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Reviews for Opeth - Blackwater Park:

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A new masterpiece of metal was made from this guys, a very smooth cross between death metal and doom metal, this time the sound is clear and very pro., simply I love this record If you don't buy this album you are losing one of the best metal albums over the world. (I think what this album is the best record of the 2001 !)
Arcane_XIII@hotmail.com

Review by: Arcane_XIII

Opeth has matured over the years. From their first album where tracks are a mix of unrelated (but many) riffs, here they are more organized. There is, in typical opeth style, lots of distorted and acoustic guitars thrown in and of course numerous melodic riffs. The diversity of opeth's music can be seen in ballads like 'harvest' where only clean guitars and clean vocals are employed and then brutal death metal as in 'leper affinity'. I also used to find opeth lyrics lacking a sense of direction but this time around Mikael outdoes himself with some of the most beautifully written songs. Blackwater Park is definitely the best release of 2001 and possibly the best melodic death metal album ever. Highly recommended.

Review by: VickedVay

Actually i just bought this album and it is really Awesome! Blackwater Park is a real masterpiece. i love Opeth so much! i guess this album is great, and they play so well at it. Hail Opeth..

Review by: iNfernum

Opeth is a truly amazing band that i like very mouch, BlackWater Park is their latest release. its damn good. just as good as any other opeht album.
All songs are fantastic, you just slips away from reality when you put on a opeth cd. amazing is the word. its good clean production as always, mouch piano and no-disted giutars that gives this record that little extra. buy this.

Review by: enthroned

Opeth are good but not as good as Desire...they are the same style like him but not have this energy and agression in the music. I'd like if anyone will listen to desire and compare this two bands...it would be great.

Review by: Zagule

OPETH – Blackwater Park
(Music For Nations Records)
It’s no secret that lately I’ve been listening to a lot of progressive and experimental acts and Swedish legend Opeth fits that need just perfectly. The band even uses a death grunt so there’s still some connection with the brutal stuff although Opeth has way more to offer than the regular dog barking-style of band. If it were up to me, I’d put in more clear vocals because the “normal” style-of-singing of singer Mikael is absolutely magnificent, no doubt about that. I’m so very much in love with this record, to me it’s even better than the legendary “Still Life” CD (99). All the songs are very complex, long and pretty inscrutable. Many listening sessions are necessary to get to the bottom of it all and once you’ve succeeded in doing that, you’ll realize “Blackwater Park” is a true classic. The music could be described as progressive death metal but actually takes on the intensity of classical music. Opening song “The Leper Affinity” is the perfect example of Opeth’s unique blend of strange yet flowing musical writing. From the moment the acoustic part kicks in, I knew Opeth did it once again. A great piano solo finishes off this track. If you think it won’t get better after the first song, guess again because the Arabian atmospheres in “Bleak” are way beyond beautiful. Mikael’s vocals absolutely add a lot to it. I don’t think it’s really necessary to treat every song on the record because they’re all fantastic, but since it’s my job to give you the best impression possible of a record I’ll get into it some more. Next up is the folk song “Harvest” that shows again what a terrific singer Mikael is (ok, I’ll try to keep the sucking up in control here :))… It’s funny how a band that sounds so extreme at times is able to write such a lovely and relaxed tune. After that melodic and catchy song “The Drapery Falls” then retakes the complex structures that are abundant on this record. Both acoustic and electric melodies, both death grunt and clear vocals and some very odd sounding guitar pieces... You get it all! One of the many highlights of this album! Opeth succeeds in weaving all these different parts together without everything sounding awkward. They have a lot of long bridges where the vocals are left out, but the song keeps on evolving. This works perfectly since you don’t have to listen to the same riffs over and over again, everything is always changing. “Dirge For November” is a great example of that. What is so great about the 6th song “The Funeral Portrait” is that it starts off with an acoustic part that continues when the electric guitars and the death grunt kick in. This song also has a great Celtic Frost-ian riff in it. The construction is so very well-thought out that it all sounds like it was supposed be this way although you get many riffs thrown at you in one single track. “Patterns In The Ivy” is a short instrumental and confirms that Opeth have a knack for writing acoustic interludes although this could have been left out. The title track completes this record and is the most straight-forward song on the record (if you can ever call Opeth’s music straight-forward of course). The first break in this track is so damn heavy it will cause serious head injury. Too bad an acoustic part follows immediately thereafter instead of some more heavy riffs that to me would have fitted this song better. But who am I to tell these brilliant musicians what to do? :) Maybe the least of all songs so they definitely didn’t save the best for last. That acoustic part goes on for too long I think, something we’re not used to when listening to Opeth. This band is the perfect example that you don’t have to follow trends to be successful. Opeth always walked its very own path and therefore deserves the very best. I’m not sure they will ever be able to top this record but miracles can still occur of course. :) I always thought Dream Theater could never be able to top “Images And Words” but “Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From A Memory” proved they could (more or less anyway). Ok, I’m not saying Opeth has the same magical qualities as that mentioned band (probably the best progressive act around) but I’m quoting this as evidence a better album is always possible. Actually I could have limited this review to one single word instead of writing almost a whole article. That word would have been : BUY!!!

