My favorite Opeth album is Damnation. Let me make that the first sentence of my review so all the hardcore Opeth fans can strip me of any credibility and walk away now. I wouldn’t want to waste their time. I know that Damnation wasn’t ‘metal’ enough, and by admitting that it’s my favorite of Opeth’s many albums, I’m admitting to being a spineless pussy or something. Whatever. It’s a beautiful album, and everyone I’ve burned a copy for have come back raving about it. This mainstream appeal that put a Swedish death metal band’s album on the Billboard Top 200 surely makes the loyalists puke, but everyone else should definitely check it out.
With all of that said, I own all of Opeth’s other albums, and their heavier shit represents some of the best the genre has to offer. So when I saw their new album, Watershed, available on iTunes, I snatched it and fired it up. Right away, the first track Coil sounded like the closest thing I’ve heard to anything on Damnation since, an airy acoustic composition with ethereal vocals from Mikael Åkerfeldt and guest Nathalie Lorichs, who came out of nowhere as far as we can tell, and apparently is drummer Martin Axenrot’s roommate. But as the last minor chord of Coil fades out, a rumbling takes its place and the album heads down into more comfortably metal depths- the next two tracks (Heir Apparent and The Lotus Eater) are brutal.
Then Burden comes out of nowhere, an epic ballad starting with pianos, flowing through a progressive metal keyboard jam session that sounds like it could have been pulled from a Mars Volta song, to a clearing in the song that reminds me of the second half of To Rid The Disease. Dueling acoustic guitars take over from there and then die with an effect that sounds like Fredrik Åkesson is manually down-tuning the strings of his guitar drastically until they fall from the neck.
Porcelain Heart starts out in a triumphantly metal fashion, drops to a dirge, stops completely for a second, and then alternates back and forth between the two modes culminating in a keyboard arpeggio over a driving beat with filler “aaah aaah aaah” vocals. Despite it being the single, it’s a low point in the album for me; kinda predictable and not very impressive. We’re saved by Hessian Peel though. Instead of going back and forth, the first half is Damnation style, then halfway through it gets serious, assaulting with a viciousness that reminds me of The Leper Affinity from 2001’s Blackwater Park, or something Carcass might come up with. Album closer Hex Omega follows the same formula as Porcelain Heart more or less, back and forth between beastly and beauty, but it’s a better song.
The Special Edition of Watershed features 3 additional tracks, the original song Derelict Herds, and two covers: Robin Trower’s Bridge Of Sighs, and Marie Fredriksson’s Den Ständiga Resan. Who the fuck is Marie Fredriksson you ask? Half of 80s pop duo Roxette. Remember them?
Anyway, Derelict Herds is on par with the rest of Watershed, with an almost Dream Theater-y operatic element thrown in. As for the two covers, their somewhat faithful rendition of Bridge Of Sighs sounds closer to stoner metal than death metal. If you weren’t familiar with the original (as most people aren’t), you’d guess it could be an outtake from Clutch’s self titled album, or a Down track. It’s fucking great. If you are familiar with the original on the other hand, you’ll find Opeth adds ferocity without losing the original’s soulful brooding. The forlorn, crooning Marie Fredriksson cover sounds more like a romantic latin ballad than even anything on Damnation. Especially if you don’t understand the Swedish lyrics.
Overall, Watershed is a solid album. Time will tell if I’ll come to like it as much as Damnation or the best of the heavier stuff, but if you’re a fan, you won’t be let down, and if you’re not yet, it’d make a good follow-up to Damnation in terms of accessibility.
Watershed
June 3rd, 2008
Roadrunner
1. Coil
2. Heir Apparent
3. The Lotus Eater
4. Burden
5. Porcelain Heart
6. Hessian Peel
7. Hex Omega
Special Edition Bonus Disc:
1. Derelict Herds
2. Bridge Of Sighs
3. Den Ständiga Resan
About Skwerl
Kevin "Skwerl" Cogill was taught his first computer programming language by his Mother's marijuana dealer at age ten. His first job involved hustling TicketMaster lines on behalf of a New Jersey concert ticket broker at age fourteen, followed by a job in graphic design shortly after graduating high school and trade school simultaneously in 1998. He built his first website in 1996 or so, and continues to do things the way they should be done, rather than the way everyone else does. He's a bit of an asshole, but he's fiercely loyal to his friends, and to fellow fans of good music.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Skwerl now resides in Los Angeles.
June 13th, 2008 at 12:36 AM
This is definitely Opeth’s worst album. I’ve been a fan for a long time now and was really looking forward to this album. Unfortunately, it’s just not very good. I was very disappointed. Hopefully this is just a bump in the road and not a sign of things to come.
June 13th, 2008 at 5:43 AM
I really like it.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:10 PM
this is one of those albums that grows on you. It shows the real depth of the band, that they aren’t going to punch out the same sound album after album.It is complicated and thought out. I respect any band that challenges their past material and pushes the boundaries. Holy Hell, wish i had 1/100th their talent…. ok maybe 1/5th ;-) give it a listen (more than once Socrates) and judge it on its own merit , not comparing it to other albums.
June 29th, 2008 at 7:00 AM
I have to chuckle when I read musical opinions… in the case of Opeth, the badn I’m easily most passionate about, each album is rated as the best of their work by some, the worst by others. My problem has always been that I am unable to decide on their “best” or “worst”…. but you know, it really doesn’t matter. Take my word for it, “Watershed” is easily brilliant and unique, no matter how it stacks up aginst their other albums.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:10 PM
Anyone who says this album is bad is musically retarded. Complex time signatures, great vocals, incredible work with harmonic scales (giving it a very distinct atmosphere), secondary dominant fun … and all around a shit ton of creativity. To say this is “bad” is to say you like to jack off to double pedals rampaging to open E. Which is boring. A+ record. They are doing an icnredible job advancing their sound and not just falling into the pit of shitty metal bands that exist. Diversity in a genre always brings out the best artists.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:27 AM
Indeed, I have to agree. Those who say this is a bad album, are completely musically retarded. I find this album some of the very best Opeth have ever done. Just because the retards can’t compare this album to the others of Opeth, it doesn’t mean that it is a lame record, what’s lame, are the retards who think that music shouldn’t develop and change, that would have been the opposite of creativity.