Customer Reviews

Blackwater Park [Vinyl]

5 star:		(214)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Let me just say that I, umm, don't care for death metal. Even when the oft-talented musicians are doing more than unleashing dissonant slop, the "cookie monster" vocals usually turn me off. Opeth is...

Err, wait. I'm getting ahead of myself. To simply call Opeth "death metal" is lazy and does them no justice. Vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt can unleash a growl so utterly demonic it sounds inhuman, but I think beyond that Opeth's parallels to death metal are scarce. Opeth is better described as the bizarre marriage of metal brutality and pastoral elegy. Without a doubt, Blackwater Park is full of crashing guitars and brutal growls, yet Opeth balances with melodic acoustic passages and vocal deliveries with icy beauty. Often, these elements are encompassed entirely by one song. The 10-minute opener, "The Leper Affinity," begins with flaming guitar riffs and bestial vocals, but as you approach the 5-minute mark, the heaviness falls away to be replaced by delicate clean singing and a dreamy acoustic section. Even at its heaviest, Blackwater Park remains surprisingly melodic, with fluid guitar lines and ear-catching riffs. Opeth is clearly more about dynamics of light & shade than the conventional sonic mire of other similar bands. (Although, truth be told, there aren't really other bands like Opeth.) Producer Steve Wilson (Porcupine Tree, No-Man) doesn't seem like the right guy for the job...at least on paper. But Wilson's background makes him the perfect choice. His ear for sonic clarity and arrangement are surpassed by few, and he is a wonderful complement to the band's ambition.

"Harvest" is gorgeous. Layers of acoustic guitars, sparkling overlays of electric chords, and the chilling, beautiful vocals of Akerfeldt. It's probably my favorite song on the album. That's because I can't really listen to lots of the stuff here. The death vox are just too much for me. On a purely subjective level, I wouldn't give this disc 5-stars.

But forget that subjectivity. Sometimes you just have to admire what's being done, even if it's not your own cup of tea. Objectively speaking, Opeth is original and talented. If you like (or even tolerate) death metal vocals, I _strongly_ recommend you try Opeth. If you absolutely hate death vox, skip it. (Although I usually hate 'em but I tried this, so whatever.) Blackwater Park is unique, progressive, heavy, and sometimes beautiful. If you take the plunge, you may be turned off by the oppressively cold and bleak sound (plus some unhappy lyrics). But be patient. Allow its grandeur to unfold. You might be blown away like so many others.

Not since my high school years, 93-97, had I been a fan of metal. After talking to a fellow college classmate about Slayer, I decided to take him up on his suggestion to check out the band In Flames. After purchasing Colony, and having the epiphany that there could possibly be great metal out there, despite the decline of The Headbanger's Ball, and the obvious failings of the so-called metal bands dominating the charts in the US, I decided to peruse the reviews on Amazon to see where this hopefully resurrected metal fan needed to search next.

Everywhere I looked: Opeth. To boot, I had never heard such words used to describe a metal band: eloquent, majestic, beautiful, exquisite, touching, emotional, poignant, epic, delicate...ok, I must stop here because the references to positive transendence, though absolutely fitting, might give you the idea that this is not a heavy metal band at all.

And perhaps that is true. If there is a band in the metal genre which perfectly symbolizes the evolutionary certainty of all quality music bending the limits of genre, then Opeth is it.

No band has ever captivated my imagination and love for music the way this band has, and Blackwater Park is the album that started it all.

The escalating, soft tension of the opener, "The Leper Affinity" exploded into the most demonic of riffs. Not because the riff is pure evil, but because the melody, so seductive and oddly soothing, epitomizes true darkness as it is compelling in the true nature of sin. This band surpasses musical genius by honing the exact ebb and flow of extreme human emotions.

Throughout this 67 minute, 8-track opus, Opeth guide the listener through a world of vivid lament, psychosis, rage, reconcilliation, victory, and defeat. I do not know of any album (and my collection of pop/rock/hip-hop/jazz/jamband/soul/etc. reaches near the 2,000 mark) that ends so fittingly as this one, when Mikael exclaims, "The sun sets forever, over, Blackwater Paaaaarrrrrrrkkkkkkk!" at the album's closing. At this zenith, the listener truly feels the inescapable suffocation of death, and the unfathomable possiblities of an afterlife. I dare any reviewer to name a band which can conjure such emotions.

