Ranking EVERY Opeth Album Worst to Best!

[@forrest705]

So hard to rank, so much great music. Love them or hate them OPETH will go down in History as one of the greatest bands to exist. As always Great commentary and breakdown of this Titan band.

[@Aenigmakil]

I agree. Except I think it's easy to put Sorceress at the end. Everything else is up for interesting debate.

[@Saliva1]

Over the years "My Arms, Your Hearse" has definitely become my favorite of theirs

[@TheSadistNat1on]

These dudes ranking morningrise over my arms your hearse is jus the dumbest shit. I gave props for saying morningrise is better than orchid, but then they ruined it so hard ha

[@kevins1005]

I remember when My Arms , Your Hearse came out. Most people had it as album of the year. I think it’s one of their best.

[@thatdevilmusic6670]

No they shouldn't have changed their name. Plenty of other bands changed their style and kept their names. Katatonia, Borknagar, Amorphis to name a few. At it's core Opeth has never really changed, they just stripped away the death growls for a time.

[@Aenigmakil]

I don't think they should've changed their name. Just released them as Mikael solo albums. Just like we have Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson. Mike could go out live and not feel obliged to play heavy songs. Meanwhile, Opeth would just continue from Watershed.

[@lionelleneindre8426]

@@Aenigmakil well Opeth is a band and steven wilson has a solo project. I think they did a good transition from death metal to rock prog and discover new horizons. Doing the same "thing" is not a thing Opeth is known for

[@TheLarknessMonster]

I mean tbf they did a whole lot more than just stirp the death growls away. They completely changed their entire style, genre, feel and got a new lead guitarist and new drummer. After watershed Opeth albums felt more like some wierd side project of Mickaels rather than Opeth. Could you imagine if Tool released an album after 10,000 days that was Puscifer or APC style? It would be awkward and strange.

[@icipher6730]

"Just stripped away the death growls for a time"? Huh? They had stripped away the entire extreme metal aspect of their sound for a time, not just growl vocals.

[@TheSadistNat1on]

These dudes ranked morningrise over my arms your hearse, so..

[@guidojeridonat2705]

S: Morningrise, Ghost Reveries, Still Life A: My Arms Your Hearse, Blackwater Park, Deliverance, Damnation B: Orchid, Watershed, The Last Will and Testament C: Heritage, Pale Communion, In Cauda Venenum D: Sorceress

[@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

Now we're talking!

[@zschokks5583]

I´m an absolute fan of In Cauda Venenum, especially the swedish version, and I think you should give it another try. I can´t agree with it being overcomplicated which is my feeling abot Ghost reveries. But props to you for respecting their whole discography.

[@blackwaterrust476]

Opeth is a band that helped me get into lots of Extreme metal and also lots of Prog/Folk/Jazz. Mikael Akerfeldt forever will be one of my favorite vocalists/Guitarists/songwriters ever. The Early 1st 5 albums S: Still Life, My Arms Your Hearse A: Ghost Reveries, Damnation, The Last Will and Testament, Orchid B: Morningrise, Blackwater Park, Watershed, Deliverance, In Cauda Venenum C: Heritage D: Pale Communion, Sorceress

[@Aenigmakil]

That's pretty cool but Sorceress is easily the worst on its own for me. Still Life definitely #1. BWP is great but not as good as SL, Deliverance or GR

[@Renkaru]

I think this new album will go down as one of the best prog albums of the decade for sure, but as it stands against the rest of the discog, I'd give it a B or A- as well. Its so dense, I'm on my 8th listen and I'm finding new stuff all the time.

[@forgemastermetal]

Same - I listened to it a bunch this weekend and I’m still getting my head around it

[@Aenigmakil]

S: Still Life, Ghost Reveries A: My Arms, Your Hearse, Blackwater Park, Deliverance, Damnation, Watershed B: Orchid, Morningrise, The Last WILL and TESTAMENT C: Pale Communion, In Cauda Venenum D: Heritage F: Sorceress

[@jcubed824]

This was amazing not just because I got to relive my discovery of Opeth but the snippets of the Palladium took me all the way back. I saw Opeth play at the Palladium back in the early-2000s while in college in Massachusetts and I was blown away. Your S-tier albums happen to be mine as well, although I loved Damnation and is one I would put higher. Side Note: If you have not heard Opeth's cover of "Den Standiga Resan" from the special edition of Watershed, do yourself a favor and listen to it. It's Mikael Akerfeldt at his peak cleans.

[@forgemastermetal]

Did you also use damnation as a post show chill listen?

