Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
BBC Music	positive
The Guardian
Pitchfork	6.9/10
PopMatters
Revolver
Rolling Stone
Sputnikmusic

Heritage is the tenth studio album by Swedish Progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on 14 September 2011 through Roadrunner Records. The album was recorded in early 2011 at Atlantis/Metronome Studios in and produced by Mikael Åkerfeldt, engineered by Janne Hansson, and mixed by Steven Wilson. It takes on a full-fledged Progressive rock sound, something the band had always wanted to do for some time. It is a stark contrast to the Progressive metal and 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.

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 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. On 26 July, the band premiered the album's first single, "The Devil's Orchard", on Stereogum. On 11 September, the album was streamed in its entirety on NPR Music. On 23 September, the music video for "The Devil's Orchard" was released.

The cover art for Heritage was revealed at the beginning of June 2011, done once again by longtime collaborator Travis Smith. In a video interview with Face Culture, Åkerfeldt said the album is rife with symbolism. The tree represents the band flourishing in the present while its roots "going down to hell" represent the band's death metal history. The faces on the tree are those of the current band members, with Wiberg's head falling off the tree representing his departure. The skulls underneath the tree also represent past band members. The burning theatre in the distance represents the decline of civilization.

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Wikipedia