Jan

Opeth - Watershed

"Give it time. It'll click and when it does, you're in for a ride!"

Follow up:

9.5/10

1. "Coil" – 3:10
2. "Heir Apparent" – 8:50
3. "The Lotus Eater" – 8:50
4. "Burden" – 7:41 Watch the video!
5. "Porcelain Heart" - 8:00
6. "Hessian Peel" – 11:25
7. "Hex Omega" – 7:00

If you're not familiar with Swedish Progressive Death Metal band Opeth, I will say that they're not like any band you've ever experienced before. They're incredibly heavy and uncommonly mellow. They have the capacity to bring out emotions in the listener that they may not have known could be connected to music. They're the most classy band to bear the metal label and are the Pink Floyd of my generation. They incorporated elements into their music that most metalheads would consider unorthodox. They're a very demanding band and at the same time, a very rewarding one. They're a band you either "get" or you don't. Depending on which you are, you may or may not agree with the score I've given this album.

"Watershed" is Opeth's 9th album and I had the pleasure of listening to it in stereo as well as beautiful 5.1 surround sound. I could not find a single thing wrong with the production of this album. It sounds pristine. Every instrument comes through exactly where it should. The band has such a full sound, whether it's in the acoustic interludes (of which there are many) or the pounding death metal sections. The clean electric guitar sounds crisp but not weak. The heavy guitar sounds warm and overdriven but never distorted. Every drum, cymbal, keyboard, woodwind (yes, woodwind) all mix perfectly and create a sound that's unmistakably Opeth.

Mikael Åkerfeldt has created with these 7 songs something that doesn't wear on the listener after repeat plays due to the depth that each of these songs has. The arrangements are set up in such a way that it creates tension and releases it. The musical ideas explored on this album are metal but there is a reason why I call Opeth Progressive Death Metal. Imagine a cello playing a nice little melody with Åkerfeldt humming over it, very calm. Instantly a brutal death metal blastbeat section kicks in and on top of it, clean vocals. This section is followed by an acoustic passage accented by a woodwind ensemble (flute, oboe, clarinet). The way I describe it makes it sound a bit schizophrenic and in some ways it is but if you can hear it for what it is rather than what you expect it to be, you'll be closer to understanding it.

Every member of Opeth play superbly on "Watershed". The riffing is very Opeth and as such is difficult to equate to anything else. The only problem I could find on the album after repeated listens was that there is one drum fill in the song "Porcelain Heart" during the second heavy section that doesn't sound like it fits with what the rest of the band is doing. Other than that, I'd say that the musicianship of Opeth have grown with each and every album with this being a new high.

Bottom line is, Opeth are a hard act to follow. They are unique in their sound, their songwriting and their overall mood. When a band can take a series of major chords and make them sound more evil than if they were minor, you've got my full attention. I'm thoroughly impressed by "Watershed" and if Opeth's style has clicked with you, I know you'll be satisfied as well. If it hasn't I'll borrow a line from a fellow metal reviewer and say "It has all my favorite colors but I don't like the picture it paints." Give it time. It'll click and when it does, you're in for a ride! Standout tracks are: "The Lotus Eater", "Burden" and the opener "Coil".