OPETH
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
Album Review
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Released 11/22/2024
Recorded Feb–Mar 2024
Label: Moderbolaget & Reigning Phoenix
Producers: Mikael Åkerfeldt, Opeth Stefan Boman & Dave Stewart
Opeth
Mikael Åkerfeldt – guitars, vocals, cittra, Mellotrons, percussion & FX
Fredrik Åkesson – guitars, backing vocals
Joakim Svalberg – acoustic piano, Hammond organ, Mellotrons, Fender Rhodes & Moog, backing vocals and FX
Martín Méndez – bass, backing vocals
Waltteri Väyrynen – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Other folks
Mirjam Åkerfeldt – spoken word (§1)
London Session Orchestra – strings
Joey Tempest – backing vocals (§2)
Mia Westlund – harp (§4)
Dave Stewart & Mikael Åkerfeldt – string arrangements
Ian Anderson – flute (§4, §7, A Story Never Told), spoken word (§1, §2, §4, and §7)
Tracks
1 - §1
2 - §2
3 - §3
4 - §4
5 - §5
6 - §6
7 - §7
8 - A Story Never Told
“I don’t think I’m smart enough to listen to this…”
As with the many legendary concept albums that have come before, masterpieces such as King Diamond’s Abigail, Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime, and Dream Theater’s Scenes From A Memory, THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT, the latest offering from OPETH, is one of the finest examples of storytelling ever captured in audio form and is their first proper “concept album” to date.
“They cram so much into such a small space…”
Chronicling the reading of the will of a wealthy patriarch (and featuring Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull as the patriarch in question), THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT perfectly represents the culmination of the various components that have established OPETH as a progressive metal force to be reckoned with for more than 30 years.
“I realize this is not y’all’s favorite flavor of the month…”
With a seamless blending of their early progressive and melodic death metal period through their more eclectic, 70’s prog rock infused progressive metal period of the 2010’s, OPETH is akin to a “haunted house version of Dream Theater”, loaded with a wide variety of sonic textures, top tier instrumental prowess, and vivid lyrical imagery, all of which are covered in a thin drapery of darkness.
“Have they ever done anything ‘hooky’?”
JOIN US as we take on what is arguably one of the finest progressive metal concept albums in existence (and most certainly a top contender for “Album Of The Year”) and quite possibly the greatest OPETH album of all time, THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT.
§1
The door opens and closes, and the reading of THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT begins.
“Draped in death, the howl of lore…”
The patriarch has now passed away, and his (potential) heirs are present, awaiting their inheritance, according to his final wishes as documented within the contents of his will.
The distant sounds of the innocence of days past slowly fade away into eternity.
§2
A young girl is present, unfamiliar to many in attendance. The secret would soon be revealed as to her true (albeit secret) relationship with the father.
“The word of Christ tells us to forgive transgressions,
It is through Him we can distinguish right from wrong…”
And so, it is revealed, the girl is in fact related to the patriarch by blood, a lovechild born as the sole heir following an affair with one of the servants.
§3
Chaos and bewilderment follow as the news regarding the nature of the previously unknown heir is revealed.
“Apostasy, a curse on me?
The weakened vessel secure on the grace of God…”
Because of the technicality of the twins’ conception being outside the father’s bloodline, the patriarch has bestowed the entirety of his inheritance to his only true heir, a daughter who was born into illness and disability from a previously hidden affair.
§4
“Twins, usurping strands of flesh…you are not mine!”
As it turns out, the mother of the twins gave birth via donor procreation and thus the twin sons are no longer recipients of the inheritance as was previously thought.
The revelation of the daughter’s conception with the maid is shared with all in attendance. Perhaps as a karmic payment for his infidelity, the patriarch has blessed his only child (born outside of wedlock) in exchange for his carnal indiscretions.
§5
The story continues to unfold regarding the twins and their place within the family and the justification for the father’s affair.
As it turns out, it seems that the twins were conceived thanks to the contributions of another servant to the wife and are deemed not to be of the patriarch’s bloodline, resulting in their being left out of the father’s will.
§6
A moment of overwhelming gratitude, the girl is ensured of her secure future and pending inheritance as the sole heir.
Meanwhile, the remaining family members are encouraged to accept the conditions of the testament as they are written and to move on with their lives.
