Why the panic ? Me, I'd rather Opeth go into a musical search, and let BWP be the closing chapter of their usual style. I think they've developed it to a logical conclusion (Still Life), and BWP is excellent, but hints at something different. Frankly, I won't mind if they release one bad album if the search brings them to something even more awesome.
One of the shortcomings of the first 2 records is the lack of harmonic depth, in comparison to the last 3. Still, Orchid is excellent in its own right.
D Mullholand