[@jcubed824]

@@forgemastermetal- I sure did! 😊

[@sergejmiladinovic1181]

1. Still Life (S) 2. Ghost Reveries (S) 3. Damnation (S) 4. Blackwater Park (S) 5. Pale Communion (S) 6. Watershed (A) 7. Deliverance (A) 8. The Last Will and Testament OF FAAATHEEERRRRR (A) 9. Heritage (B) 10. My Arms Your Hearse (C) 11. Morningrise (C) 10. In Cauda Venenum (C) 13. Sorceress (C) 14. Orchid (D)

[@ghastlymagician3336]

Still Life was the album that got me into Opeth, also happened to be there first concept album, but "Death Whispers a Lullaby" is my favorite song, the creepy atmosphere, the soft vocals, and the sounds of the instruments is absolutely perfect.

[@forgemastermetal]

Great song choice.

[@CWB1863]

BWP and Still Life will always be my top 2. Masterpieces! Saw them with Nevermore(another amazing band) a couple of times in Mass.

[@beans8130]

Always appreciate these tier list uploads & seeing you guys bounce off one another. I remember hearing demon of the fall for the first time & it's probably why I'm a metal head all these years later🤘 Have a great Sunday both

[@agstudioband]

Blackwaterpark will always be number 1 for me, when i want to recall the era around 2000 when everything was great, this brings so much nostalgia to me. This album completely changed how i listen to music, how i grew up as a listener but also as a musician, how i sense music. However, I think its the sound, and Wilsons work as producer, which made it so MAGICAL in the end. He just found the best sound setup, which creates that magical feelings when you say, omg what are they playing here? How do they do that.. but some of the songs evolve rather slowly, or repeat one riff too much.. and you need to be patient. Music became so much faster last 20 years :D

[@MichaelKitto]

new to Opeth, was recommended Ghost Reveries earlier this year and became obsessed. Currently only really listened to Ghost Reveries and The Last Will and Testament, but excited I have so many more albums to discover, next up will be Blackwater Park

[@mikegallagher2732]

BWP will BLOW YOU AWAY... BELIEVE THE HYPE .. And you MUST listen to DELIVERANCE AND DAMNATION ... PERFECTION.

[@forgemastermetal]

I am so jealous you’re discovering these albums for the first time.

[@Superjenson]

The first time i heard In Cauda Venenum was on holiday in sweden. I was driving in a saab with a packet of snus passing lakes and forests and listening to the swedish version of the record. It all made sense :) My S-Tier btw: Ghost Reveries and Sorceress.

[@forgemastermetal]

The Swedish version hits different! And it sounds like the stars aligned for your listen of that record haha.

[@TheSadistNat1on]

I'm cauda is one of their best albums along with the greats. They perfected that era which is why they moved on. It blows the other 3 records out. If you don't agree, you haven't listened to it really..it's actually an opeth album. Mike portnoy says the exact same thing and so does mikael

[@Superjenson]

@@forgemastermetal absolutely. I love the swedish version very much, but I can't get into the english version.

[@InfernalSomberlain]

Opeth changing their sound never botheted me. I don't think they have a bad album, personally. My top three Opeth albums always mess with people. Still Life, Blackwater Park, and Sorceress. And out of those three, i listen to Sorceress the most. Keep it up guys! Love the channel

[@jasonboardman2796]

Nice ranking like always.

[@RB-rf8rf]

You guys got a new subscriber. Articulate, intelligent and given your tastes I feel like I'm going to discover some new music I really enjoy through your channel

[@adam.e.nowakowski]

Just in time for lunch break!

[@forgemastermetal]

Good timing!

[@SwordOfPhoenix]

This new album sounds like a film noir

[@robchristenson3108]

​@@SwordOfPhoenix yeah I wasn't into the Victorian thespian vocal stylings from Mikaela.

[@karkir-joharkarntkristkark9507]

Jazz album of the year 😂

[@forgemastermetal]

Interesting taking! That's kind of what I meant when I said "theatrical" - it seems like they put a lot of intention on vocal/lyric passages and building an atmosphere that resembled the whole post-WW1 era. It's a neat idea and they pulled it off!

[@awol1209]

Enjoyed this rankings vid. For me: S- Still Life - Blackwater Park - Damnation A- Deliverance - Ghost Reveries - In Cauda Venenum B - MAYH - Watershed- Pale Communion C - Last Will and Testament- Morningrise - Heritage - Orchid D - Sorceress

[@forgemastermetal]

Awesome ranking. Why is In Cauda... so high for you?

[@awol1209]

For me, ICV has everything I love about post 2011 opeth. Dark melodies, memorable passages, unique tracks that are 100% distinguishable from the others and some great songs. Garroter is such a risk they took with a huge payoff IMO. This album has great memorable riffs which the new record is severely lacking. Every new song has syncopated one note riffs then its like everything stops and its either an organ or pad sound. I think they really missed on this new one.

