OPETH — The Last Will and Testament (review)

OPETH — The Last Will and Testament album cover

Album · 2024 · Progressive Metal

5/5 · 2025-05-27
UMUR

"The Last Will and Testament" is the fourteenth full-length studio album by Swedish progressive metal/death metal act Opeth. The album was released through Reigning Phoenix Music in November 2024. It´s the successor to "In Cauda Venenum" from 2019 and there´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Martin Axenrot has been replaced by Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost, Abhorrence, Vallenfyre, Bodom After Midnight...ect.). Axenrot was a long serving member of Opeth having joined the band in 2006 as the replacement for Martin Lopez.

There´s always a lot of buzz in the weeks/months leading up to a new Opeth album is released (...such is their status and popularity these days), and it´s no different with "The Last Will and Testament" for several reasons. First off the teaser tracks which the band have made available feature a return of the death metal growls, which lead vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt had otherwise left behind (or so we thought...). There´s not a single death metal growling vocal line on any of the four albums released between "Watershed" (2008) and "The Last Will and Testament", so it´s a bit of a surprise that Åkerfeldt have opted to use that vocal style again, although his melodic clean vocals do dominate the soundscape of "The Last Will and Testament" and the growls are used rather sparingly. Secondly Åkerfeldt has teased that "The Last Will and Testament" is a full-blown concept album featuring a dark mystical/dramatic storyline and thirdly Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull guests on flute and narration. If those three things aren´t enough to get you excited for a new Opeth album, I´m not sure anything will...

...and thankfully "The Last Will and Testament" is an album which lives up to its hype. The return of the death metal growls and with them darker and more heavy riffs too, "The Last Will and Testament" is a successful combination of the early 00s progressive death metal releases by the band and the progressive rock/heavy rock of the last couple of releases. Opeth have found a good balance between their different stylistic elements and the icing on the cake is of course the concept story lyrics. In short "The Last Will and Testament" features a story about the reading of a will (set in the post-World War I era) after the death of the head of a family and the surprises revealed in the will regarding family relations and who is the true heir. Except for closing track "A Story Never Told" all tracks are titled "§1","§2", "§3"...and so forth, corresponding to the paragraphs of a will.

"The Last Will and Testament" features elements from death metal, progressive rock/metal, folk rock, and classical music, and Opeth have nailed it this time around. Åkerfeldt´s growling vocals aren´t quite as commanding as they used to be, but his extreme metal vocal delivery still has a distinct tone and enough power to sound convincing. His clean vocals are as powerful, melancholic, and soulful as ever. The story telling works well and the sections with narration aren´t dominating the album. They are carefully placed and work as atmosphere enhancing moments. The album is greatly dynamic and heavy parts are followed by mellow parts and visa versa.

"The Last Will and Testament" features an incredibly well sounding production job. Every instrument is placed right in the mix and there is a great organic tone to the recording, which perfectly suits Opeth´s music. Add to that high level musicianship, and intriguing songwriting, and "The Last Will and Testament" is through and through a high quality release. It´s also a standout release in Opeth´s discography, which doesn´t sound like anything they´ve done before. Of course Opeth have introduced the various compositional ideas which make up the album on earlier releases, but it´s how they combine them on "The Last Will and Testament" which works wonders and which make "The Last Will and Testament" stand out. A 5 star (100%) rating is deserved.