Year: 2024
Total Time: 50.52
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music
So let’s talk about theater…specifically a family drama with strong elements of thriller and dark atmosphere. No, you did not accidentally open an “Athenorama” magazine article. But when you want to analyze an album by Swedish giants OPETH you have to open your mind and see things a little differently. Especially when the stubborn and “I don’t give a shit about your opinion” Mikael Akerfeldt decides to let his imagination run free, the purely Progressive side of OPETH in a co-star role and to experiment once again both thematically and musically.
In the seven + one songs of the album, Akerfeldt travels back in time, sometime after the WW1, to a dark mansion where a family has gathered to read the will of its authoritative and conservative patriarch, who has one last “gift” for his relatives. Initially, the partiarch, through his will, admits his illicit relationship with a maid with whom he had a daughter who is also his sole heir leaving out his two twins and seemingly legitimate children. As if that wasn’t enough, they learn that their real father was actually a servant their mother chose to impregnate her. In fact, the servant is murdered immediately afterwards to keep the secret hidden. Throughout the album we witness the family drama, the feelings of the father and the rest of the family members until we reach the final plot twist, in the song “A Story Never Told” where we learn from a letter left by the girl’s mother that her real father was not the patriarch but the same servant who is the father of the twins.
Akerfeldt seems to love provoking his fans. He does it once again but winks at his older fans bringing back the growl vocals after more than 15 years and 2008’s ‘Watershed’. Since then, the shift to the pure Progressive side has drew away many although it has kept them in surface with important albums such as “Heritage” (2011) or even “In Cauda Venerum” (2019). However, if you think that he is returning 100% to his roots, you are very mistaken. We could say that he tries to combine all his musical sides, keeping the Progressive character but combined smoothly with strong Death Metal elements both with growl vocals and some impressive guitar solos. And if only these were the only ones. The intense oriental element in §5, the almost imperceptible jazz mood in §3, the more modern Progressive rhythm of §6, the claustrophobic and darkly narrative in §7 and even the rock ballad “A Story Never Told” are proofs of tons of inspiration which is hard to find in most albums of any metal genre.
This is by no means an easy album. It’s an album that needs to be listened to in its entirety, as a single story which is a hard task for younger listeners who are accustomed to a more skin deep way of listening. The production is flawless, the quality of the musicians non-negotiable. Impressive Waltteri Väyrynen on drums who fell straight into the deep as the newest member, Fredrik Akersson’s guitar solos are probably the highlight of almost all songs (see §3 for example), Joakim Svalberg’s keyboards necessarily have a leading role in several songs, the bass by Martin Mendez defines the heavy atmosphere of the album and of course Mikael Akerfeldt plays masterfully between growls and clean vocals. The icing on the cake is the participation of Ian Anderson (JETHRO TULL) as narrator as well as flautist in §4 and §7. Surprisingly, the duration of each song is between five and seven minutes, although none of the eught songs is what we call “concert-friendly” since you can barely distinguish a chorus and a verse.
To sum up, “The Last Will And Testament” is an excellent, atmospheric album with a strong Progressive and Death character, great musical variety and a special theme. It clearly surpasses several of their last albums and I have the feeling that it has the ability to stand close to the highlights of OPETH’s career such as “Blackwater Park” taking into consideration the particularities of each era.
Rating: 8/10
Editor: Kostas Boudoukos
Related Link: OPETH – Official Page
