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