Opeth - Pale Communion [2LP]

Opeth followed their prog instincts all the way down the rabbit hole on Pale Communion, the 2014 album presented here as a 140-gram double LP.

Coming after Heritage had startled parts of their metal audience by dropping death growls altogether, this eleventh studio album doubled down on melody, warm vintage tones and the 1970s influences Mikael Åkerfeldt had always worn proudly. It was also the first Opeth record with keyboardist Joakim Svalberg, whose organ and Mellotron colour almost every song.

Åkerfeldt produced the album with Tom Dalgety at Rockfield Studios in Wales, and Steven Wilson handled the mix, giving the arrangements a rich, spacious finish. "Eternal Rains Will Come" opens with a tumbling, jazz-tinged rush before settling into gorgeous harmonies, while "Cusp of Eternity" drives forward on a muscular riff.

The ten-minute "Moon Above, Sun Below" twists through folk passages and eerie quiet, and "River" begins in pastoral calm before stretching out into an extended instrumental workout. Strings recorded in London give the closing stretch a cinematic edge.

There are no growls anywhere, yet the album still carries plenty of menace in its shadows. For listeners drawn to the band's softer, stranger side, it sits among their richest and most rewarding records, and the double-LP layout suits its long, patient songs.