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Watershed (Special Edition) | 
 enlarge | Artist: Opeth
Label: Warner
Category: Music
Buy New: £11.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 295
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
UPC: 016861796280
EAN: 0016861796280
ASIN: B0015435Q6
Release Date: June 2, 2008 (In 17 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Not yet released
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| » | Coil | | » | Heir Apparent | | » | Lotus Eater | | » | Burden | | » | Porcelain Heart | | » | Hessian Peel | | » | Hex Omega | | » | Derelict Herds | | » | Bridge of Sighs (Robin Trower Cover) | | » | Den Standiga Resan (Marie Fredriksson Cover) |
Disc 2
| » | 1 Album Mix | | » | Making Of The Album Documentary | | » | Exclusive interviews | | » | Expanded artwork |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
A Return to Form May 14, 2008
Since Blackwater Park, I have had mixed opinions on each Opeth release with the exception of Damnation. I felt Ghost Reveries, from the view point of a very long term Opeth fan, was a complete let down. I felt the structure was too chaotic and the keyboards were thrown in just for the sake of having keyboards. Apart from Baying of the Hounds, none of the other songs last long in the memory and even stand out and grab me when listening to them like Opeth songs almost always do! Now on to Watershed, I feel that this album is a return to the emotion and majesty of Still Life. There are more calmer moments than previous albums, but this is the direction I thought Opeth would head in since including a permanent Keyboardist. Opeth will eventually turn into a more Prog Metal outift more so than Prgo Death Metal, which is fine with me. The guitar work is far more harmonic and the riffs more stay in the mind and grab me not like anything written since Still Life. Mikael really pushes his vocals too both in Death growls but more so in his clean vocals. Also, at last I can say that the Keyboardist plays a positive part in each of the songs, unlike Ghost Reveries where they just feel thrown in on many of the songs. Overall, if you're an old Opeth fan like me, you will not be disappointed. I know, having spoken to alot of Opeth fans, that alot of the older Opeth fans (pre Blackwater Park)although still love Opeth simply for the first 5 albums, feel as though they lost it a bit in recent years, well this is a return to form. It doesn't equal anything pre-Blackwater Park, but definately shows that Opeth hasn't lost anything since.
 Opeth prove beyond doubt that they are peerless... May 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having lived with the new Opeth opus (for that is what it is) for about a week now, I can honestly say, without hyperbole, that not only is this the best album released by the band so far, but easily the finest release by any band this year. The shear depth and bleak(!)majesty takes my breath away every time I play it again(and again, and again etc). To say they've thought outside the metal box is a severe understatement, with swirling organs, proggish breakdowns and gorgeous vocal melody lines that only serve to compliment the more aggressive moments, of which there are plenty. This all goes into the pot to produce a classic(and I mean that)album that gets better with each listen and will, I'm sure, stand the test of time. Nice work boys.
A Masterpiece... No Joke! May 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Oh my god...
Like all Opeth albums it takes a few listens to get into, that's the beauty of Opeth's lasting appeal as the music doesn't get old. But this one has some extra tangents that have never been used before. I don't want to spoil them for you but there are some interesting things going on in here.
A lot of the album really goes back to their Deep Purple influences I can here s1974-1975 Purple-esque sounds coming out from every dark beautiful corner of this album. Imagine DPs Child in Time mixed with Emperor mixed with Pink Floyd.
I think it is a daring move using a lot of the things they have done in the album but as a whole album it really works. Opeth fans and well versed music fans alike will not be disappointed by this album it is both sinister and beautiful.
For want of a better term I think the direct of the band is much more Prog than it has ever been. The new line up is great and the only thing that's missing from the record as previous ones is some of Martin Lopez's drumming. Don't get me wrong I love Martin Axenrot but Lopez was a bit more of a tasteful drummer. Axenrot has a tendency to over do things where Lopez would have known less is more.
All in all a great album - Well worth the money and I'm not saying this from a `fan boy' perspective this is from a music lover!
For `open minded' fans of - Deep Purple, Emperor, Pink Floyd, Mostly Autumn, Camel, Therion, Porcupine Tree and Katatonia.
 Opeth- Watershed LP Review (5.5/10) April 30, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
You can be rest assured that a band that's developed as devoted a cult following as Opeth has, hardly needs to worry about their latest being received as anything less than monumental. It's not even out yet and bloggers have already begun to lob it excessively ecstatic praise. I'm just hoping that Opeth doesn't listen to their listeners, because after the irrational fandom that we all have for Opeth settles, the bottom line is that they're really gonna need to focus in order to bounce back from the disappointment that is Watershed.
