March 12, 2001 - Blackwater Park

A month after my last release and a year and a half since "Still Life", Opeth released their fifth album "Blackwater Park" on March 12, 2001. Opeth continue to play the same style of progressive death metal as usual, but I wasn't the only person who absolutely loved their last album... Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson liked it so much that he contacted Mikael Akerfeldt about being the producer on their next album, and the two became good friends! Not only is the amazing Steven Wilson the producer of this album, but he also contributes clean vocals, some additional guitar, and some piano as well! Akerfeldt has said that Wilson had a huge influence on this album and what a wonderful collaboration this is! Let's check out the latest from Opeth!

The album kicks off with the over ten minute track "The Leper Affinity" and after a quiet first few seconds they emerge into a nice heavy riff with some pretty good contributions from everyone: cool guitar leading the way from Akerfeldt and Peter Lindgren, some solid bass by Martin Mendez and some nice drums by Martin Lopez as well, all finished off by the amazing death growls of Akerfeldt that sound as heavy and awesome as ever. Words don't do proper justice to how smooth and well-done this prog-y metal is with several minutes of lots of good stuff. Eventually they switch to a lighter vibe as Akerfeldt plays some fantastic fast acoustic guitar and he sings a beautiful verse to match this new mood perfectly; don't forget, he's a great singer too! They segue from here to a new heavy riff that sounds just as cool as the beginning and it ties perfectly back into that same early riff. After another excellent and heavy round they take things in yet another new direction with a really great backdrop filled with cool guitar and bass with an epic guitar solo overtop that isn't too flashy, bit ot sure sounds great. Around nine minutes in the song seems to be over, but Wilson starts to play a slow, epic piano riff and this takes us all the way to the end of the song. It's a little unexpected and out of character, but it's an epic piano part and I thought this was a phenomenal way to open the album! Up next is "Bleak" and it's got a kinda slow but plenty epic and awesome riff to start off with Akerfeldt and Lindgren both playing some cool guitar. Mikael's low growls sound great as usual and they play this very smooth and solid part for several minutes before finally reaching the chorus. It's got some more catchy and cool guitars and Wilson sings the chorus! He sounds decent but he sounds pretty timid compared to Akerfeldt! They both sing together for a few lines in a cool part, but most of the chorus is all Wilson. After the chorus they take off on a new prog-y adventure with both guitarists playing different stuff that blends together beautifully. Akerfeldt eventually sings a short verse overtop this silky smooth parts then they transition nicely to a heavier version of the same riff, with a solo overtop to boot in a nice part! The solo segues very nicely into a new headbanger of a riff with some catchy bass and of course some pretty cool guitars. This somehow leads perfectly back into the chorus and after another Wilson-led chorus Akerfeldt growls in an awesome closing minute of the song that is easily the heaviest part, and unsurprisingly my favourite part of the song. Another solid long prog tune! Track 3 is "Harvest" and it's driven by a smooth rhythm guitar riff that reminds me of Opeth's older stuff while the other guitarist plays some slow and epic stuff overtop. Akerfeldt comes in to sing a smooth verse that matches the mood perfectly and the rhythm section quietly plays some cool stuff in the background. There's no screaming on this song at all, giving it an obviously lighter and less heavy feel, but things still sound very prog-y and solid. The lead guitarist eventually plays a long solo that isn't too flashy, but it sounds plenty epic and still pretty cool. It's a very well executed break from the death metal. The next track is "The Drapery Falls" and we're back to another cool metal riff with some pretty cool bass by Mendez in the background, a typically heavy and solid guitar riff to keep the pace, and some pretty sweet lead guitar as well to complete this pretty sweet opening riff. This goes on for nearly two minutes until the mood drastically shifts to a quiet new riff with Akerfeldt playing some cool acoustic guitar and singing an epic and pretty cool verse overtop. Things briefly get heavy again in a nice segue, but then just as quickly they fall quiet again for another verse. After this