Few metalheads, if any, thought we would see this day come. After more than a decade-long excursion into Jethro Tull vs. King Crimson prog rock, Swedish titans Opeth have returned to their death metal roots—to the surprise of absolutely everyone. After 2011’s “Heritage” all the way through 2019’s “In Cauda Venenum”—all albums as theatrically progressive as they were unheavy—Opeth fans all over the world over assumed that they would never again hear Mikael Åkerfeldt, the greatest metal vocalist of all time (yes, I said it), unleash his inimitable growls … or they became Bloodbath fans. I am definitely not speaking from personal experience there.

Perhaps a bit of backstory is needed for the uninitiated, although Opeth are far from an “underground” metal band. They, along with Lamb of God, Slipknot and Gojira, were the poster children of extreme metal in the early aughts. Opeth, probably the most extreme band of the bunch (though Gojira fans might beg to differ), started off with a hybrid of black and death metal throughout the 1990s, before shifting towards a more Morbid-Angel infused sound on their 1999’s “Still Life.” Opeth finally broke into the mainstream with their 2001’s “Blackwater Park” without sacrificing any of their extremity, continuing this trend in their most acclaimed album, 2005’s “Ghost Reveries.”

However, the tides would quickly turn for Opeth, as the band shifted incrementally away from death metal into progressive rock, as could be seen on the nigh-acoustic “Damnation” and Yes-tinged keyboard frenzy of “Watershed.” The story goes that after releasing “Watershed,” Åkerfeldt intended to continue the death metal style, but he felt it was becoming stale. Encouraged by his bandmates to pursue his passion, he abandoned the downtuned guitars and growls altogether, opting instead for the angular and oft-psychedelic prog rock of the past four albums. None of it was bad per se; “Heart in Hand,” “Cusp of Eternity” and “The Devil’s Orchard” are all excellent songs from this era—but nothing could truly compare to the peerless quality of Opeth’s original run from the mid-90s into the late-2000s.

So it was all the more shocking when Opeth’s new single, “§1,” dropped on Aug. 2. Expecting nothing more than a repeat of songs like “Dignity” or “Width of a Circle,” fans were surprised to hear nothing of the sort. Opeth has instead perfectly married their passion for ’70s progressive rock with “Watershed”-era death metal.

The song begins with the distant sound of footsteps and the creak of a door before descending into a bass groove reminiscent of “In Cauda Venenum.” Entertaining enough, but soon the downtuned guitars rear their head, chugs unheard of since “Deliverance.” It is at this point that my interest was piqued and the scarce-dared thought crossed my mind … they’re not going to growl, are they? The chugs then shift to a high-pitched clean vocal from Åkerfeldt: “Draped in death, the howl of lore.” It was then that the hammer truly came down as the singer’s unmistakable growl finally resurfaced and snarled into the microphone. It was beautiful—his growls did not sound tired, forced or weary. They were just as full, if not fuller, than they were on “Watershed” back in 2009. After an entire verse of unclean vocals, we return to the chorus—augmented all the more by its melodramatic contrast to the heaviness preceding it.

The connections with “Watershed” become only more apparent as the song continues. The keyboards and synthesizers sound precisely like the mellow warmth of “Burden” or the frenetic groove of “The Lotus Eater.” Åkerfeldt’s persona of an elderly man reading his last will and testament—the title of the forthcoming concept album—bleeds into a signature solo from guitarist Fredrik Åkkeson. It is Kerry King meets David Gilmour. One final section of growls, backed by more vibrato singing, accentuates the skill and rhythm of new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen. The chorus rings out triumphant one final time before descending back into the hell of Åkerfeldt’s growled vocals: “The last will and testament of father.”

Everything about the track is perfect—the drums are crisp and exciting. Åkerfeldt’s “In Cauda Venenum”-esque vocals juxtaposed against the reincorporated growls are a revelation; the keyboards sound just as haunting as they did on “Damnation” and “Watershed,” and the chugs and lightning-fast playing of Åkkeson contrast perfectly.

“§1” is a mere radio edit of the upcoming album version, which supposedly will have a much longer instrumental/orchestral outro. The connections with “Heir Apparent” and “Burden” off “Watershed” are all the more, well, apparent. Metal fans must now wait with baited breath and unbearable anticipation until Opeth’s new album, “The Last Will and Testament,” is released on Oct. 11 via Reigning Phoenix Music. They can, however, rest assured that the kings have undoubtedly returned.