Heritage (Opeth album)
2011 album by Opeth
Heritage is the tenth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on 13 September 2011 through Roadrunner Records. The album was recorded in early 2011 at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm and produced by Mikael Åkerfeldt, engineered by Janne Hansson, and mixed by Steven Wilson (the first album since 2003's Damnation on which he worked with the band, although not as producer). It takes on more of a progressive rock sound, something the band had wanted to do for some time, resulting in a stark contrast to the progressive death metal sounds of their past albums.
A critical and commercial success, the album sold 19,000 units in the United States in its debut week, charting at number 19 on the Billboard 200. The album was their first since 2003's Damnation not to feature Åkerfeldt's signature death growls, a style of singing he would not employ again until The Last Will and Testament in 2024.
Background
During a press junket in September 2010 for In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Mikael Åkerfeldt told Classic Rock magazine that he was finally writing for a new Opeth album. On 31 January 2011, Opeth entered Atlantis/Metronome Studios in Stockholm to begin recording, with Janne Hansson engineering and Steven Wilson mixing. By late March, mixing was complete, and in April, Per Wiberg was relieved of his duties in Opeth as part of a mutual decision with the band. On 25 May, Heritage was announced as the album's title.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18626. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011, 2003, 2024 and 2010.
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