verse things get loud again and they set the stage nicely for an epic guitar solo that is pretty quick and pretty cool! After the solo Akerfeldt returns to his trademark death growls and continues to sound so fucking good! After this growled verse the hest really turns up with Akerfeldt and Lindgren both playing some fast and pretty sweet guitar in yet another cool prog metal riff. Akerfeldt then growls another wonderful verse, then sings an epic verse, and then they hit reset and bring it all back to the main riff in a really well done segue. Then they jam this out until the end, a really well done 11 minute song! Bravo guys! Track 5 is "Dirge For November" and it starts very slow and quiet with just Akerfeldt playing acoustic and singing by himself. Things sound quietly really epic and Lindgren comes in next with some cool light electric guitar that goes nicely with the acoustic riff. They go like this for about 1:45, and then out of nowhere they snap into a typical heavy metal Opeth riff that just hits so hard and unexpectedly! After a long instrumental part Akerfeldt finally starts to growl and he holds some long, dirty growls that sound incredible! It's so fucking heavy and I love it! Along with some excellent guitars, bass and drums this is some pretty awesome metal! After several minutes of great stuff the mood snaps back just as suddenly as it snapped in and we hear more acoustic guitar and Wilson adding some creepy keyboards to the background that make things sound very haunting and pretty cool. This takes us to the end of this very interesting and pretty cool song. Up next is "The Funeral Portrait" and it starts with a creepy and cool guitar riff that gets louder and louder until the rest of the band comes crashing in with a heavy and pretty awesome metal riff that somehow goes with this opening riff rather nicely. Akerfeldt growls and screams overtop and he hits a couple nice high screams to go along with his great growling. They awesomely jam out this riff for several minutes, then there's a brief slow down with Lopez playing some cool drums, only to fire right back into the heavy awesomeness. There's an epic and pretty cool guitar solo and they continue to just rock out non-stop heaviness on this one! Akerfeldt eventually sings a verse over five minutes in to the song and it sets the stage for another pretty cool guitar solo. This takes us almost to the end of the song, then they jam out a cool new riff that is pretty catchy and it eventually fades to a finish. Another pretty awesome song, I loved all the growling and heaviness! Track 7 is a short instrumental interlude called "Patterns In The Ivy" and Akerfeldt plays a cool acoustic guitar riff while Wilson adds some slow but epic piano in the background. It's a quiet but pretty cool little song that is a nice break between the long progressive songs. Speaking of which, the final song on the album is the longest at over twelve minutes and it's the title track "Blackwater Park". The first two-plus minutes are all instrumental and it's gotta be one of the grooviest main riffs! The guitars sound so smooth, heavy and catchy! It's a great first couple minutes, and then Akerfeldt starts to growl overtop so it gets even better! After a couple verses the mood shifts drastically to a quiet new riff with Akerfeldt leading the way with a fast and cool acoustic riff with a haunting background. This goes on for a couple minutes, then they nicely ramp into a new heavy riff with another pretty bitchin' lead guitar riffby Lindgren and Akerfeldt holding some nice long growls. There's a short but sweet guitar solo, and then a bunch more great progressive metal for several minutes! It just never lets up all the way for the second half of the song and words don't do proper justice to all the great music they play. The last 45 seconds are acoustic guitar and nothing else as Akerfeldt coolly and smoothly plays out the song and the album.

That is the end of "Blackwater Park" and I thought it was a pretty phenomenal album! Opeth continue to make some of the best and heaviest metal, and yet they also absolutely nail the softer parts, which there are a bit more of on this album, but they are all very tasteful and cool. With half the songs being pretty fucking sweet, and the other half being pretty good as well, this album is easily better than their first three albums, but their last album "Still Life" was awesome as well. I think it's really close  which shows how great both these albums are, but I'm giving the slight edge to this latest album, making "Blackwater Park" their best album yet! Opeth continue to outdo themselves and I can't wait for more!