- Country: Sweden
- Style: Progressive rock
- Label: Roadrunner Records
- Release date: 25 August 2014
If Heritage felt like Mikael Åkerfeldt clearing his throat, Pale Communion is him finally singing the song. The growls are gone for good and nobody should be waiting for them anymore; what we get instead is the most melodic, warmest Opeth album yet.
Steven Wilson mixed it, and the difference from its predecessor is obvious from the first bars of “Eternal Rains Will Come” – that busy, jazzy drum intro, then an organ swell and a vocal melody that could have come off a mid-seventies Camel record. “Cusp of Eternity” is the closest thing to a hit Opeth have ever written, with a driving riff and a chorus that stays with you for days. “Moon Above, Sun Below” is the long one, almost eleven minutes, and the heaviest in spirit if not in distortion.
The instrumental “Goblin” is a playful, keyboard-led detour, and “Faith in Others” closes with strings and a vocal so mournful it borders on the operatic. If you left after Watershed, this probably won’t bring you back. If you stayed, it’s the reward.
Best tracks:
Eternal Rains Will Come
Cusp of Eternity
Moon Above, Sun Below
Faith in Others
Author’s rating: 8.8/10
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