What's for sure is that Opeth accomplishes such seemingly impossible feats by coupling patient songwriting with flawless instrumental execution. Guitar players who instantly become enthralled with the idea of replicating the tasty guitar passages, pause for just a second. The tracks on this album are so layered, that if you wanted to produce the exact same sound live, you'd need a band to rival the numbers of your local city's orchestra.

It is this thoughtfulness in composition that truly separates this band from others, and allows this album to rest upon the apex of metal along with its ancestor, Still Life (to this day I cannot decide which of the two reigns supreme). Every moment of this album, the extreme death/black/progressive elements and the folkish/melancholic-acoustic-doom progressions, accentuates the duality of darkness, in its most dormant and aggressive manifestations.

Together, these polar opposites collide to produce a musical experience unmatched by any in the metal field. Aside from pulling this fan from his metal grave, Blackwater Park ensures that this decade will not fail the world of music in producing an incomparable contribution to extreme/heavy music.

I have read over many pages of reviews on Blackwater Park, and I am quite pleased to see the support Opeth is receiving, and from intelligent people. However, I also see many, many reviewers giving this phenomenal album a single star. This dusgusts me. I read a review saying that anyone who wanted to listen to real music should listen to bands like Good Charlotte and Grade 8. I strongly hope this was a joke. I've listened with an open mind to Good Charlotte, and they are nothing but a no-talent, can't-decide-if-they're-punk-or-goth, sell-out MTV band that writes songs about suicide with touching videos only to show the world that they know something about cliche "teenage angst" and depression.

Wow, that was pretty rough, wasn't it?

But fine, go ahead, like Good Charlotte. But don't insult Opeth simply because you don't like the rougher sort of vocals Mikael Akerfeldt employs. Not everyone does, it's understandable. They were an acquired taste for me. The same reviewer that cited Good Charlotte as "good music" (perhaps simply because they have "good" in their name?) complained that Opeth is "nothing but a scream band with no talent what so ever" (by the way, whatsoever is one word).

First of all, the quality of Opeth lyrics surpasses that of any band I've ever heard. The dark and haunting poetry that flows from Akerfeldt's pen does not paint a scenery before you, but envelopes you in that scenery. Opeth has been oftencategorized as progressive, and that alone refutes any talk of "no talent." Progressive music is about establishing a pattern of music, and then varying it to different degrees. Those patterns weave in and out of each other, harmonizing and working together to create beautiful music. It takes a far greater knowledge of music theory to coherently structure anything remotely close to being progressive than it does to create a two-minute punk song, the likes of which Good Charlotte probably churns out in under half an hour. The reason Opeth, Dream Theater, and Yes songs run on for over ten minutes most often (of course the Yes epic "Close to the Edge" at around 18 minutes, Dream Theater's "A Change of Seasons" at 23, and Dream Theater's "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence at a whopping 42 minutes) is because they are more than just songs they are writing. These progressive bands are writing symphonies that cannot be concluded in any short amount of time. The songs are long because a vast amount of time and effort was put into them, not to mention skill and knowledge. The bottom line is, saying that Opeth has no talent is like saying that sugar tastes salty, that the ocean is made of sand, or that the sun is a ball of ice.

For any new readers looking into Opeth, please disregard the one-star reviews completely. They are unfair and completely irrelevent. Blackwater Park may be the highlight of Opeth's career and is definitely worth a listen. If you don't like it, fair enough, but don't insult it on unjust grounds. Respect the music.

Blackwater Park was my first Opeth *album* (having only heard snippets of Morningrise before).

A small point of interest - the chief criticism here seems to be band's insistence on employing growl vocals.
Like many, I found this practice aberrant, and frankly disruptive to otherwise excellent music.

Repeated listenings to Blackwater totally changed my view on the matter - I realised that far from being the lamely overaggressive screaming of an otherwise talentless vocalist, the profound and multifaceted artistry in this volume would simply not be able to be communicated without the tool of harsh vocals.

