OPETH — Watershed (review)

OPETH — Watershed album cover Album · 2008 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Negoba
It took me awhile to realize that Opeth was not an either / or band. Either the prog or the death. Opeth is Opeth because both are so important. I get that, and I understand that on Watershed, where the balance is shifted toward prog, many fans are put off. And yet, this album has some extremely heavy moments, some amazing death growls, and some of the simultaneously refined and adventurous music in the Opeth catalog so far.

1. Coil - 8/10 - this one has grown on me. Most importantly, this announces that this album is not going to be the Opeth of old. The spooky contrast of Akerfeldt's voice with the ethereal female vox simply sets the stage for...

2. Heir Apparent - 8/10 - this is a bludgeoning shout to the old fans and even still the breaks are great. The most death metal of all the tracks and plenty of the best dragonvoice of all time. Though this is remembered as "the heavy song on Watershed," it spans pretty wide territory. The interludes are masterful.

3. Lotus Eater - 11/10 - Akerfeld has been quoted as saying this is his favorite track off the new album and I totally understand why. There are two prog masterpieces on this album and this is the heavier of the two. The funk break in the late middle section totally works for me, and is just branching of a creative mind and adventurous band. If Thick as a Brick combined all of the elements of modern music in its time, Lotus Eater combines 2008 elements as no other track does.

4. Burden - 6/10 - I hated this track at first, frankly. I once read a quote from Mikael saying "We wrote this one to get groupies" and at first I thought this track was exactly that. But in fact there are some nice moments, and especially the instrumentation choices here. The detuning is a strange exploratory choice that really didn't work but it's short.

5. Porcelain Heart - 7/10 - A solid Opeth track, my previous favorite track of theirs was Drapery Falls and this continues in that feel. It doesn't break new ground for them but is a very strong Opeth track which does what I want Opeth to do, combine brutal guitars with Akerfeld's clean voice

6. Hessian Peel - 11/10 - A masterpiece of metal. Period. IMO the best Opeth track of all time. No further explanation needed.

7. Hex Omega - 8/10 - another strong prog track, which left me wanting more which of course is what the last tradck should do. Not as strong as Hessian Peel or Lotus Eater, but still good.

If you like prog, this is the album for you. If you like metal, it's still very good. Not hampered by the constraints of being clean for an entire album, energized by new members, learning from Wilson but now free of him, Opeth produces a prog masterpiece, and a worthy addition to their discography.
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