[@TheAndresOpeth]

I always have a different ranking, the first two albums I listened from them were Orchid and Morningrise, and they totally blew my mind away. And I have them in very high regard, especially Orchid, I love every second of that album. S: Orchid,Blackwater Park, Morningrise, Ghost Reveries A: My Arms, Yor Hearse, Damnation, Sill Life B: Deliverance, Pale Cummunion C: Heritage. D: In Cauda Venenum, Sorceress

[@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

Hell yes, my ratings are very similar!

[@TheSadistNat1on]

Ur wrong about in cauda, which is a good thing..keep listening to it, it's opeth. It's why they stopped that prog era, they perfected it with that album. It's one of their best albums in general, along with the new one too. In cauda is amazing, way stop the other 3

[@Thorntreed41]

my list S: BWP, GR, Deliverance, Damnation, Still Life, TLWAT A: watershed, MAYH, PC B: Morningrise, ICV, Heritage, C: Orchid, Sorceress

[@niqlay]

Love when you do these kind of videos

[@forgemastermetal]

Thank you! We had fun with this one.

[@billcowan5539]

I have BlackWater and Ghost Reveries on my S Tier, 2019’s In Cauda Venenum I actually really enjoyed and I have it in my B tier, I love the new Album, solid A for me

[@VestigialLung]

The thing with the Heritage era, I liked the album, a lot, and while on some level the end of their death metal era made me sad, if Mikael never wrote another death metal song because he wasn’t feeling it, cool. The thing that made me saddest at the time was him saying he was never growling again. The balance they hit later in that era, where they’d perform a few tracks from their previous era was great for me. They were playing a style they clearly loved, but they weren’t entirely ignoring their back catalogue. The middle two of that era tend to not get a lot of replay, but I like the bookends a lot.

[@DangerDavez]

Finally someone who puts some respect on Morningrise's name. That section you picked out in Black Rose Immortal and the acoustic section right before it is some of their best work ever. Swap Still Life and Ghost Reveries with BWP and Deliverance and we have the same list. Also give Pale Communion another shot. Moon Above is incredible.

[@davidburns6284]

S: Blackwater Park, My Arms Your Hearse, Ghost Reveries, Still Life A: Deliverance, Morningrise B: Watershed, The Last Will and Testament, Damnation C: Orchid

[@edelkebap]

The thing which drives me away of their prog material, especially of the first two is their guitar sound and the organ doodling in the background, but not necessarily their "softness", I actually am ok with this. However their last two, ESPECIALLY the newest one are FANTASTIC, it is an A+ for me.

[@fcamiola]

Straight from The Deep Purple songbook. I love that sound.

[@fcamiola]

Every single album has grown on me...I honestly love it all. Don't ignore PC, Sorceress, and ICV....there is some incredible music there. Listen to River, Voice of Treason, and Faith in Others. The last track is Mikael's own favorite Opeth track. Also Häxprocess snd Marrow of the Earth are incredible. Cheers guys!

[@siliyemoodislam]

Been an Opeth fan for 20 years since 2004 I love their discography entirely. Not a boring moment from their music and lyrics. Seen them at least 8 times . I believe Opeth and Enslaved are class act bands.

[@hellsing1983]

My Arms, Your Hearse is my favourite album of all time. So automatic S tier. If there is a tier above S, than that one.

[@kranthikumar171]

My Arms your hearse belongs in god tier

[@TheSadistNat1on]

These dudes ranking morningrise over my arms your hearse is jus the dumbest shit. I gave props for saying morningrise is better than orchid, but then they ruined it so hard ha

[@willong666]

My arms, your hearse is my absolutely fav record from Opeth too! "When" is the best song, it shows every single aspect of Opeth greatness!

[@mothegrouch909]

I think if the production was a little tighter I would pick it over BWP for sure.... but songwise it's my favorite of theirs.

[@elliotwalton6159]

nice iconoclastic ranking that brakes with the mold of other reviewers. I personally enjoy Sorceress because it takes me back to the Mach 1 days of Deep Purple, especially in the organ and vocals. Love it.

[@tomthorsett1433]

I actually got into Opeth through Heritage. It just happened to be the time when I started getting interested, and The Devil's Orchard really grabbed me as a fan of 70's progressive rock. It's about mid-tier for me now, after the classic era, but I still admire the risks they took and Orchard and Folklore are major standouts.

[@billcowan5539]

They absolutely should have kept their Name, they changed their style but it was still Opeth , I will always love their Heavier Stuff but I love all their music, the new album is Amazing

[@fcamiola]

I love the prog era....those albums get more airplay for me these days! Although I have also been addicted to My Arms for like 3 months!

[@forgemastermetal]

Thanks for chiming in, Bill!

