Opeth
Pale Communion

Lately I decided to delve into the discography of Opeth, a hybrid Swedish metal band that ranges from death to very referential prog, and other things. After careful analysis, I decided to focus on this Pale Communion, at least it's the album I've returned to most often, it must mean something.

PC (not the one I'm writing from) seems to be produced by Steven Wilson, and maybe you can tell: of all the Opeth records, it's the most shamelessly prog, but at a leftist level, a faithful emulation, so much so that it brings back the mellotron and other typical instruments. The album opens with an explosion of violence with Eternal Rains will Come, and the memory immediately brings to mind Tarkus by Emerson Lake and Palmer, only without the excitement and sense of wonder of that milestone. Here, not much happens, aside from very well-articulated percussion, and soon it moves into a contemplative parenthesis of flutes and piano; at three minutes, there's no trace of singing, and it's unclear where the composition, frayed and confused, wants to go, but then finally the reins are recovered with a good organ riff, acoustic guitars, and bass; here a comprehensible pattern in song form finally develops. The not-so-cheerful lyrics anticipate the arrival of an apocalypse, whether reasoned or not, it's unknown, with a convincing refrain and space also for a guitar virtuosity. All good, including the double ending, which hides a little surprise. Excluding the long and questionable intro, it's one of my favorite tracks. Cusp of Eternity roughens the tones, much less prog and closer to metal, good development but the choruses are a bit tiring.

Moon Above, Sun Below is probably the manifesto piece, a very long 11-minute ride divided into acts, the change of register is practically continuous, ranging from metal to prog, acoustic, gothic, and many other things. Here, unfortunately, is where I struggled the most to keep my attention: the lack of a common thread is felt, and the final part drags out a simple musical idea for too long. Technically, we're at very high levels, but wanting to emulate prog, it's inevitable to clash with high references, from Genesis to the already mentioned ELP, Led Zeppelin, Gentle Giant, and our own Goblin, whom the band joyfully cites in a piece dedicated to them that bears the same name.

The second part of PC (long, too long), unfortunately, I found less interesting, not bad, but too dispersive and a step away from tedium, a situation partly restored by the concluding Faith in Others, a long mental masturbation imbued with encouraging lyrics like "the cold years are coming" and "for the victims of a longing," which would even make Masini's Malinconoia tremble. In short, a sad song in the most noble and flattering sense of the term, crepuscular and contemplative, but undoubtedly well-executed with the help of strings and acoustic guitar. Surely a genuine feeling of melancholy is more stimulating than the pneumatic void of boredom.

In conclusion, a good album, this Pale Communion, a bit lacking in punch in the second part, but performed with much skill, ambitious but more complacent than inspired, forced to confront a rather ruthless history. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to reinterpret the past with new visions, rather than replicate it with the precision of a taxidermist (it's bad, but I didn't know how to close).