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Music : Watershed (Special Edition)
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Rating: 
- they keep it lit
opeths ninth album is certainly more of the same but thats a good thing and they bring a better selection of tracks than on their previous album,ghost reveries,a controversial statement perhaps but this album flows better and has a better all round feel to it.
Anyway,the album opens up with 'coil' and is a mournful yet beautiful ballad that features mikael along with a female singer as they trade verses in what is certainly a haunting opener,perhaps it shouldnt work in terms of being an albums opener but it certainly does.
The next song could rank as one of the heaviest of their 18 year career,'heir apparent' features a vulgar riff and some of their most conventional drumming,more in line with metals take perhaps!
That is two tracks and two faces of the band,of course we all know that those two faces can be woven into the same song and here there are plenty of examples of that as the songs follow the unconventional and prove to be epic,catchy,vicious and poetic ,the combination that makes the band what they are.
I saw them at this years bloodstock and they were titanic,pulling the crowd in and then spitting them out,its controlled brilliance and the band reign in it,a great album.
Rating:
- Album of the year, no doubt about it.
Well, for a start, it's better than Cavalera Conspiracy, so scratch one "best of the year/best in metal ever" sentiment off the list for that good-but-got-old-fast album. I can see myself liking Watershed for a lot longer. Already its made me giddy with glee a good few times during the impossibly sweet opener "Coil", recoil in horror at the sheer death metal force of "Heir Apparent" and brand "Hessian Peel" the new owner of my favourite riff, a twisting wretch of a thing its impossible not to air-shred to. Shredding seems a good place to begin talking about this album, as the change in guitarists from (my personal favourite Opeth member) Peter Lindgren to former Arch Enemy twiddler Fredrik Akkeson has brought a prolific sonic alteration to Opeth. Akkeson's fierce shredding (there's that word again) skills have, it seems, inspired head honcho Mike Akerfeldt to take the metal side of Opeth up a notch, with far less jazzy or bluesy fret-bothering than previous outings but plenty of blistering riffs (and harmonics!) to make up for it. While the change is apparent to any fan upon first listen, I doubt it'll cause many frowns.
Like I said, the opening "Coil", a mellow little number featuring Nathalie Lorichs (me neither) on vocals and described by Akerfeldt as "cute" (the song, not Lorichs, who happens to be his drummer's girlfriend) is as nice as Opeth has ever been. Such feelings are chucked inside a cement mixer, removed and hammered into fractionally smaller cement blobules before being urinated on by the relentlessly heavy and dare I say terrifying "Heir Apparent", which a good friend of mine described as "hunting for something to kill". New drummer Martin Axenrot silences naysayers immediately with his pummeling force, before soon after giving way to the more traditional, Lopez-style cool grooves that he's equally capable with. But a death metal drummer is a death metal drummer, and Akerfeldt, fully aware of Axe's abilities from their concurrent band Bloodbath again takes advantage of the lineup change to refine and tweak the band's sound. Thus, endless tom fills and even BLASTBEATS appear on this record, double kicks unstoppable and restless with plenty of snare foreplay to counterbalance. Per Wiberg has expanded his role as keyboardist to wind instruments, with flutes and English Horn the most prevalent. Akerfeldt always boasted of how his keyboardist could play anything, and its nice to finally hear it. The other most noticeable element on this record are the folk elements, Akerfeldt going as far to call one of the sections a "Nick Drake riff", a spot on assessment if I've ever heard one, reminding me of "Three Hours" the first time I heard it. So in summation of the sound, scary death metal meets English folk, with one complete and unabashed ballad thrown in for measure. And bear in mind, this is no "ballad by Opeth standards", this is a bloody ballad, as pure as they come and worthy of a place on any three-disc driving rock compilation. We also get a nod to Led Zeppelin in a backwards pledge to Satan, and a box that looks like an envelope for no immediately obvious reason. The standout track initially seems to be the classic-written-all-over single Porcelain Heart, though there's a lot of depth here and plenty to be discovered on repeated listenings (I'm currently on my consecutive third). I'm not fond of comparison, but there's no denying this is Opeth's most dense work since Still Life ten odd years ago, particularly impressive given the virgin lineup, but it also stands out as one of their best albums. It lacks the style-diversity of predecessor Ghost Reveries, but eclipses the focused nature of Damnation and Deliverance. Most importantly, its a great album and the best of the year so far. Sorry Max.
Rating: - They've done it again...
I tend to get nervous when Opeth release a new album, because I'm always worried that their insanely high standards will one day slip and they'll give us something that doesn't blow us away. I'm happy to say that I'm still waiting for this to happen. Watershed is absolutely superb.
Some have criticised some of the newer elements on here, but I think they all work. The addition of the female voice on the opener is a great touch, and I love the funky breakdown in Lotus Eater - to me there is no suggestion that it was just chucked in there. Even the detuned guitar trick sounds right, and it's pretty hard to take a piece of music that's meant to sound bad and put it into a song so it doesn't just sound like exhibitionism.
As has been pointed out, there is less death metal growling on here than many of their albums, but that doesn't bother me, as Mikael's clean vocals are getting better and better over time anyway. His vocal performance on Burden is marvelous. And he CAN still do the growls when he wants to, as Heir Apparent will prove.
