A meandering, somber record that's heavy on atmosphere at the expense of hooks
Well, here's another one to put into the "really wanted to like but just can't" category. Coming in directly after their folk/prog thing Heritage (which I also do not like), it seemed like a return to form for a band that seemed to be in an awkward transitional stage. And it is, in the sense that it's much better than Heritage -- the band's progressive tendencies have fully crystallized on this disc. Right from the opening keyboard swirls on the first song (and one of the better ones), "Eternal Rains Will Come", the sound is darker and more melodic, and that emphasis on melody is carried along throughout the whole record.
It's tough to do a track-by-track breakdown of an Opeth record, and Pale Communion continues that tradition. The songs aren't all super long (which is how I remembered them until looking up their lengths for this) but they do all sound similar -- its a lot like Damnation, but with atmosphere instead of hooks. The only standout I remember is the "epic" of the lot: "Moon Above, Sun Below", which has some cool lyrics and interesting instrumentation.
That isn't to say it isn't worth a spin or two -- it definitely is. It just didn't click with me.
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