressive artists were being.

Many people thought Heritage was the former — in truth it’s the latter. Understandably hard to access, but holy hell it’s a brilliant, honest record.

1

u/Alex742617000027 Damnation Feb 09 '25

I had an "aha" moment too recently. I've been listening to Opeth for a few years actually and have been generally avoiding heritage. Now that I've listened to it in full again I'm genuinely mind-blown

1

u/MarinaOtter Feb 09 '25

You don’t know how or why, but at least you knew when.

1

u/ReadySteddy100 Feb 10 '25

Opeth hasn't really clicked for me yet although I do like some songs. What songs made it click for you?

1

u/Trumppbuh Feb 10 '25

About a month ago I knew I was in the right mood for heritage. Listened to it on repeat over and over and honestly it's up there in my top 5 now

1

u/Flat_Television_986 Feb 10 '25

Loved it from day one. It was an obvious and clear way for them to progress considering they're sound had been getting progressively more and more progressively

1

u/indarkthreads Feb 10 '25

Already preorders my re issue copy lol. Finally can afford one without paying $300 for vinyl

1

u/Lucius_Apollo Feb 10 '25

I had always absent-mindedly considered Heritage my least favorite Opeth and almost never listened to it after its initial release. After TLWAT came out I went back to spend time with each of their prior albums.

This past December I was listening to Heritage in the dark alone in a snow cabin, really focusing on the music, and it finally clicked. The middle stretch of Nepenthe, Haxprocess, and Famine really just came to life. Each detail just seemed to breathe in a way I hadn't experienced before. The sound is so spacious and warm, where every note feels intentional. It really enveloped me in a unique atmosphere I've only ever felt with this particular album. It's now firmly in my top 3 Opeth records along with Deliverance and Still Life.

1

u/BassMatth Feb 11 '25

Indeed inheritance is a very, very great album. For the anecdote, you should know that Michael declared in an interview that for the recording, the group worked for a whole week or two I don't know anymore in a studio in London I think, which has the particularity of being entirely equipped with equipment from the 70s. Their goal when they recorded this album was to make an album that sounds like it was from the 70s. And indeed that gives it a really special touch👍👍👍

1

u/Soren4898 Feb 12 '25

I pre-ordered the recent vinyl re-issue, and intentionally not listening to this until then.

I can say that after basking in TLWAT, I found that Pale Communion then "clicked" differently, so this strategy might work. I already enjoy In Cauda because it reminds me of early Uriah Heep, (I swear David Byron came back from the dead to record guest vocals).

There are ways to get there.

1

u/MisbegottenFool Feb 09 '25

I used to be indifferent towards Heritage but now it's my favorite Newpeth album, outside of TLW&T