OPETH

OPETH
BLACKWATER PARK (2001)
320 KBPS

The first Opeth album produced by Steve Wilson results in the defining moment of Opeth's Career.
Blackwater Park is Opeth's fifth studio release and the first release featuring producer Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree. It is in this album that Opeth has finally made an album worthy of a Progressive prefix to their Death Metal.
The album starts off with Leper Affinity, showcasing a style slightly more on the side of Death Metal. The track does showcase the great melodic guitar skills of Opeth. The track maybe a little heavy for some, but it's not vacant of musicality. The next to tracks Bleak and Harvest showcase the softer side of Opeth. Bleak is quite a heavy track, but the prescence of the acoustic guitars is what really makes this track what it is. Harvest is a simple, yet powerful ballad. The center of the album is made up of The Drapery Falls, Dirge For November, and A Funeral Portrait. These tracks show the listener just how dark this band can play. Once again the tracks are most powerful because of the guitar harmonies. The album then ends with the insturmental ballad Paterns in the Ivy and the ridiculously heavy outro of Blackwater Park, the title track. Opeth's Death Metal style is clearly evident here, but can it alienate the most Progressive fans of Opeth?
Great songwriting by Akerfelt who talents are evident vocally and on guitar, and the production of Steve Wilson made this album the pinnacle of Opeth's career. The previous effort Still Life was nearly as progressive, but the sound wasn't captured the same way this album was. Opeth's addition of Steve Wilson finally brought them the progressive tonality they have been searching for since their debut. This is a masterpiece of Progressive Death Metal.

1. The Leper Affinity
2. Bleak
3. Harvest
4. The Drapery Falls
5. Drige For November
6. The Funeral Portrait
7. Patterns In The Ivy
8. Blackwater Park