[@barsknos]

I think when one started listening to Opeth changes the list a lot. For me Blackwater Park was a bit of a letdown after the progression of the last 3, but to me Deliverance picked it up again. MAYH, Deliverance and Watershed are my top 3. Heritage on the bottom under Orchid and Ghost Reveries. New one is somewhere in the middle. The last song on the previous album is one of my favourite songs of all time, but has to be the Swedish version. Mikael just sounds so amazing in his native language. Helps that I understand it :>

[@robinbfh5893]

S: Still Life, GR, Deliverance, BWP A: MAYH, Orchid, Morningrise, Pale Communion B: TLWAT, Sorceress, Damnation, Watershed C: Heritage, In Cauda Venenum No D (Its Opeth :D)

[@filipdzero8739]

Happy to see Ghost Reveries in at least an A tier, that's my undisputed S and in my top 3 fave albums ever; Perfect pacing & production, lush growls, divine melodies... 10/10 This is the one time you should've stretched the S tier to at least 3 albums, Opeth 're just that good! I can't get behind Heritage being that high (wearing influences on their sleeves instead of their own sound), but to each their own. My tier list: S tier: Ghost Reveries, Blackwater Park, Still Life A tier: Watershed, Deliverance, Damnation B tier: MAYH, In Cauda Venenum, The Last Will and Testament C tier: Orchid, Morningrise, Pale Communion D tier: Sorceress, Heritage New album is pretty great, especially as an album joyride experience, but it has lost some special flavors that made me keep loving Opeth even after Watershed: barely any acoustic passages, barely any memorable riffs, guitars buried in the mix and not breathing spaciously, not that many melodies stand out... This feels like a Prog/Prog-Death album first and an Opeth album second. Still, I like it a lot & I'll spin it a few more times. Solid list, boys! Cheers! \m/

[@loonyman83]

Loved the new album, definitely has room to grow. Doubt it'll breach my top 3 of Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries, and Still Life. The new album is just a wonderful mix of their new and old sounds. I tend to like proggy stuff as long as they don't go super far into space land, and Opeth knows how to thread that needle.

[@DavidMajors]

I used to hear "Harvest" a lot on the online radio stations, and the progressive rock ones especially. It's such a perfect intro song. So, I bought the Blackwater Park CD. 2002. Nice to know I'm not alone on In Cauda Venenum. My opinion on Heritage has gone up, and my opinion on In Cauda Venenum was never that high. S stands for Still Life. I measure every Opeth album from Still Life. And I'm putting The Last Will and Testament in my S Tier. It feels like Mikael figured out how to put all elements of Opeth together, and he pulled it off. It has absolutely blown me away. I love it.

[@psychonautseventen2249]

Blackwater Park is tops for me. Been a fan since morningrise. Love every album though, of course!! As far as them changing their name for their prog releases, I dont see it necessary. The beatles ended up a far cry from their debut release. This is the evolution of a band and the musicians within. Let us be honest and admit that Mikael has a great voice. Opeth have gave us so much. Heir Apparent is their best song but not from their best album!

[@anttisaarilampi]

Opeth has been my favorite band for almost 20 years, and In Cauda Venenum is my favorite album of theirs!

[@brianmorrison2578]

This would be an impossible task for me so I'm not even going to try it. The new one is just as fucking incredible as everything else.

[@fourseasons4105]

1. Blackwater park 2. Ghost reverise 3. Watershed 4. Deliverance 5. My arms your hearse 6. Still life 7. The last will and testament 8. Damnation 9. In cauda venenum 10. Morningrise 11. Pale communion 12. Orchid 13. Heritage 14. Sorceress

[@DavidSGrop]

I would take a bullet for Heritage any day of the week. Stunning album.

[@Marcusofdoom666]

Incredible ranking guys. Maybe best one yet! 🎉

[@ryanhanlon7001]

Blackwater park is an absolute classic and deserves to be S tier. My personal taste I would throw 2 more into that tier: Ghost Reveries and Pale Communion. The latter might be my most played opeth album

[@JonOden]

Deliverance is my favorite as well.. but it's a hard decision... fuck it.. ALL S TIER ACROSS THE BOARD.. Opeth and Death are probably the only bands I can say that for.

[@forgemastermetal]

Hahaha mic drop.

[@jesseleavy5841]

Not finished with the video yet, but I feel like I have to weigh in. 1) I hate how people treated Mikael during that time period. If you don't like it, don't fucking listen to it or go to their shows! 2) I also hate it when people argue that a band should change their name if they change their sound. It's their band, not yours! They don't owe you anything. Having said all that... 3) I did not like Heritage. I even picked it up again recently for a piece on my blog, and I think I liked it even less. And honestly it has nothing to do with the fact that it wasn't metal. I just found it boring. There's cool moments, but then there's a lot of loud parts and then it goes into a super quiet part, back into a loud part, and then so on and so forth. That's fine if you do it right, but they did it SO much and if felt so jarring like, it would get into a groove I liked and then it would just stop, and it happens so much on the album. It's just my opinion, but honestly I stopped paying attention after Heritage. But I commend Mikael for following his musical vision and not just doing the same thing over again because it's what the fans expect. BUT... I did really enjoy the new album. Very impressive!

