 On August 26 , 2014 , Opeth released its eleventh studio album , titled Pale Communion . Åkerfeldt began working on new material as far back as August 2012 . In January 2014 he stated , " We 've been looking at [ tracking the next album at ] Rockfield Studios in Wales where Queen recorded " Bohemian Rhapsody " , but we haven 't made a decision yet , but it will be an expensive album . There 's a lot going on , lots of string arrangements that we haven 't had in the past . " Despite fearing that the band 's new musical direction would split Opeth 's fanbase , when asked if it will it be heavier or softer than Heritage , Åkerfeldt said , " Maybe a little bit heavier , not death metal heavy , but hard rock / heavy metal heavy . There 's also lots of progressive elements and acoustic guitars , but also more sinister @-@ sounding riffs . " Åkerfeldt also produced the new album which will include string instrumentation , something that he became interested in doing when working on Storm Corrosion . The band members in Opeth felt rejuvenated after creating Heritage which resulted in closer relationships between them . 
