Opeth now has 2 new members since their last album. Their drummer Martin Lopez and guitarist Peter Lindgren had left the band for various reasons. However they did gain Fredrik Åkesson on guitars who was recently a guitarist in Arch Enemy, and Martin "Axe" Axenrot (who is also the drummer for the death metal band Bloodbath for which Mikael Åkerfeldt is also the singer). In the first track 'Coil' the female vocals are those of Martin Axenrot's girlfriend. Mikael Åkerfeldt is trying to do something that's a little bit different with this album, Opeth is still capable of doing the death metal that has always been and those vocals are present throughout the album, but this album is really rather deep. This album is not one that will be grasped the first time it is heard, maybe not even by the 10th, there are quite a few unsettling moments to it, some psychadelic streams that flow beneath the surface. I love this album, it shows growth in Opeth and I think is really artistic without flaunting it. This is also an album that has a great flow to it in which the song transitions don't feel choppy at all but flow easily from one to the next. This is definately a must have.
What's great about it: Mikael Åkerfeldt, the whole album, Opeth's fluidity.