They are not used for their own sake, nor to simply stop the gaps of an incomplete band lineup, but are just another component in a seamless tapestry of such potent beauty and majesty there is insufficient time in most our lives to listen and appreciate all it has to offer, let alone to just bask in incandescent admirative glow one ends up helplessly projecting on repeated listenings of Opeth.

Regardless, as you will discover in any of the acoustic or dynamically constrasted tracks such as "Harvest" or "The Drapery Falls", singer Mikael Akerfeldt's talent, ability and range is accomplished, to be more than modest.

I suppose the fact that there are only SEVEN reviews of the odd hundred-and-fifty-three before this that are negative, and half of these are from people that could not lay aside a dislike of growling enough to appreciate the album should let you know that this may be the biggest hurdle for someone considering picking this up

The other 3 were either just plain wrong in their assumptions - anyone who questions Opeth's musicianship or compositional talents can be safely and objectively sidelined as a cook: As whether you find them boring and prententiously irrelevant, or pray to them daily at nightfall , their technical talents cannot be queried by anyone with even an ounce of musical knowhow - or else provided no clear logic to their heresy.

Buy this album if you one of those who considers music to be *anything* more than a diversion used when performing menial chores or long distance driving. Even if -it takes you a year to come to appreciate what it is, any rational person will eventually come to at least respect this masterwork.

I purchased this album as soon as I could get it. I own all of Opeth's previous releases.

I'm not sure I can add much more praise to this album. If you have any of Opeth's other albums, you will buy this one. If you do not own an Opeth album, it doesn't matter which one is picked up first, they are all excellent.

Opeth is progressive-like-death-like-metal-like music. What does that mean? The band is not afraid to use acoustic guitars, a piano, or any other variation that may work. Overall there are harsh growled vocals and guitars that are loud and rock. The vocals change between a death growl and a very clear and pleasant sound. Two very active guitars on the album, and a bass that stands out more than it did on Still Life, but not as active as on Monringrise. The songs are longer than the average 3 to 4 minutes, be prepaired to be at attention for an average of 10 minutes.

This album seems a bit busier than the previous albums. Complex stuff that may need a few listens to decifer. Favorites of mine on the album are Bleak, Harvest, and The Funeral Portrait. Bleak is one of the heavies on the album and Harvest is an all acoustic track. Funeral Portrait has the best riff on the album and is some nice meat in the sandwich of the album.

My only hope is that Opeth doesn't grow stale before they get big. These will be the albums retro-death metal heads will have in the year 2010. If you appreciate more technical death metal, you should like Blackwater Park. Opeth doesn't unleash unbridled hatred, they simply tell a story instead with thier music. You need to tell a friend of Opeth.

This album is worth your time and your money.

I've found listening to OPETH a near-religious experience. When I search my vast collection of thoughts regarding Metal music and my involvement in the scene as both a participant, fan, and now critic, I'm humbled by the fact that OPETH alone have been one of the very few; and I mean very few bands, who have ever been able to stir this level of emotion in me. Now that was a very long sentence and if challenged to do so I could easily ramble on endlessly about OPETH and their immense creativity and uncanny ability to write and perform music that transcends all recognizable barriers. Its one thing to mesh opposing styles but OPETH have gone beyond the call and created something no other band can lay claim to. In this whirling vortex of a scene with a myriad of Metal styles, that's an accomplishment few can claim.

Blackwater Park. Why is it that this title fits so well? Leave it to the mysterious nature of this Swedish prodigy and be content with the outcome, which as you may have guessed by now given my long-winded introduction to this album, is stunning. What is most interesting about this release is that, as incredible as it is, it was not an instant classic upon first listen. Then again, every previous effort by OPETH has had the same slow, gravitational effect on me. One listen demands another, then another until at some point you realize that it's yet another classic piece of moody, dramatic, ethereal, dreamy and probing Metal craftiness.