[@jesseleavy5841]

Also, sorry about the essay 😂

[@lionelleneindre8426]

bro you said the words. Bands like Opeth are good because they try to get out of their comfort zone. What a bizarre and take to say that they should've changed their name

[@flyingdutchman8093]

Blackwater park is S for sure but the other is watershed. And I saw them during the heritage era and yeah people were angry but I loved it but I love all of Opeth.

[@ogulcanyolcu8714]

most overrated Opeth album is Watershed. I'll never understand why people love it so much. Which song in that album is better than any Still Life song? It was the start of weird Mikael vocal melodies that still we hear.

[@flyingdutchman8093]

@ see that’s why it’s an option. I’ll bet there are people out there that like your least favorite album the best, and that’s ok. I personally don’t think there’s an overrated Opeth album.

[@wheelsofmercury]

Opeth is not one of my absolute *favourite* progressive metal bands (that would go to Leprous and Dream Theater), but I do remember getting into them in my preteen years after hearing about the song “The Drapery Falls” and listening to that song for the first time. I would eventually go on to listen to Ghost Reveries (which I still listen to every once in a blue moon). I have listened to the new album only once, and even then, I was really impressed by what I heard. Ben, it’s interesting hearing you reminisce about seeing them on tour after Heritage came out, because I saw them earlier in 2011 at a metal festival in Toronto months and months before that album or even the first single had came out, so the backlash didn’t exist yet. Looking back now, I feel like that backlash was absolutely uncalled for, especially since Damnation was pretty much a precursor to what they would do on Heritage all the way up to In Cauda Venenum. Yeah, people can say that those albums were arguably not as memorable, but there was precedent for them going into full-on progressive rock.

[@Aenigmakil]

Opeth are the best! DT were my favourite until I discovered Opeth. Love Leprous too. All albums are good but glad they too have gone back to metal on their new album! Just wish Anathema stuck around to do the same...

[@wheelsofmercury]

@ I actually really love Anathema’s non-metal stuff. It’s so emotional.

[@joshuaprietophoto]

Orchid and Morningrise: great sections but numerous songs seem far too drawn out and riff salad My Arms, Your Hearse and Still Life: actual "songs" with hooks, melody more pop sensibility while still being incredibly heavy Blackwater Park: nearly a perfect ten front to back Deliverance: fantastic but a little more stripped back and less atmosphere, more straight-up metal Damnation: haunting prog rock, still great Ghost Reveries: possibly my favourite of theirs, heavy, jazzy, proggy, but still great songs Watershed: very good but not as memorable Heritage: probably my least favourite, but I respect the experimentation Pale Communion: really, really liked this one, great heavy prog songs Sorceress: same story, the songs from this album are fantastic when played live In Cauda Venenum: haven't listened to it enough because it didn't immediately grab me The Last Will and Testament: pretty good, but the addition of death growls seems a bit like crowd appeasement-I wonder what the songs would sound like with more melancholy clean singing? My favourite band to see live, one of my favourite bands ever. Will keep listening to them forever.

[@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

Nice work giving 'Morningrise' some respect.

[@aresgalamatis7022]

My Arms, Your Hearse was my introduction to Opeth, and Demon of the Fall is their best song still. It is kind of sad they switched to prog-rock shortly after their best album, Black Water Park, that I don't enjoy that much as a genre. By the way, what's up with the poster, are you planning horror movie reviews too?

[@user-yz3ok1yx5l]

1) My Arms, Your Hearse 2) Still Life 3) Blackwater Park 4) Damnstion 5) Morningrise 6) Watershed 7) New Album 8) Deliverance 9) Ghost Reveries 10) Pale Comunion 11) Sorceress The rest...

[@Terminxman]

Pale Communion is great, it's better than anything they've done after Watershed. I may like it more than Watershed tbh

[@lionelleneindre8426]

S : TLWAT, Still Life, Blackwater Park A : ICV, watershed, ghost reveries B : Deliverance, Damnation, MAYH C : Pale communion, Heritage, Morningrise D : Sorceress, Orchid

[@luigibittencourt241]

@@lionelleneindre8426 sorceress is a Master piece bro, Strange Brew, Era, Chrysalis are so good records.

[@treygc3291]

S: Still Life, Blackwater Park, Ghost reveries, Watershed A: TLWAT, damnation, Deliverance B: MAYH, ICV, Pale communion C: Morningrise, Orchid D: Heritage, Sorceress That’s my list.

