After the first song released off ‘The Last Will and Testament’ showed Mikael Åkerfeldt growling for the first time since 2008’s ‘Watershed’, rumors of the album being a return to form started surfacing. This is the wrong way to approach the album for two reasons. First off, Opeth never really lost their form, they just made one underwhelming folk-prog album, then went on to make some fine contemporary seventies-style heavy prog. Also, despite a few more brutal sections, ‘The Last Will and Testament’ is very clearly the work of the same Opeth that recorded those post-‘Heritage’ albums, both sonically and compositionally.

Don’t get me wrong: that isn’t meant as criticism towards Opeth, as I adore ‘Pale Communion‘, and the two albums following it include some great material. It’s just worth pointing out that the differences between ‘The Last Will and Testament’ and its most recent predecessors are superficial at best, sometimes even non-existent. While the album does contain the heaviest sections since ‘Watershed’, a majority of the bits Åkerfeldt growls on could have appeared on ‘Pale Communion’ or ‘In Cauda Venenum’ with different vocals, right down to the heavy, but still somewhat clean and warm guitar tones and Joakim Svalberg’s keyboard sound choices.

Fortunately, Opeth has largely stuck to the compositional style of their last three albums. That means the songs are shorter on average than those on fan favorites like ‘Blackwater Park’ and ‘Still Life’, but more happens in them. Many old Opeth songs got their length through repetition, and I personally think they sometimes overdid it. A song like ‘§5’, on the other hand – oh yeah, in an attempt to go full in on the silliest side of progressive rock, none except the last song actually has a title – goes through many changes, exploring more shades than just “the soft bits” and “the heavy bits”.

‘The Last Will and Testament’ is at its best when the riffs of Åkerfeldt and Fredrik Åkesson find the exact right way to rub against the rhythms. That is probably why ‘§4’ is my favorite song on here. Although it features Åkerfeldt growling at times, it is essentially a dark, heavy progressive rock song in which the folky elements don’t detract from the ominous heaviness. Closing ballad ‘A Story Never Told’ is actually gorgeous and unpredictable, and it contains a fantastic Steve Hackett-esque guitar solo. I just wish all vocals on the song would have been harmonies.

While ‘The Last Will and Testament’ technically is Opeth’s heaviest album in over a decade and a half – ‘§1’ and ‘§3’ do a lot of the heavy lifting there – it thankfully is closer to their last three albums than a watered-down attempt at reliving days gone by. Even new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen largely goes for the same organic sounds and tight but loose rhythms as his predecessors. It truly is a great album with a lot to enjoy on offer, you just need to go in with the right expectations. And I personally feel the first songs that surfaced might have misled potential listeners.

Recommended tracks: ‘§4’, ‘§5’, ‘A Story Never Told’