No long time fan of the band are likely to feel cheated by the fact that OPETH have really not brought anything new to the table on this album. You've come to expect the very best from the band and that's exactly what you get with Blackwater Park. However, some may have anticipated some new ingredient to be introduced. Not so in the big picture here. What OPETH have done is simply picked up where Still Life ended, thrown in some earlier elements from My Arms, Your Hearse and journeyed further into the nether of dark, emotionally charged musical nirvana. The eight tracks on this album represent over an hour of brilliant, heartfelt intricacy layered through and through with haunting acoustical backdrops, fanged guitar bites and bolstered by alternating vocal styles now commonly associated with the band's style. The flow and tempo of the album is remarkably consistent and fine-tuned which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has followed the band through their career. Vocalist Michael Akerfeldt is at his pinnacle on this album and all supporting members again brandish their finest musical traits. The vocal passion in this album is deeply interwoven amidst the sinister attack of Akerfeldt's darker side. The Jeckyl and Hyde personality is strong and always absorbing.

There are times when Blackwater Park may come across as a more simplistic rendition of Still Life but listen again because so deep is this tireless work of art that several spins of the disc are required for one to grasp the full brunt. The album is all about synchronicity and character and surely the emotive balance is striking with waves of sorrow, love, hate and madness all rolling in like successive waves at high tide.

OPETH seemingly have settled into a niche they are comfortable with and all the more power to them because whatever this is, its working and working like clockwork. Blackwater Park is as beautiful as it is dark and unsettling. A masterpiece? Yes.

These guys could play circles around any band, whether metal, punk, jazz, classical, whatever. This is the finest of all Opeth albums by far. The ability of these Swedes to make beautiful music one moment, and then brutalizing metal another, is stunning. And the singer: is this all the same dude? He growls like the vocalist in Napalm Death, and then he sings....I mean, he REALLY sings! You have to hear it to believe it. Opeth may have the most talented voice, since Glenn Danzig started crooning for the Misfits. In fact, he may even put Danzig to shame.

I know, they're really long songs (most over 10 minutes)...but Opeth writes songs within songs. The hooks, especially on "Bleak," are amazing. And "Harvest?" Can any other metal band, death or not, compose such a moving track?

This band needs to be saluted for caring so much about recording complex, captivating songs, when they know they'll never be on the radio, they'll never be recognized off stage, they'll never appear on Oprah or the Today Show, and they'll never become millionaires. They make music that's original and interesting - music that they can be extremely proud of. Gee, what a concept.

First off, I'm not a death metal fan. I find stuff like Cannibal Corpse unlistenable, and wouldn't touch one of their albums with a ten foot pole. So naturally, I was very hesistant when a friend of mine reccomended Opeth to me. I decided it couldn't hurt to download the album and give it a chance. After all, this friend had very good taste in music, and I trusted him with this. I was very surprised by what I heard. "The Leper Affinity" features the kind of crushing guitar riffs and "cookie monster" style vocals that I was expecting, but unlike with most death metal, they actaully sounded good. Buried under these raging riffs was a great melody, and evidence of great songwriting and composing. By about three minutes into the song, I could tell I was going to enjoy this. But then the song got even better, as the time signature changes started coming into play, and it showed some complexity. Around the 5 minute mark, the cookie monster vocals stopped and were replaced by a crystal clear, starightforward vocal style. It hardly sounded like the same band. By the time the high-powered "Leper Affinity" was over, I couldn't wait to hear the rest of it. And sure enough, it didn't let me down a bit. "Bleak" is a relatively simple song, with a melody catchy enough to be enjoyable, but loud enough to get you fired up. When the vocals shift to normal style overtop of the electric riff, it really shows just how amazing a band Opeth is. After two amazing songs in a row, "Harvest" falls a little short, but is still a good song. It gives a glimpse of what would come on 2003's Damnation, as it is all acoustic guitar and clear vocals, making for a very beautiful piece. "The Drapery Falls" returns to the brilliant style of the first two songs, opening with a short acoustic intro before more of Opeth's soaring guitar riffs kick in. The melody here is great once again, and the structure makes the song an incredible ride, constantly shifting from quiet acoustic bits to explosive rock outs. "Dirge For November" opens as another simple acoustic piece, before the ususal wall of electric guitars comes from nowhere. This is the most sinister sounding song on the album, and one that fans of the usual type of death metal will appreciate. That said, the intensity it reaches is incredible, and it certainly ranks among the finest songs in Opeth's repetoire. "The Funeral Portait" has one of the most high energy riffs on the album, and the guitar solo shows that these guys have a pretty good idea of how to play their instruments. That said, it's also the least addictive track on here, and the weakest (though on an album of this strength that means very little) "Patters In The Ivy" is a brief but beautiful acoustic guitar and piano instrumental, serving as more of an interlude than anything. "Blackwater Park" closes the album out the same way it started. Crushing riffs, screamy vocals and a weird but cool song structure. This song is a true epic, and will be appreciated by anyone who likes loud music.