[@lionelleneindre8426]

@@luigibittencourt241 I will try to listen to it again, haven't listened to it in a while

[@lionelleneindre8426]

@@treygc3291 damn your list is pretty close to mine

[@treygc3291]

@@lionelleneindre8426 we have good taste!

[@1988dragoncom]

As Opeth big fan.. I agree with all the Ranking

[@tmp1k]

title track of sorceress is probably why it would be at the bottom of my opeth tier list if i had such a list

[@yaolin3040]

I just want to preface: Opeth is my favorite band and I listen to a lot of prog metal. I think y'all underrated Watershed the most on this tier list but happy again to see people talk about how good Still Life, Blackwater Park, and Morningrise are.

[@yaolin3040]

This is what my Opeth ranking would be: S: Blackwater Park, Still Life, Ghost Reveries A: Watershed, Morningrise, Deliverance, Damnation B: My Arms, Your Hearse, In Cauda Venenum, Last Will and Testament C: Orchid, Heritage, Pale Communion D: Sorceress

[@nielsenjesp]

I grew up with the early stuff and their ”middle period” (still life until ghost reveries), I also saw them live during the Deliverance tour. But I wasnt interested in watershed at all. Really liked a few things on Heritage, and appreciated their new direction. In cauda… (the original version in swedish, not the dubbed version) really great and made me listen more to them again. I like ”The last will…” but some of the instrumentation, especially the organs, disturbs me a little bit. Maybe its to many unison melodies or something. Hard to explain.

[@tenaciousdavy7310]

S -still life, black waterpark. LWAT A-orchid, deliverance, Damnation (one off throat of winter GOW song) B-MAYH,Heritage,ICV, ghost reveries C-sorceress, watershed, morning rise D-pale communion, I think LWAT is them at a new peak bringing back elements from earlier albums and it’s a really tasteful return to harder music. Deserves a S tier just for such a triumphant return’ it will age like fine wine!

[@NoOneYaKnow666]

I only ever liked three songs off Heritage. That album did a lot of damage to the band in my eyes even though I still liked some of the albums that came after.

[@tim6310]

On Heritage... it's a really good morning coffee and smoke album. Especially if it's kind of a dreary, overcast morning. It's such a chilled out, psychedelic trip. Personally, I think it's the best version of the post-Death Metal stuff. I feel like Heritage was a true artistic adventure for Mikeal, and the 3 after were a bit of his stubbornness toward the negative reactions. Like his attitude being, "Oh? You hate us now? Well, f u c k you, I'm gonna keep doing this until I'm bored of it!" All I know is that there aren't any other albums like Heritage. It is wholly unique and such an organic sounding record. I listen to it at least a few times a year.

[@danieldelrio1411]

1. Time Will Testament 2. Ghost Reveries 3. Still Life 4. Watershed 5. Black Water Park ❤❤❤

[@agstudioband]

last week i revisited Ghost reveries, which i didnt like by the time when it came out, especially due to keyboards.. but its soooo f*cking awesome album. I dont understand how i could possibly not love that album back then. The fact is, that there are very few moments that you would call weak. From start to finish it is just great music. Also i think Martin Lopez on drums was not appreciated enough. I love his drumming.

[@mikegallagher2732]

MARTIN is STILL THE BEST Drummer they ever had !!!!! Martin AND martin together were THE BEST...

[@agstudioband]

@@mikegallagher2732 he may not been the fastest and blastbeat maniac, but he definitely had the best musical sense, he found the right groove or transition, and he played very sensitively toward the rest of the band, not overkilling everyone else. It was just the sweet spot for me!!! BTW I dont like drumming on the new album, its like not human, machine stuff...

[@mikegallagher2732]

@@agstudioband I Agree 100 % !!!! His playing on DAMNNATION shows just HOW talented he is .. VERY tasteful playing... SOOOOO GOOD. And I also agree, it's NOT all about blastbeats... I also have to give respect to AXE as well ...Different style than martin, but still QUTE GOOD ..

[@timk6181]

The new one is dense as hell, it's going to take a long time to really process it all. The drumming is phenomenal though .