Essentially, Watershed retreads the balance between brutality and beauty that Ghost Reveries achieved, except with half the inspiration. "Heir Apparent" and "The Lotus Eater" form the meat of the first half and they're depressingly typical for Opeth, filled with all the expected death metal chops and progressive structures but none of the heart. If a song is gonna waste 9 minutes of your life, it should at least be sincere and coherent, but these songs never come together as much more than demonstrations of dexterity. It's volume and misplaced intensity without any memorable dynamics or soul. The slow-paced "Burden" is much more basic, but probably even worse. Opeth have always hinted at their dreams of being featured on Monster Ballads, but they've usually had the sense to reign in their hair metal urges by balancing them with a sense of the arcane and attention to composition. "Burden" throws this rule completely out the window for an extremely predictable and cheesy power ballad. The solos are admittedly, accomplished, but hardly are enjoyable thanks to how easy it is to imagine Steve Vai jamming along.
It's after the dissonant Spanish guitar noodling that separates the two halves, that the possibilities of Watershed become apparent. "Porcelain Heart" is the first song on the album that stops messing around and takes Opeth's legacy seriously, with consistent quiet-loud dynamics that are continually breathtaking for the full 8 minutes. The hair trigger riffage of "Hex Omega" and beautiful landscapes of "Hessian Peel" are even more exciting and both rank among Opeth's finest. But since the album is only 7 tracks, it picks up the pace a little too late to save itself from mediocrity.
Many critics will probably cop out and blame the drop in quality on the departure of guitarist, Peter Lindgren, but that's just laziness. Mikael Akerfeldt is the main songwriter and he shows he hasn't lost anything on the album's second half. Maybe the near-perfection of Ghost Reveries set a standard that was too intimidating. Or perhaps writing songs between the nearly 200 performances of the tour are what resulted in the rushed feel of the album's first half. Critical analysis aside, Watershed is quite simply an album with half good tracks and half bad tracks. It's a listening experience that frustrates as much as it thrills, made all the more infuriating by the fact that it's come from one of the best death metal bands of the decade. (Aron Fischer)
For fans of: Tiamat, Metallica, Emperor, King Diamond, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Morbid Angel, Steve Vai (I wasn't joking)
Opeth- Watershed LP Review (5.5/10) April 30, 2008
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
You can be rest assured that a band that's developed as devoted a cult following as Opeth has, hardly needs to worry about their latest being received as anything less than monumental. It's not even out yet and bloggers have already begun to lob it excessively ecstatic praise. I'm just hoping that Opeth doesn't listen to their listeners, because after the irrational fandom that we all have for Opeth settles, the bottom line is that they're really gonna need to focus in order to bounce back from the disappointment that is Watershed.
Essentially, Watershed retreads the balance between brutality and beauty that Ghost Reveries achieved, except with half the inspiration. "Heir Apparent" and "The Lotus Eater" form the meat of the first half and they're depressingly typical for Opeth, filled with all the expected death metal chops and progressive structures but none of the heart. If a song is gonna waste 9 minutes of your life, it should at least be sincere and coherent, but these songs never come together as much more than demonstrations of dexterity. It's volume and misplaced intensity without any memorable dynamics or soul. The slow-paced "Burden" is much more basic, but probably even worse. Opeth have always hinted at their dreams of being featured on Monster Ballads, but they've usually had the sense to reign in their hair metal urges by balancing them with a sense of the arcane and attention to composition. "Burden" throws this rule completely out the window for an extremely predictable and cheesy power ballad. The solos are admittedly, accomplished, but hardly are enjoyable thanks to how easy it is to imagine Steve Vai jamming along.
It's after the dissonant Spanish guitar noodling that separates the two halves, that the possibilities of Watershed become apparent. "Porcelain Heart" is the first song on the album that stops messing around and takes Opeth's legacy seriously, with consistent quiet-loud dynamics that are continually breathtaking for the full 8 minutes. The hair trigger riffage of "Hex Omega" and beautiful landscapes of "Hessian Peel" are even more exciting and both rank among Opeth's finest. But since the album is only 7 tracks, it picks up the pace a little too late to save itself from mediocrity.
Many critics will probably cop out and blame the drop in quality on the departure of guitarist, Peter Lindgren, but that's just laziness. Mikael Akerfeldt is the main songwriter and he shows he hasn't lost anything on the album's second half. Maybe the near-perfection of Ghost Reveries set a standard that was too intimidating. Or perhaps writing songs between the nearly 200 performances of the tour are what resulted in the rushed feel of the album's first half. Critical analysis aside, Watershed is quite simply an album with half good tracks and half bad tracks. It's a listening experience that frustrates as much as it thrills, made all the more infuriating by the fact that it's come from one of the best death metal bands of the decade. (Aron Fischer)
For fans of: Tiamat, Metallica, Emperor, King Diamond, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Morbid Angel, Steve Vai (I wasn't joking)
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