As a whole, this is the only time "cookie monster" style vocals have not bothered me. Opeth takes the attitude of death metal, but gives it a rythm and melody, as well as great lyrics. If some death metal bands would only learn from them, the genre could maybe become tolerable. In fact, several months after first discovering and loving this album, it has not only held up over time, but I've grown to love it even more. I can honestly say this record deserves 5 stars, and any music listeners should hear it. Liking metal isn't important, they are so easy to appreciate that it shouldn't matter. One of the best albums of all time.

First of all I just want to say the only reason I prefer Opeth's "Still Life" is purely due to personal thinking, it is not musically superior to "Blackwater Park", in fact, I don't think anything can touch it!
With every album Opeth have demonstrated their formidable talent, uniqueness and confindence in not being afraid to hold anything back, but equally importantly they have shown increasing maturity as they have progressed through the years, and "Blackwater Park" is definately their most mature work to date, a stunning masterpiece packed with melodies, guitar solos, death metal and many calm passages, theres even a fully acoustic song here: "Harvest", brilliant and very professional.
On first listen of "Blackwater Park" songs that caught me especially were "Bleak" and "Blackwater Park", the title song. Both very lengthy and dark, the latter exceeding 12 minutes, and every second is worth it. "Patterns in the Ivy" is a very short song no more than 2 minutes long with just a guitar and piano, I must admit I think this a beautiful piece of music, as I'm sure many people will agree, perfectly suited to preceed the epic closer.
Other really bulky songs on this album are the great opener "The Leper Affinity" and "The Drapery Falls", again both demonstrating brilliant musicianship and confidence, I'm guessing conifidence is not an issue for a band like Opeth.
People have told me in the past their favourite song on this album is "The Funeral Portrait", this song does indeed possess one of the albums best riffs, but personally I prefer "Dirge for November", it is slightly shorter than your average Opeth song, and has rather a different structure aswell, with a long deathy bridge in the middle, preceeded and succeeded by acoustic parts, the later acoustic part being my favourite passage in the whole album, simply outstanding and almost "Katatonic" that is, sounding slightly like Katatonia, but lets leave the comparisons to Katatonia aside, I prefer Opeth!
Every album by Opeth possesses it's own element that is above all the other albums, with "Blackwater Park" I would say it demonstrates another step forward for Opeth with regards to maturity, and song writing brillance, without tailing off into looking for an excuse to show off, a fault I feel Dream Theater have demonstrated.
My favourite songs: "Bleak" "Blackwater Park".
I'd strongly recommend "Blackwater Park" to anyone looking for something different to listen to in terms of heavy music, in fact I'd probably bore them to death by going on about it too much!

This is THE Opeth album that has the power to convert non-metallers to death metal. At least, it happened for me and a few friends. When I first got this album, the only songs I heard were "Harvest" and "Patterns in the Ivy," yeah, the two songs that have absolutely no hint of death metal in them. I didn't like death metal when I got this CD. The only death-vocals I had heard at that point were Cannibal Corpse - what a horrible first impression of death metal. I thought most death metal would be similar - wow, how naïve of me. But it seemed like Opeth was being worshipped by everyone I observed, and I had to know what the deal was, so, I bought it without hearing any of the actual heavy songs Opeth are known for. Actually, I got Morningrise shortly before this, but I was barely interested in it, again, I liked only the song without any death-growls, "To Bid You Farewell." Boy was I in for a treat.

I gave the album many listens when I first got it. It grew on me very slowly. At first, I specifically only liked the acoustic parts in the songs. Then, I started to tolerate the heavier parts, still shunning away the growls however. Then I began to tolerate the death vocals, and finally, after many listens, I actually enjoyed them and appreciated them, and realized the vocal style is just another tool in music just like anything else, having its own unique qualities. What an album to be introduced to death vocals. The newer-style (MAYH and after) growls of Mikael Akerfeldt remain the best death-vocals I've ever heard. They are a truly demonic sounding, lower-pitched, frightening experience. Not to mention, the lyrics of Opeth are some of the most poetic and contain great imagery.