§7
Heaviness and darkness blanket the reading of the last will and testament, as the remnants accept their inheritance as it is written and proceed to move forward, with the daughter receiving the full inheritance and the twins receiving nothing more than some worthless keepsakes that belonged to the patriarch, as “a token of my innermost sympathy”.
“The liberation of the wealthy, once perpetually shackled by greed,
The wretched instead, elated and basking in solace…”
A STORY NEVER TOLD
No one could have seen the twist that would come about at the reading of the last will and testament, with the greedy and entitled twins left to inherit nothing and the secret daughter revealed as the heir to the patriarch’s estate.
The father, now cleansed of the secrets he kept hidden for so long, can forever rest in peace, having righted the wrongs committed in the past and set the future right.
Show Notes:
(00:01): “I would like to take this moment to say…AND…” / #GeorgiaBulldogs / “Dangole sports ball dawgs…” / #Natty / “Speaking of Athens…my only thought was…R.E.M. must have written this song…”/ #WeBuiltThisCityASMR / “That’s when they dropped the Jefferson…”/ “As long as there’s a bend in the wrist, you’re fine…”/ #markthetime / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / #waitforit #markthetime / “And I screamed like a little girl…not one footstep did I hear…”/ ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** / #strangerinthetub #jackoffhand / “Like a chimpanzee?”
(06:06): PATREON US at www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast / “Who knows? Santa might bring a shirt…” / MERCH US at www.metalnerdery.com/merch / SOCIAL MEDIA US at #FaceBook #InstaGram #YouTube #TikTok at #metalnerderypodcast / EMAIL US at metalnerdery@gmail.com / VOICEMAIL US AT 980-666-8182!!! / CASTLE RAT –WIZARD (The Bestiary – 2025) / “It’s like Pat Benatar in a stoner band…she’s got swords dude!” / “That dude’s hard to look at…his mouth is weird…”/ #markthetime / “That’ll be the shittah not that other shittah…”
(12:50): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: OPETH – THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT / “It’s an oopsie that’s a fun oopsie…”/ #educationalpodcast / #Opeth #TheLastWillAndTestament / “It’s their very first concept album…” / “I like to think of them like haunted house #DreamTheater …”/ “The first album with the return of the death growl vocals (aka ‘screams’) in 13 years…”/ “I’ve got room now, dude…”/ Released November 22, 2024 / “This is cool because it’s new and it’s old at the same time…”/ Featuring Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull / “Subsection…not SS…in case you’re wondering…”
(17:00): §1 / “Is this good with relaxers?” / “Draped in death…the howl of lore…” / “Let’s do backroads…maybe some dirt roads…” / §2 / “Isn’t that a creepy, haunted sound?”/ “Until his return…” / #useyourheadphones / “It’s kinda not necessarily all over the place but it’s all over the place…”/ “It’s got a weird, haunted 70’s feel to it for the modern age…”/ “Every album is different but they’re all uniquely different…”/ #Oldpeth / “Have they ever done anything ‘hooky’?”
(26:47): §3 / “Reminds me of #Rush …”/ #onmicburp / “He’s looking for the big hit single…” / “He’s talking about…the hook…”/ §4 / “No! No! No!” / #harpsolo / “This is music nerd music…” / §5 / “He does that one vocal part that sounds like #Forbidden to me…”/ “It’s all head…”/ #markthetime / “Where’d that come from?”/ Death growls vs Screams / “I realize this is probably not y’all’s favorite flavor of the month…this is right up there with #Coroner for #AOTY …”/ “They cram so much into such a small space…” / “There’s tons of coke lines…”
(39:17): §6 / “He’s an octopus genius…” / #drumvirtuoso / “This is like #Rainbow on steroids…70’s prog…” / “It’s almost comical it’s so awesome…”/ “Is this one all in 7’s?” / #towardsthelater / §7 / “I like the flute, I do…I never thought I’d say that…”/ “They should get the guy who made #HeavyMetal (the movie) …animate this album…like a concept album movie…but with a lot of tits” / “It’s hereditary ropes, bruh…”/ A STORY NEVER TOLD / “This is the most consistent…”/ “Bless y’all for at least giving it a shot…”/ #urgent / #moodmusic / “I got into them when the #Damnation album came out (2003)…you might like that…it’s more like #PinkFloyd …”/ THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel