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| Artist: Opeth
Label: Warner
Category: Music
List Price: £11.99
Buy New: £9.94
You Save: £2.05 (17%)
New (29) Used (1) from £8.06
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 1092
Format: Enhanced, Limited Edition
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5 x 5 x 0.4
UPC: 016861796280
EAN: 0016861796280
ASIN: B0015435Q6
Release Date: June 2, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: UK DESPATCHED - BRAND NEW UK PRODUCT fully guaranteed. Email notifications and returns by freepost address if not fully satisfied.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Prog Rock June 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
OK this is their best album however, only if your open minded and like prog rock. This is not Death Metal, its as prog as it gets, organs and all. Opeth have progressed and in the most wonderful way. On this album you get far less Growls, far more beauty but its still heavy with lots of great guitar work, electric and acoustic (Camel/Floyd influence maybe in some parts). If you don't like this then your view on music is very narrow indeed. Opeth could loose a lot of their Metal fans but just like Radiohead, the new fans they gain will be more open minded to experimentation. THIS IS A MUST BUY. Old prog rockers like me who carried on progressing even during the terrible eighties when prog almost died, with one or two exceptions, will love this, even the Deep Purple parts. Opeth have always been one of the best prog bands, now they are in the top ten of all time along with, Porcupine Tree, Pain of Salvation, Tool, King Crimson, Beardfish, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead.
 Bit disappointed - very average June 23, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Massive peth fan and was really looking forward to their new album after a cracking Ghost Reveries on roadrunner. Lots of the fans claiming they had sold out once they signed to Roadrunner but you cant blaim em cash wise. However, im tending to agree after listening to this. The first 3 tracks are quite nice but there is nothing on the album of the standard of their usual belters like Deliverance, Drapery Falls, Leper Affinity or Ghost of perdition. They have gone all Pink Floyd - one of the tracks completely rips of the crazy diamonds riff. Too many keyboard Solos that sound like the Doors - shame. However, the dvd is quite cool and watching the new guy Fredrik Akesson riff out in the studio is neat.
Still cant agree with Opeth that the drummer Axe is a legend - i dont think he is even close to Lopez and over-complicates fills that muddle songs. Gutted
Ps - cant believe some of the reviewers are saying this is their best album - get a grip
Sublime June 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
For starters let me just make it clear that i am an avid fan of Opeth, and am therfore likely to be rather bias in their favour. That said, I have to say that this album is a joy.
As with other albums, 'Watershed' shows a further maturity, and new sound, as has become the hallmark of Opeth, with almost every album seemingly heralding a reinvention of one sort or another.
The key aspect of this album is the presance of contrasts. 'Coil', the opening track, is largely acousticly based, and shows off Akerfeldt's ear for harmony and melody in a fashion which is not often showcased by progressive metal bands. Lyrical vocals, together with orchestral backing and a female backing vocalist make this piece all the more striking. Though it may seem a curious choice of instrumentation it works, undoubtedly.
The remaining 6 tracks generally provide a mix of intense riffs and vocals, against sudden breakdowns and instrumental (often orchestral) interludes. At times you may hear timbres more usually associated with jazz or folk, such is the wide ranging pool from which influence for this album is drawn. Particular favourites of mine are 'The Lotus Eater' and 'Hessian Peel.'
A further element of this album which is immideitely noticable is production. The sound of the overall mix on this album is extremely pleasing, as is the level of care taken over the voicing of each instrument, the clean and deep acoustic guitar of 'Coil' is case in point.
One percievable drawback is the sheer length of tracks, the longest is just short of 11.30, and this means that Opeth are not the most accesible band for the casual listener, but given time, this album leaves a lasting impression.
A strongly recommended, and beautiful work.
NOT AFRAID TO NOT PLAY SAFE!! June 20, 2008
Credit to Opeth - It would have been SO easy to have knocked out Ghost Reveries Part 2. This album is a different beast, yet with all the trademarks. There are even more mellow moments and introspections now, and less full on bludgeoning BUT this only makes the Death Metal sections sound that much darker. A band that understands light & shade...
