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Blackwater Park

by

Opeth

 
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Blackwater Park
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Avg: 4.5 (333 ratings)

  • We Say...

    Review by J. Edward Keyes

    The bleak rosetta stone for complex, technical metal, Opeth's Blackwater Park proves that heavy music can absorb far-flung influences without sacrificing any of its inherent unholiness. The songs on Blackwater Park are endlessly restless. Over the course of its staggering 10-minutes, "Leper Affinity" moves from for-the-throat grind to solemn acoustic folk back to hardcore battering. "Bleak" is different altogether, becoming subdued and jazzy in its center section, mournful acoustic plucking spiraling like a crow overhead. Adding to the sense of breadth is the dual vocal approach of Mikael Akerfeldt. He's coarse and growling one minute, scraping his charred vocals across the bottom of the songs. Seconds later, though, he's crooning softly, the voice sounding like it's coming from a completely different source. The songs get richer and more dazzling each time through, and eventually Blackwater Park becomes a record not just of mere technical accomplishment, but one of power, intensity and madness.

  • They Say...

    Review by Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide

    Not since the release of Tiamat's groundbreaking masterpiece Wildhoney in 1994 had the extreme metal scene witnessed such an overwhelming show of fan enthusiasm and uniform critical praise as that bestowed upon Blackwater Park, the astounding fifth effort from Swedish metal titans Opeth. A work of breathtaking creative breadth, Blackwater Park (named after an obscure German progressive rock outfit from the 1970s) keeps with Opeth's tradition by transcending the limits of death/black metal and repeatedly shattering the foundations of conventional songwriting, to boot. Rarely does a band manage to break new ground without losing touch with its roots, but Opeth has made a career of it -- perhaps never as effortlessly as on this occasion. But the biggest difference between Blackwater Park and previous offerings lies not in the remarkably high songwriting standards achieved by main man Mikael Åkerfeldt (that's a given with him), but in the first-time involvement of Porcupine Tree leader Steve Wilson, whose contributions as producer lend an unprecedented fluidity to Opeth's restlessly inventive arrangements. Like all Opeth LPs, Blackwater Park is divided not so much into songs as "movements," as the band likes to call them. Tracks start and finish in seemingly arbitrary fashion, usually traversing ample musical terrain, including acoustic guitar and solo piano passages, ambient soundscapes, stoner rock grooves, and Eastern-tinged melodies -- any of which are subject to savage punctuations of death metal fury at any given moment. Likewise, Åkerfeldt's vocals run the gamut from bowel-churning grunts to melodies of chilling beauty -- depending on each movement section's mood. With all this in mind, singling out specific highlights is pretty much a futile exercise; but for the benefit of first-time listeners, why not start out with the colossal, Arabian-flavored riffs of "Bleak," the memorable chorus of "The Drapery Falls," the surprisingly gentle intro of "Dirge for November," and, finally, the all-encompassing title track. Then, with patience (Opeth's music is everything but immediate), the rest of Blackwater Park's grand scheme will be revealed. As for more experienced Opeth disciples, few will disagree with the fact that, even compared to lofty prior achievements, Blackwater Park is surely the band's coming-of-age album, and therefore, an ideal introduction to its remarkable body of work.

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