Opeth to Release New Album, 'Heritage,' on Sept. 20

The wait for the follow-up to 2008's Watershed is finally over as it has been officially announced that Swedish progressive metal band Opeth will release their 10th studio album, Heritage, on Sept. 20 via Roadrunner Records.

Opeth frontman and guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt says of Heritage: "It will be our 10th album/observation. I dig it; we all do. In fact, it feels like I've been building up to write for and participate on an album like this since I was 19."

When asked what fans can expect from the new album, Akerfeldt said: "It's quite intense at times in some 'old' murky way, and quite beautiful and stark at times, if I may say so myself. It's obvious I'm going to say nice things about it since I wrote basically the whole piece, but I guess it will raise a few eyebrows and it certainly is an acquired taste.

"I think you'll need a slightly deeper understanding of our music as a whole to be able to appreciate this record. I've realized my influences for this album are so diverse that I can't really say what it sounds like. If I can compare it to any other band, it would have to be Opeth, but it's different from the stuff we've done before. I've listened a lot to Alice Cooper for the last year, yet I can't say it sounds like 'No More Mr. Nice Guy.' I hope you'll like it once you hear it."

Heritage was produced by Akerfeldt and mixed along with Porcupine Tree frontman/guitarist Steven Wilson.

The album will be released as a standard version; as a special edition loaded with extras; as a box set exclusive to Roadrunner and the band's own official Omerch webstore; and as a double LP.

The track listing for Heritage is as follows:

• 1. Heritage
• 2. The Devil's Orchard
• 3. I Feel the Dark
• 4. Slither
• 5. Nepenthe
• 6. Haxprocess
• 7. Famine
• 8. The Lines in My Hand
• 9. Folklore
• 10. Marrow of the Earth