My marking : 9/10
Lyrics : “Drained by the coldest caress, stalking shadows ahead. Halo of death, all I see is departure. Mourner’s lament but it’s me who’s the martyr.”

Review by: Jense

This is a really great album. I would recommend it to anyone who likes agressive, yet melancholic music and this band is far better than desire. Desire is just another doom-gothic band. Kind of a mix of Anathema and Sentenced (last few albums). Nice but nothing special and certainly no where near a brilliant band like Opeth

Review by: werewolf666

Judging by newsgroup activity in the past few months, Blackwater Park is probably the most eagerly anticipated metal release of 2001. The participation of Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson has raised all sorts of questions in Opeth fans' minds: Would Opeth turn pop? Would Blackwater Parksound like Meddle or Animals? What would Wilson add to Opeth's already well-defined sound? The real question, however, was whether Opeth would be able to accomplish the feat of improving upon their watershed 1999 album Still Life, with its compelling storyline, inspired songwriting, and overall stunning brilliance.

But there are few cut-and-dried answers, and this is no exception. Wilson's presence can be felt in a handful of touches of prog-style vocal and mix filtering and his pleasant backup vocals. But he did not alter Opeth's sound dramatically: there are no synth/Mellotron washes to applaud or drawn-out ethereal passages to deplore, for instance. An early-King Crimson influence pops un in various places ("The Leper Affinity"), with discreet vocal filtering and the vocal/acoustic guitar interplay strongly evoking In the Court of the Crimson King and In the Wake of Poseidon. It would be facile to ascribe this influence to Wilson alone - Opeth has repeatedly demonstrated that they are quite conversant in classic prog rock.

To conclude with a few brief answers, then: Is this album a turning point in Opeth's sound? No. Will it have the astonishing staying power of Still Life? Hard to tell, but this reviewer doubts it. Is it a worthy addition to an Opeth fan's collection? Definitely.

Review by: Gravedaddy666

Perhaps one of the best albums of the history of metal!! This masterpiece wastes quality and virtuosity through the album. The best songs are Bleak and The Drappery Falls. A excellent mixture of Death Doom and Progressive Metal. Simply the best.

Review by: Shankao

All around it's a pretty well-maintained album. More technical then their old stuff, but still maintains a certain amout of structure to make it sound brilliant. The Leper Affinity is one of the most philisophycal songs in the history of time...i mean "I am beyond Death" that's insane, any one who claims to be beyond death is a god, Mikael and the others surely prove that they are on this album.

Review by: Mark

Great album, i think this is the best of Opeth so far.
The songs Blackwater park and The Drapery Falls are the two best songs of the album. Blackwater park is the first song i listened from Opeth. since i listened to that song it was my favorite band, with this record as the best they have (in my opinion).
One word : BUY !

Review by: Khold666IsGreat

This is a bit longer review as the last one. First thing to say is that this is one of the best progressive death metal albums ever. Songs like The Leper Affinity, The Drapery Fals and Blackwater Park just blew me away when i was first listening to them.
Just great guitarwork and perfect drumwork of Martin Lopez (ex-Amon Amarth).
I have heard a lot about that Opeth would be Death Metal, but without the perfect growling vocals of Mikael Akerfeldt there isn't much of Death metal in it. It is a lot of progressive metal with Deat metal vocals. The fifth track on the album Dirge for November is even a bit of a Doom/Death song. But the rest is quite melodic. Only Blackwater Park is so fucking heavy after the acoustic part right after the start of the song.
Actually Opeth is already a genre on their own! It's one of the most beautiful metal records ever made. My personal favorite of Opeth.

95/100

Review by: Khold666IsGreat

Opeth is the greatest metal band there is and ever was. Opeth are so talented that they beat out every competitor there is. Blackwater park is a great album. Not as great as Still life, but still pretty damn good to say the least.
In fact don't read anymore of this go out and buy the damn thing.

9.9/10

Review by: illnath

The best of their albums definately!Just listen to the second track called 'Bleak'.Death metal perfection!!!The voice of Akerfeld is very melodic and beautiful at the clean vocals and his brutals are the best I 've ever heard.8 tracks of well played melodic death metal. Just go and buy it!

Review by: gothic priestess

After again a year of listening i can't say different than this. This is a masterpiece 10/10 i never have enjoyed an album like this so intens.

Review by: khold666isgreat

"Blackwater Park" is a more bleak and dark piece. My personal favorites are "The Leper Affinity"," The Funeral Portrait", "Bleak", and "Blackwater Park". The overall mood is more suited to a metal fan's liking than "Damnation" and reaches both the nadirs and zeniths of the human experience. An interesting as well as another engaging Opeth find.

Review by: ghost of perdition

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