There is less Death Metal vocal work BUT when it arrives, it REALLY steamrollers - Akerfeldt is one, maybe even, the best at the low, brutal growl. Never sounds silly & there's still so much emotion, no matter how vicious it gets. Much more emphasis on clean vocals, as rich & soulful as ever. Simply, an allround, stunning Rock voice, a superb songwriter and a classy guitar player.
Musically, these are some of the best lead breaks, I've heard from this band. It's modern, heavy rhythm /riffs & yet bluesey, melodic soloing that could come straight from any Pink Floyd release of the 70's!
The keyboards are tasteful & supportive, very gothic in feel & there are such surprises as real strings & a brief female vocal, on opener, Coil.
Personally, I don't think Martin Axenrot is as good a drummer as the departed Martin Lopez - especially when it comes to the kick drums, and the sense of drama & flair that Lopez has. To be honest, he doesn't even come close to my ears.
Martin Mendez again delivers a masterclass on the bass, and the highest compliment is that he has the presence of the legendary Cliff Burton - Always working well with the guitar, never afraid to shine independently and never content to plod along to the bass drums!!!
Standouts are Lotus Eater (great GRRRR vocal), the melancholy duo of Burden & Porcelain Heart (one track that should have featured growling to accompany the terrifying main riff - still great though) and the epic Hessian Peel - This track is over 10 minutes long, very progressive to start with, before halfway, a shift of seismic proportions into full on HEAVY mode!
The bonus tracks are decent, Bridge Of Sighs is a stunning cover. Leads that are up there with the best of Gary Moore, a haunting vocal from Akerfeldt and a real sense of atmosphere. You could just wander off into the night with this feast on your Ipod, and walk, and walk, and walk!
It's not as immediate an album as Ghost Reveries, so do put the work in. Great for headphones with so much going on in the mix.
A good year for albums so far with great albums from Judas Priest, Hollenthon (what a band!!!) and now Opeth!
I look forward to Metallica's apology for St Anger - It's going to have to be VERY good, judging by this competition!
File under 'Opeth' June 20, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Confronted through the post by a crushed cardboard envelope containing CD and bonus DVD, I played Watershed from start to finish (once) and then put it aside for a few days. I had to think. It was all too much. Was this Opeth's crowning glory and contender for the greatest album of all time ... or (like the story of the kings new cloths) nothing but a sham. I was almost too afraid to play it again incase it was the latter. But as soon as the PC tray closed and the disc started spinning, I knew that it was worthy of more than the meager 5 stars that Amazon can bestow upon its reviews. From the beauty of 'Coil' to the beast of 'Heir Apparent', no greater musical tapestry has been woven than this. Watershed is a masterpiece.
The complexity of the seven tracks (excluding bonus songs) is remarkable; each worthy of quality time dedicated to focus on the pleasures that it provides. Its just a pity we live in an MP3 age where music (wherever derived from) is instantly uploaded to player or phone and the limitations of this micromusic robs the listener of the opportunity to listen to albums the way they were intended, through pure, audio, hi-fi components. Thus the true majesty of Watershed will probably be lost in the tinny earpieces of a file sharing generation.
I recently accused Dream Theater of having an identity crisis and to the outsider, one could say the same of Opeth. But the difference is that DT sound like a mish mash of so many bands at the moment. Whereas as Opeth, no matter what they do, are distinctly Opeth. Experimental, suicidal, out on a limb or completely bonkers, they have pushed the boundaries out a little bit further each time, to the point where I don't know where they can go from here. And that could be their downfall ... or should I say Mikael's, as the band's illustrious leader could be in danger of out noodling himself when we're all left scratching our heads as to why his death metal growling is immediately followed by a spoon solo and three minutes of backward oboe.
That said, Watershed is ground breaking stuff. Is it Death Metal, Metal, Rock, Folk, Prog ... God knows! Mikael has created a genre all of its own and it is called 'Opeth'. And I love it!
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