[Riffs] Forgive me Mikael, for I have sinned

Author - Hamza

Forgive me Mikael, for I have sinned.

Opeth were a taste forming band for me in my teen years, and the transition from Damnation (which I found irresistable) to Blackwater Park, (which I found impenetrable, but oddly mesmerising) being my turning point from “I love metal but I can’t stand the screaming” to… well, the exact same as that, but with the added caveat of “oh, except for Opeth.” But despite my supposed love for Opeth, I haven’t spend a lot of time with any of their albums since Watershed; I saw them once in 2015, the year I started regularly gigging, because c’mon, it’s Opeth – but during my I-live-in-Melbourne-and-am-super-spoiled-with-concerts phase, I just ignored them coming down, and Pale Communion, Sorceress, and especially In Cauda Venenum kinda just whiffed right past me without leaving much of an imprint.

I’m gonna remedy that this album cycle, I swear.

Have Opeth really not released a concept album since Still Life? It’ll be interesting to hear how their approach has changed since then; having never owned a physical copy, I probably wouldn't Still Life had a story at all if it wasn't for Wikipedia. And from the just-released “§1" (uhhh, Radio Edit) it seems as though the style this time is going to be a bit more cinematic in its method, a bit more Pink Floyd, a bit more... I dunno Ayreon? The footsteps and the creaking gate immediately signal it, the typewriter that shows up in the middle of the track hinting at some kind of it won’t be like that this time. A bit more Seventh Wonder, maybe? I’d love to have a narrative from Opeth as obvious as Mercy Falls, hopefully without the cheese.

Anyway, I mostly wrote this because I wanted to say that this new song is really good, and it bodes extremely well for the upcoming album, The Last Will and Testament. At the most basic level, and as a child of the Steven Wilson and Jens Bogren eras of Opeth, it’s just super cool to hear Mikael growling like that again. I’m getting Ghost Reveries and Watershed vibes from this song, and that’s exciting as hell.