The "new guys" (Axenrot and Åkesson) fit in very nicely, and Per Wiberg really starts to make his presence felt with a lot of proggy keyboard work. Åkerfeldt is still the core of the band, and without him Opeth would no longer exist, but he knows how to surround himself with talent and write to their strengths.
It's tricky to pick out a best song, because Opeth's albums aren't really designed like that, but for me, Coil, Hessian Peel and Heir Apparent are especially excellent. But the album works brilliantly as a cohesive whole, and should really be listened to in this way.
I can now relax until they announce their next album, whereupon I'll start getting unjustifiably nervous again!
Rating:
- a low point
shame i was really looking forward to this one. Have played it for weeks now but it doesnt seem to go anywhere. I just hope this a career blip as my arms, blackwater park & reveries are masterpieces
Rating: - 4 1/2 stars really
Opeth's latest offering, "Watershed" was really something of a surprise, and comes as proof that they will never let us get comfortable and settle into a predictable rut as so many talented bands do. Instead, Opeth continue to challenge their listeners with something really quite different, not only from "Ghost Reveries" but also from all their previous albums. Of course it is still unmistakably Opeth, with Akerfeldt's trademark vocals and their unique combination of blasting death metal ferocity with mellow acoustic brilliance and awesome prog solos. However they have gotten a bit more experimental on us and mixed in some touches of jazz/blues (for example in the beautiful "Burden" and the unexpected funk section at the end of "the Lotus Eater"), a few moments of strings and flutes in the awesome "Heir Apparant", some very effective but not overused female vocals in the stunning opener "Coil" and the unexpected humour of the discordant ending of "Burden".
"Watershed" is also pleasantly varied and progresses very neatly through different styles, blending them together perfectly. They move very skillfully from the mellow acoustic sadness of "Coil" with its moving female vocals and beautiful lyrics into the brilliantly heavy, fantastically discordant "Heir Apparant", moving into the jazz tinged acoustic perfection of "Burden", then varying between the heavy and the melodic with their usual ease throughout the remaining songs. Some of them don't quite hit you at first and take a few listens to appreciate. Initially, hearing the complete change of direction of "The Lotus Eater" and the discordance of "Heir Apparant" I wondered what had gone wrong with Opeth, but "Watershed" is one of those albums that you will still be listening to in a year's time, not something catchy which hits you on the first listen and then you forget about it. I still think "Ghost Reveries" and "Still Life" probably can't be beaten, but "Watershed" hardly fails to live up to expectations.
- they keep it lit opeths ninth album is certainly more of the same but thats a good thing and they bring a better selection of tracks than on their previous album,ghost reveries,a controversial statement perhaps but this album flows better and has a better all round feel to it.
Anyway,the album opens up with 'coil' and is a mournful yet beautiful ballad that features mikael along with a female singer as they trade verses in what is certainly a haunting opener,perhaps it shouldnt work in terms of being an albums opener but it certainly does.
The next song could rank as one of the heaviest of their 18 year career,'heir apparent' features a vulgar riff and some of their most conventional drumming,more in line with metals take perhaps!
That is two tracks and two faces of the band,of course we all know that those two faces can be woven into the same song and here there are plenty of examples of that as the songs follow the unconventional and prove to be epic,catchy,vicious and poetic ,the combination that makes the band what they are.
I saw them at this years bloodstock and they were titanic,pulling the crowd in and then spitting them out,its controlled brilliance and the band reign in it,a great album.
Rating:
- Album of the year, no doubt about it.Well, for a start, it's better than Cavalera Conspiracy, so scratch one "best of the year/best in metal ever" sentiment off the list for that good-but-got-old-fast album. I can see myself liking Watershed for a lot longer. Already its made me giddy with glee a good few times during the impossibly sweet opener "Coil", recoil in horror at the sheer death metal force of "Heir Apparent" and brand "Hessian Peel" the new owner of my favourite riff, a twisting wretch of a thing its impossible not to air-shred to. Shredding seems a good place to begin talking about this album, as the change in guitarists from (my personal favourite Opeth member) Peter Lindgren to former Arch Enemy twiddler Fredrik Akkeson has brought a prolific sonic alteration to Opeth. Akkeson's fierce shredding (there's that word again) skills have, it seems, inspired head honcho Mike Akerfeldt to take the metal side of Opeth up a notch, with far less jazzy or bluesy fret-bothering than previous outings but plenty of blistering riffs (and harmonics!) to make up for it. While the change is apparent to any fan upon first listen, I doubt it'll cause many frowns.
