I havent really had a chance to hear the new album but the first thing that registered were the use of the harsh vocals. (Note, havent heard in cauda much).

This Sputnik Review which contained the following:

  • He (Åkerfeldt) talks about it cynically in interviews, saying that it feels like the growls are all anybody ever cared about in the band’s music. And it seems like this is a little bit true, at least for some fans; for a lot of people, the first reaction to hearing “Paragraph 1” was to proclaim that Opeth is “finally back,.*

I dont know what reviews were referenced, but if true, just curious as to whether prog listeners agree that it was always about the growls… Lets face it metal fans can be heavily OTT with change.

  • rigatti@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    18 hours ago

    The lack of growls for the last however many albums just felt like they weren’t using all the tools available to them. I was excited to hear harsh vocals again, though I’m still sort of over the 70s prog sound.

    • rescue_toaster@lemm.ee
      4·
      16 hours ago

      I remember reading an interview with mikael and how he loved Camel. So i went and listened to some Camel. He did a very good job making Opeth sound like Camel. Its not my thing and thus i haven’t really been into Opeth for a while.

      New album is okay in my opinion.

    • _ed@sopuli.xyzOP
      2·
      15 hours ago

      That is a lot of it for me - I liked the interplay between harsh/clean, or tracks with harsh then clean, or even Damnation. The music didnt necessarily suck if clean, but the songs were good and the opeth sound was great.