It's Pale Communion Day, so I'm listening to Opeth. Went with digital download again. Not as aesthetically pleasing as a CD or vinyl, but easier on the environment and it sounds just as good given the limitations of my stereo equipment, and much better than the album stream. Still on my first playthrough but I'm impressed by the mix. Everything has a nice balance and you can hear everyone in the band and what they are contributing to the whole. If I had to quibble, I'd like the mix just a little less warm and wet with a bit more air and room for the sound, but there's nothing wrong with the Steve Wilson's mix, that's just a matter of taste.
Is it just me, or has Opeth drifted away from composing their songs around guitar riffs? I'm hearing more keyboard motifs and longer, melodic progressions that punctuate the movement. It also seems to me that while there are no moments (so far) that compel me to bang my head, that does not for a moment mean that the album lacks drive. The upbeat sections all propel themselves along nicely and the slower moments stretch out without dragging.
I think The Quietus nailed it in their review. I won't go so far as to call Pale Communion a masterpiece, but it is a sublime album that shows Opeth as a working group on the top of their game with a lot of good music still to come.
And for those who miss the brutality, they can always put their hopes in the next album from In Mourning.