[@andrewhart9310]

So glad to hear some serious love for Deliverance (IMO probably their heaviest album - and yes, I could listen to the Deliverance outro for hours without getting bored)! It's often overlooked just because it isn't BWP. I also think Heritage is a great album. Of their prog-rock catalogue, the only album I could never really get into was Sorceress. I like Pale Communion quite a bit, and I think In Cauda Venenum absolutely slaps (especially in Swedish), so I'm not on the same page there, but the prog-rock albums not only divide fans, but everyone seems to rank them completely differently. And Ghost Reveries? I don't think there's a better three-track start to a metal album in existence. All three freaking crush, are brutally heavy, complex, and creative (and super long) - almost like if Still Life kicked off with Godhead's Lament three times. There are some lulls before it comes back with The Grand Conjuration, but man, this album is still a masterpiece. Watershed is similarly overlooked (once again, the "it's not BWP" effect, IMO). So freaking heavy, moving, emotional, and dark. I can't wrap my head around The Last Will and Testament yet. I need to listen to it a few times - good, dedicated listens. My initial reaction is that it's perhaps too proggy and complicated for its own good - kind of like what you guys thought of In Cauda Venenum - and I think it's getting a ton of extra early love from reviewers simply because of the return of Mikael's death growls (which sound freaking awesome). I already know that I like it, but I don't know if I love it.

[@forgemastermetal]

Awesome write up, Andrew! Thank you.

[@andrewhart9310]

@@forgemastermetal It's pretty obvious I'm an Opeth fanboi - and so are both of you (good thing there's no limit for A-tier!). Really appreciate your perspective, and I really do find it fascinating how different Opeth fans react to their albums so differently.

[@agstudioband]

Opeth are very interesting band, because they are so much album oriented. Their albums differ so much that i could never do a playlist of Opeth songs that i like, but are from different albums. It just doesnt work for me. With other bands i can do it easily, and i do my favorite playlists. But not with Opeth, with Opeth its about going into one of their eras, and stay there for the whole album, for more days, for couple of weeks.

[@alexkenley1]

not bad guys. I'd move My Arms, Your Hearse and Orchid up a Tier and swap Deliverance with Still Life but overall you've got it pretty spot on

[@mortecai222]

genuinely shocked by yalls take on ICV, respect your opinion but for my money it's S tier up there with BWP, their best album with the newer sound by far

[@ruipeixoto5737]

I wouldn't put it as S, but definitely my favorite "all clean vocals" album from them, beating Damnation by just a little. Love the atmosphere, the epic moments and so many great guitar parts all over the album.

[@lionelleneindre8426]

I definitely agree, ICV is a gem

[@blindmikeguard]

I'd put this one at A-. It's the first album I have really really enjoyed since Watershed, and that I can see re-visiting often. After going back to the older albums, which I haven't spun in a long while....goddamn, I had forgotten how brilliant they are/were. Still Life is unreal, and I read the Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles magazine from Toronto where they were interviewed over and over again.

[@tallgrayandgruesome]

What about those of us in ages 60's/70's?

[@forgemastermetal]

Can’t speak for y’all

[@toksic424]

Dude, I also always put on Damnation after shows.

[@forgemastermetal]

Damnation buddies!!

[@lawrencefine5020]

S Tier - Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries, Watershed A Tier - Damnation, Deliverance B Tier - Still Life, The Last Will And Testament(but could go higher), My Arms, Your Hearse C tier - Orchid, Morningrise, D Tier - Their Prog era trying to sound like Jethro Tull and Camel. (hated all 4 albums.) Yeah I'm THAT type of Opeth fan..

[@plm6523]

Deliverance S tier, cmon let's be real here guys... 😂😂

[@Assimilator702]

Everything from Blackwater Park to Watershed is S tier. Perfect and unique snapshots of what Opeth was attempting to accomplish in the studio at a given time.

[@kranthikumar171]

Orchid to Watershed is S tier

[@tmp1k]

the heritage production threw me off a bit at first. arturus took a similar approach with arcturian. probably works better for heritage.

[@johnnyresistance]

Cauda in D, OMG, I have that as B tier. Correct about all their albums taking time to absorb. i think last Will is A tier.

[@bryanmack5410]

I also got BWP at Newbury Comics around 2005!

[@forgemastermetal]

Hell yeah!

[@TheSadistNat1on]

I'm cauda is one of their best albums along with the greats. They perfected that era which is why they moved on. It blows the other 3 records out. If you don't agree, you haven't listened to it really..it's actually an opeth album. Mike portnoy says the exact same thing and so does mikael

[@kostkaguitar]

For me In Cauda Venenum is by far the best prog/clean vocal album from Opeth 😅

[@RequiemAeternum]

The new album is easily the best since Watershed, but at the same time it lacks memorable songs (not moments, it has memorable moments). It's kinda hard to score, yeah. It's truly a concept album in it feels like I need to listen to the entire thing, rather than just enjoy the occasional song. I probably rate §5 and §7 the highest right now.

[@SpecialAgentBillMaxwell]

The best for me are also Black Water Park, Deliverance, and Morningrise. Then Ghost Reveries and Still Life follow it up. Those would be S-Tier from any other band. Then My Arms Your Hearse, Damnation, and Orchid. After that, I kind of lost interest. I don't know what to say . . . I tried but there were only occasional tracks I liked instead of the whole album. Anyway, I 'm glad you two appreciate Morningrise. I'm always surprised by those who don't get that album because it's awesome.