Just an idea how this album inspired an enormous ongoing chain reaction in my music collection: I had about 50 CDs when I bought this in February 2002, now I have over 325 and that number is steadily rising. Around 140 of them are metal of some form or another, probably 99% I would have never heard of, or never gave a chance if I hadn't liked this first. Trust me I'm not bragging, I know there are people with way bigger collections, I'm just saying, in a way, it all started here.

Anyway, for those of you already into metal, my little story is irrelevant. We've all got to start somewhere. Compared to other metal bands, Opeth isn't usually as heavy overall. Some parts of this album and most others have some very heavy, aggressive parts, but it is generally not consistent all the way through any song. Their songs are long, winding, progressive journeys with still the best contrast of heavy and soft parts compared to any other band (excluding "Damnation" of course). Actually this album has slightly more traditional song structures, compared mostly to their first two albums.

I think this is Opeth's most "Autumny" sounding album. "Harvest," another word for the season, really accentuates this feeling, but most of the folksy parts in the songs do also. It starts out with "The Leper Affinity," with a slow, suspenseful ambient sound that quickly goes into the main song. A good portion of this song is very aggressive, with a barrage of brilliant riffs one after another. After a good 4 minutes, the song settles down a little for a short instrumental heavy part, and then suddenly turns into beautiful acoustic playing for no more than a minute, then returning to the heaviness. And when I said suddenly, it is kind of unexpected, but in a good way. It flows very well in the song and fits perfectly, just at the right time. The song does another musical backflip at the end, slowly fading into a dark, sparse piano melody. "Bleak" is my favorite song here. It starts off with a little acoustic playing above the distorted wall of sound. The vocals here are truly magnificent. After a few "choruses," it goes into an amazing heavy riff with Steven Wilson singing, it couldn't sound more perfect. After that it calms down into an autumny, calmer, a little jazzy part, once again returning to the heaviness, same as the clean vocal part before. The song fades out into a messy distorted noise until the warm, welcoming strumming of "Harvest" starts. This song is has one of the most traditional song structures for the band, but it's one of those songs that are so good, it doesn't matter if it's a little repetitive. It's not too long, and contains perfect harmonized vocals, and a great solo.

"The Drapery Falls" starts kind of the same, but quickly adds one of the best distorted guitar riffs I've ever heard. This next part switches from a softer strumming and calmer vocals to a heavy, melodic riff with more powerful, yet still clean vocals. Then the death vocals begin, they go on for a while, and later stop quite suddenly for an intensely contrasted part, awesome strumming that keeps switching to ultra-aggressive drumming and heavy guitars. This is probably my second favorite song here. Next is "Dirge for November." This starts out with the softest part of the album, almost balladic with a prog-rock feeling that would later be fully explored on "Damnation", and then very suddenly goes into the middle section which is some of the heaviest stuff on the CD. Then it goes back to a very soft, instrumental jazzy part. This part goes on for slightly too long though without changing and is my single, tiny complaint on this album. Next is "The Funeral Portrait" which starts with a suspenseful acoustic playing then beginning one of the best riffs in the universe with perfect aggressive vocals to go along with it. All this song's riffs are some of the best I've ever heard. Near the end has a few clean vocals, but other than that there is no clam part, and there is no need for one. "Patterns in the Ivy" reverts back to the other side of the spectrum. It's a gorgeous 2-minute very soft instrumental piece with acoustics and piano. "Blackwater Park" opens with a heart-pounding riff and goes into a very heavy, mostly instrumental heavy part, then goes into a good 3-minute very atmospheric, ambient instrumental part. The rest of the song is some of the heaviest material here, containing nothing but impressive riffs, and no clean vocals in this song, ending the album with a monumental finishing scream, riff, and tiny little acoustic outro.

Give this album a really honest chance if you haven't heard metal before. It's VERY much an acquired taste. Try to listen without distractions. Their whole discography is brilliant so far. They turned out to be much deeper than anything I've heard before. My favorite band at the time was Tool and I thought they were deep - they still are, but a mere pond compared to Opeth which was now a mighty ocean in my eyes.