Like I said, the opening "Coil", a mellow little number featuring Nathalie Lorichs (me neither) on vocals and described by Akerfeldt as "cute" (the song, not Lorichs, who happens to be his drummer's girlfriend) is as nice as Opeth has ever been. Such feelings are chucked inside a cement mixer, removed and hammered into fractionally smaller cement blobules before being urinated on by the relentlessly heavy and dare I say terrifying "Heir Apparent", which a good friend of mine described as "hunting for something to kill". New drummer Martin Axenrot silences naysayers immediately with his pummeling force, before soon after giving way to the more traditional, Lopez-style cool grooves that he's equally capable with. But a death metal drummer is a death metal drummer, and Akerfeldt, fully aware of Axe's abilities from their concurrent band Bloodbath again takes advantage of the lineup change to refine and tweak the band's sound. Thus, endless tom fills and even BLASTBEATS appear on this record, double kicks unstoppable and restless with plenty of snare foreplay to counterbalance. Per Wiberg has expanded his role as keyboardist to wind instruments, with flutes and English Horn the most prevalent. Akerfeldt always boasted of how his keyboardist could play anything, and its nice to finally hear it. The other most noticeable element on this record are the folk elements, Akerfeldt going as far to call one of the sections a "Nick Drake riff", a spot on assessment if I've ever heard one, reminding me of "Three Hours" the first time I heard it. So in summation of the sound, scary death metal meets English folk, with one complete and unabashed ballad thrown in for measure. And bear in mind, this is no "ballad by Opeth standards", this is a bloody ballad, as pure as they come and worthy of a place on any three-disc driving rock compilation. We also get a nod to Led Zeppelin in a backwards pledge to Satan, and a box that looks like an envelope for no immediately obvious reason. The standout track initially seems to be the classic-written-all-over single Porcelain Heart, though there's a lot of depth here and plenty to be discovered on repeated listenings (I'm currently on my consecutive third). I'm not fond of comparison, but there's no denying this is Opeth's most dense work since Still Life ten odd years ago, particularly impressive given the virgin lineup, but it also stands out as one of their best albums. It lacks the style-diversity of predecessor Ghost Reveries, but eclipses the focused nature of Damnation and Deliverance. Most importantly, its a great album and the best of the year so far. Sorry Max.
Rating:
- They've done it again...I tend to get nervous when Opeth release a new album, because I'm always worried that their insanely high standards will one day slip and they'll give us something that doesn't blow us away. I'm happy to say that I'm still waiting for this to happen. Watershed is absolutely superb.
Some have criticised some of the newer elements on here, but I think they all work. The addition of the female voice on the opener is a great touch, and I love the funky breakdown in Lotus Eater - to me there is no suggestion that it was just chucked in there. Even the detuned guitar trick sounds right, and it's pretty hard to take a piece of music that's meant to sound bad and put it into a song so it doesn't just sound like exhibitionism.
As has been pointed out, there is less death metal growling on here than many of their albums, but that doesn't bother me, as Mikael's clean vocals are getting better and better over time anyway. His vocal performance on Burden is marvelous. And he CAN still do the growls when he wants to, as Heir Apparent will prove.
The "new guys" (Axenrot and Åkesson) fit in very nicely, and Per Wiberg really starts to make his presence felt with a lot of proggy keyboard work. Åkerfeldt is still the core of the band, and without him Opeth would no longer exist, but he knows how to surround himself with talent and write to their strengths.
It's tricky to pick out a best song, because Opeth's albums aren't really designed like that, but for me, Coil, Hessian Peel and Heir Apparent are especially excellent. But the album works brilliantly as a cohesive whole, and should really be listened to in this way.
I can now relax until they announce their next album, whereupon I'll start getting unjustifiably nervous again!
Rating:
- a low pointshame i was really looking forward to this one. Have played it for weeks now but it doesnt seem to go anywhere. I just hope this a career blip as my arms, blackwater park & reveries are masterpieces
Rating:
- 4 1/2 stars reallyOpeth's latest offering, "Watershed" was really something of a surprise, and comes as proof that they will never let us get comfortable and settle into a predictable rut as so many talented bands do. Instead, Opeth continue to challenge their listeners with something really quite different, not only from "Ghost Reveries" but also from all their previous albums. Of course it is still unmistakably Opeth, with Akerfeldt's trademark vocals and their unique combination of blasting death metal ferocity with mellow acoustic brilliance and awesome prog solos. However they have gotten a bit more experimental on us and mixed in some touches of jazz/blues (for example in the beautiful "Burden" and the unexpected funk section at the end of "the Lotus Eater"), a few moments of strings and flutes in the awesome "Heir Apparant", some very effective but not overused female vocals in the stunning opener "Coil" and the unexpected humour of the discordant ending of "Burden".
"Watershed" is also pleasantly varied and progresses very neatly through different styles, blending them together perfectly. They move very skillfully from the mellow acoustic sadness of "Coil" with its moving female vocals and beautiful lyrics into the brilliantly heavy, fantastically discordant "Heir Apparant", moving into the jazz tinged acoustic perfection of "Burden", then varying between the heavy and the melodic with their usual ease throughout the remaining songs. Some of them don't quite hit you at first and take a few listens to appreciate. Initially, hearing the complete change of direction of "The Lotus Eater" and the discordance of "Heir Apparant" I wondered what had gone wrong with Opeth, but "Watershed" is one of those albums that you will still be listening to in a year's time, not something catchy which hits you on the first listen and then you forget about it. I still think "Ghost Reveries" and "Still Life" probably can't be beaten, but "Watershed" hardly fails to live up to expectations.