Ahh, so, We all saw it coming, a new album from Opeth, and it's what all Opeth fans have been waiting for since Ghost Revries was played out (but not worn out). As most people probably already know, Watershed is the title of the new album, and is the first one to feature the drumming of Martin "Axe" Axenrot (Bloodbath, Satanic Slaughter, Witchery), and the epic guitaring of Fredrik Åkesson (Krux, Talisman), and of course features noise from Per Wiberg, Martin Mendez and the one and only Mikael Åkerfeldt.
As to be expected the album was leaked to all a few weeks before the release date, which is always a shame. I find it ruin the experience of cracking open a newly bought album, an flicking through the booklet as I hear the album for the first time. Almost feels like christmas, especially when it's a band as awesome as Opeth, and an album as good as this one!
At first fans didn't seem all too happy about the different sound, those that 'acquired' it started talking about things that were wrong with it. The criticism started with the live recording of Heir Apparent, which I saw the day it was out, and as expected, it boosted my excitement for the album more than you could imagine. Of course it was the bands first live show since Peter's departure, so you can't really blame the band if they weren't playing 100% on a brand new song, while on a boat out at sea with a lead singer who apparently suffers from a bit of sea sickness.
The sound on the video wasn't the best, but what I heard within that recording was just amazing. and now that I finally have the CD, I must say the album is precisely what I was looking for.
The opener, Coil, is a short, clean/acoustic number featuring the vocals of Nathalie Lorichs alongside Mikael. This also marks the first time for a guest vocalist to be featured on an Opeth record, and yes, I do know that Steven Wilson has done vocals on previous albums, but nothing as 'solo' as this. Already we can tell this is going to be a completely different Opeth album, but in a very good way, to be sure. As coil Coil bids farewell, an epic introduction to Heir Apparent sounds.This song sounds so different on the record if you compare it to the live recording that surfaced in April. Those who decided to judge the album from that alone are truly fools. Again this album follows the same old Opeth rule, with the mixture of clean and heavy sections, but, as I'm sure many people will argue, it's not the same as the other records! Sure, they follow the same methods in pretty much all of their albums, but there's always a new twist added to make it somewhat different to the previous albums. I could go into a futile attempt to explain all the differences between albums, but this isn't a review of all their albums, just this one.
This alum certainly features a lot of different, experimental endings. Heir Apparent finished with an interesting medium to high pitch feedback sound, while irritating to some, it does add to 'dramatic effect'.
The Lotus Eater, has itself a rather interesting beginning. Basically Mike singing along with some of pers playing, before going straight into heavy guitars and blast beats. Now that's what I'm talking about! Continuing the traditional Opeth-ness with a mixture of growls and clean singing, brutal heavy metal and a very mellow middle section. What I thought was a nice touch was something I never really thought I'd hear in a Opeth record, but it reminded me a LOT of camel, so I suppose it's feasible. Towards the 6 minute mark there's a rather proggy keyboard interlude which sounds remarkable like something you'd expect to hear on a 70s prog record. Certainly a different twist for a record such as this. The ending again being different, loads of speaking with keyboards and screeching violins. Interesting.
Burden begins with a piano playing, before continuing into pure Opeth ballad. A very nice touch indeed, with a pretty long solo section and an ending that you will either love, laugh at or just absolutely hate. It ends with a nice acoustic Melody and solo over the top, then it decays in a way I would never have thought of. As the Melody is played, the guitar is tuned down constantly, occasionally sounding way off, but damn if it isn't interesting.
Porcelain Heart, released officially before the album as a digital single, which I personally would have preferred as a physical release, but you can't always win. This was their second song to be featured in a dodgy Roadrunner film clip. It was quite hilarious in parts, with a few moments of 'what the hell is that all about?', despite all that, it's a very decent song in the end. It features what could have been an updated or re-vamped version of The Grand Conjuration form Ghost Reveries, using the same sort of chord structure, but in a slightly more creative manner and with a nice melody over the top.
Hussain Peel is the only song to extend more than 10 minutes on this record, and it begins with a very jazzy acoustic bit which goes down nicely. They added a bunch of 'hidden' messages, within some reversed vocals. There's probably a bunch of videos on Youtube regarding the matter, and a few extensive topics on the official forum about it all. Some speculate the section around the 2 mins mark, to be a take on Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven since it mentions "My Sweet Satan", which was part of some freakish words present when one part of the song was played in reverse. But, of coarse Opeth's version differed and was intentionally done.
After some soft moment it goes into some awesomely heavy guitars, perfect for insane headbanging.
Hex Omega, begins heavy and awesome and progresses into another softer ballad, which I quite liked. There's some really creative ideas amongst this 7 minute epic masterpiece, kinda hard to explain really, but it makes a wonderful ending to this already amazing album.
Watershed is a whole new step in possibly the right direction for the band as far as popularity goes. Watershed debuted in the top 25 of the U.S. charts, number 7 in Australia and number 1 in Finland. Pretty good for a band that hardly anyone had heard about 2 years ago. They've been experiencing sold out shoes, and people going crazy just to get a taste of Opeth. About damn time too.
All up, this is an album you'll either love, or absolutely hate and wonder where they went wrong. For me, its an album that I absolutely love. It's different to the older Opeth, so it's not another remake of Blackwater Park or Still Life, which I believe their intention is with each new record. If you haven't heard this album yet, buy it as soon as possible. The bonus content in the Special Edition DVD was a Nice addition too, with a 5.1 mix of the whole album, interviews with the band, bonus songs and some jam room sessions.
And as most people probably already know Martin Mendez became a father not too long ago. Noak Mendez Artigas came into this world on the morning of June 14. Many congratulations to Martin and Sandra!
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