[@forgemastermetal]

Thanks for chiming in, Forgemate!

[@anthonybarone8745]

In cauda veninum is my favorite of the prog era

[@Terminxman]

Orchid at C and Morningrise at A is immediately cancer. Go listen to The Twilight is My Robe again.

[@Wackyboombacky]

@@Terminxman I know man. I listen to orchid the most to be honest.

[@mcase611]

I'm with you. Orchid is incredibly underrated. Twighlight Is My Robe and Forest Of October are absolute masterpieces.

[@bryanmack5410]

I put all their stuff in S, except Heritage. Look, I’ll revisit it ONE MORE TIME, but that’s it.

[@forgemastermetal]

Hahaha just one more round.

[@baaltroth1957]

I like the prog rock era best and listened to them since Morninrise. I just think the singing in the prog era is quite poor. Mostly unison singing with instruments too which gets boring. But, the music is why I like it best. However, Watershed is up there with the best.

[@ivarsbergs4280]

Watershed is my absolute favorīte.

[@forgemastermetal]

Any songs in particular?

[@ivarsbergs4280]

The Lotus Eater ! My favorite track of theirs. Burden and Hessian Peel are great too.

[@flyingdutchman8093]

You have great taste then it’s my second favorite. Such an amazing album.

[@Aenigmakil]

Watershed isn't my favourite (Still Life) but it's up there! I'm in a minority but Watershed is definitely better than Blackwater Park for me

[@ruipeixoto5737]

For me it's the #3 after BWP and SL. Coil, what a great intro. Heir Apparent and The Lotus Eater are epic S tier metal. Burden is one of their best ballads for sure. Porcelain Heart is my favorite track on the album, what a masterpiece. Hessian Peal and Hex Omega are great too, almost unfair for those songs to have to compete with the rest of that 10/10 album.

[@brightfalls6788]

Disagree with alot of the rankings. However, putting In Cauda Venenum at the very bottom where it belongs is extremely high IQ. It’s not only their worst album, it’s literally a generic Foo Fighters pop rock album and it’s nice to finally see it get some well deserved hate. Also agree with the new album being in B instead of A. It’s definitely a step back in the right direction, but Paragraph 4 is by far the best song on it (by a little too far). Multiple listens could move it to A or even S. It’s one of those albums.

[@RB-rf8rf]

Still life is imo one of the greatest albums ever produced.

[@tjgamer9713]

i personally really like Sorceress

[@alvarojflorez]

Ghost Reveries is easy S tier.

[@forgemastermetal]

What's your reasoning?

[@TheWaruiSama]

Everything from watershed and before is S tier Everything after is F tier Simpol

[@danieljablecki]

Last will and testament is awesome...i pit it on A tier or even S

[@tmp1k]

I would put heritage above watershed. watershed has some great riffs, like that heavy heir apparent one. i think derelict herds was a pretty good track. but overall that was a huge let down for me even before heritage came out. heritage definitely grew for me over the years and i can digg that whole occult vibe that was pointed out. watershed just never did it for me. definitely my least favourite of the heavy stuff. but yeah interesting band. definitely some seminal stuff in this catalogue.

[@abdulmajeedahm644]

Morningrise is their most underrated imo

[@forgemastermetal]

It's so damn good.

[@MirrorReaper1]

My main problem with the new one is just how unmemorable, dry and sterile it is. Gave 2 and 4 a listen again, or was it 3 & 5? Maybe it was 1 & 7? I could not tell. Even the ballad sounds like it was shat out after a week of constipation, with the solo being great and the only redeeming element. Super disappointed, really. On a side note, The Leper Affinity started playing the moment I was done with the album, and I just had to laugh at the contrast, as it's such a masterpiece of a prog death track, and absolutely nothing in the 50 minutes I had experienced came close.

[@forgemastermetal]

Really interesting to go back to mid era immediately after lol

[@tmotus84]

Sorceress is when Opeth was hanging out with Mastodon, and it shows

[@forgemastermetal]

Hahah good point.

[@ni_n__ho.oh__n_in]

In Cauda Venom has haunting melodies (I prefer the swedish version), truly feels like the most personal album of theirs. Orchid's imperfections still bloom fragrant. Let's all be glad these two ducklings are nothing like BWP or SL, otherwise Opeth would be a very very boring band - unforgivingly stale.

[@forgemastermetal]

I think the Swedish version of In Cauda ... has a different vibe to it!

[@MirrorReaper1]

My Arms and Still Life are my absolute favourites, with the new one second to last in the bottom of the barrel tier next to Sorceress.

[@Aenigmakil]

Damn, you don't like the new one! Still Life #1 for sure! Sorceress is definitely the worst...