I delayed the start of this list so I could include this album. It is the Swedish prog-lords 14th studio album, their first in five years and in my very humble opinion the best thing they have released since the landmark “Blackwater Park”. In fact if this album had arrived it on its proposed release date of early October then I have no doubt it would be happily nestled in the top 10 if not making a serious charge for the summit of this list.

It is brilliant. It deftly marries their classic death metal style with the newer rich prog variation of their ever evolving musical constitution. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s death growls are back and you realise just how much you missed them. It gives the music a whole new dimension of gruffness and provides an eloquent contrast to the swirling operatic prog.

It is also fantastically constructed in its concept. Opeth have dallied with the continuous storyline across an album before. Both “My Arms, Your Hearse” and “Still Life” had flowing narratives across their duration. But something feels different and much more engaging about the storytelling within the “Last Will & Testament.” The world-building is immaculately intricate and the chronicle the album accounts is accessible and beautifully rendered.

For all this hyperbole its relatively conservative placing comes from one cursory listen. I am absolutely convinced that if I had managed to spin it more than once it would have got much higher and I would have been spouting even more superlatives. This is the album that may well go on to define them and certainly illustrates why they are held in such lofty esteem.

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