Opeth - Watershed (w/DVD)
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Free Music Notes for Watershed (w/DVD)
Free Music Review: Opeth - Watershed
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't write many reviews so this will be my short analysis of the Watershed album.
Don't worry about the line-up change, the drumming is fantastic and does not fall short of Opeth's high standards. The new lead guitarist can shred, which opeth have lacked for so long. Don't get me wrong, Peter was a fantastic guitarist, but the new, ex-arch enemy guitarist is beter suited for the Death Metal side of things. The song writing is very diverse.
First of all there is Coil. A mellow, clean vocalled track with some female vocals which are realy nice. It sorts of starts where ghost reveries left off.
Then there is Heir Apparent. People are confused about this track, this is not Opeth's heaviest track, that would probably be the moor or Dirge for November, this is Opeth's most BRUTAL track, the most typical death metal song they have done. Very fast, good guitar solo, very low vocals, with perfect synths adding a sort of black metal feel at certain points.
Lotus eater. An other fast brutal track, more singing but lots of growling involved, this track has a very Dream Theater moment with the keys, base and drums taking the lead for a groovy breakdown.
Burden. A mellow soft track with echoed vocals and smooth guitar and key solos toward the end. The track finishes with a beautiful sounding acoustic guitar piece.
Porcelian Heart. The single, a spooky track, softer but far more atmospheric. The single is a cut, shortened version of the track.
Hussain Peel. Very Ghost Reveries. Starts soft with an atmosperic build up to some great death metal moments.By this point you are thinking, "thank goodness" because you havn't heard death metal on the album for some time now. After the brutality there is a short pause and then into some great, groovy singing still with heavier feel of things.
Hex Omega. Not a soft track but there are no growls on this one. It's sort of like a Fair Judgement. It's a heavier track but it's not metal.
Overal i love this album, it is a much softer Opeth album but it is also more typically death meatal.
Yeah Opeth have changed but they are still amazing, they have not decended. They have diversified even more, but it's a good thing.
Free Music Review: Cutting edge and fresh as always
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm a huge fan and couldn't wait for this album, but I have to admit it had to grow on me. After reading a lot of previews and interviews this was supposed to be the heaviest and darkest Opeth album ever, so I was surprised at the amount of mellower material. There are noticeably less of the death vocals even in the heavier songs. As with most of their albums, there's definitely a balance between the heavier and mellower stuff. Nonetheless, this is an album of extremes, and Heir Apparent is one of heaviest and most brutal songs Opeth has ever done. That particular song is just immense in its intensity and its definitely one of my favorites out of their entire catalog. As usual, Opeth throw some curveballs, with the female vocals in the opening song and a jazz breakdown in the middle of the Lotus Eater, which sounds almost like something that could be a on a Mars Volta record. After the Lotus Eater, the album takes a slower turn for a while and then gets pretty interesting toward the end with the last two songs. Hessian Peel is one of those long Opeth tunes that incorporates everything they do (clean and death vocals, mellow and distorted parts) and the heavier parts have some mindblowing riffs around the middle of the song. The last one, Hex Omega, is another sort of different Opeth tune and, to me, has an almost Tool kind of vibe to it. Its a good closer.
The bonus DVD edition is highly recommended. The extra songs are good, especially Derelict Hands, which is an Opeth original that's easily good enough to be on the main album, the Robin Trower cover is very cool, and the scandinavian folk song is kinda neat, but not my favorite. The surround mix of the main album is pretty good and the footage of the band working on the album (with interviews) is definitely worth watching. The fact that you can only play the bonus songs from the DVD is a pain, but you can always download them in mp3 format if you want to listen to the whole thing all the way through. I don't know if this album would be the best introduction to Opeth, and I wouldn't say its their best, but its another awesome addition to their body of work and I doubt there is another metal band as cutting edge.
Free Music Review: Latest progression
Hit: 5 Stars
Watershed is quickly becoming one of my favorite Opeth albums. I became a fan with Blackwater Park, drawn in by the progressive nature of the music. Watershed is a great mixture of all the styles that Opeth represents, classic rock, prog rock, melodic death metal....I'll try to go track by track:
Coil - 5 stars - What an amazing intro to the album. I have seen a lot of people say they can't stand this track, but it is a beatuiful song, well sung by Mikaeal and a feamle guest vocalist (her name escapes me at the moment). I found myself putting this track on repeat 2-3 times during the first few days of listening to the album. It seems too short, there should be more, but maybe I am just biased.
Heir Apparent - 4 stars - Great song with lots of typical Opeth rollercoaster muscial structure. It drags a little bit for me, but maybe because I love the song before and the song after....
The Lotus Eater - 5 stars - My favorite track on the album. starts off very subtle then takes off and nevers stops. Lots of different musical styles in here, death, prog, jazz. This song made me realize how much more the band is using keyboards on this record. Just love it.
Burden - 4 stars - A mellow song, great vocals and song structure. For those of you who love the Damnation album, this one is for you.
Poreclain Heart - 5 stars - One of the first songs to leak, and a great classic Opeth track. You can feel the emotin coming out on this track, and it is another rollercoaster of highs and lows, mellow to pure all out agression.
Hessian Peel - 4 stars - The longest track on the album, easy to get lost in the music of this track.
Hex Omega - 5 stars - Very dark and foreboding music and lyrics make this song a great bookend to the album, in stark contrast to Coil.
All together, this album runs the gamut of musical styles that Opeth are known for, and proves why Opeth is one of the most respected bands in the hard rock and metal world today
Free Music Review: Will the children cry... when Opeth dies?
Hit: 5 Stars
Yes, the children will cry if Opeth dies. It is one of the few decent metal bands of today.
Opeth is back and fresher than ever with this new album. "Watershed", Opeth's 9th studio album, is magnificently crafted by these great metal pioneers. Blended with an amazing progressive sound never heard in Opeth before, "Watershed" is here to stay for quite some time. It is no "Still Life" or "Blackwater Park", but it is still a great work of art. Clearly this album will be in the top in many Best of 2008 lists at the end of the year.
Mikael Åkerfeldt's influence on his band's new members is clearly seen in this new album. It's a shame Peter Lindgren and Martin Lopez had to leave the band... but Fredrik Åkesson and Martin Axenrot fill their shoes in nicely.
My favorite tracks on the new album are "Heir Apparent", "The Lotus Eater", "Burden", and "Hessian Peel". ('Hessian Peel' being my clear favorite on the album, it is a beautiful song). The rest are still amazing, but these are the ones to stand out for me.
The special edition has a fantastic 5.1 mix of the album. It also includes an hour documentary on the rehearsal of "Watershed" plus three bonus songs - "Derelict Herds", "Bridge of Sighs", and "Den Ständiga Resan"... two of them being covers.
Simply a brilliant album musically. Definitely recommended to any Opeth fan or any music fan in general. Give it a try.
Free Music Review: The Lotus Eater
Hit: 5 Stars
I got into Opeth when "Ghost Reveries" came out. I picked up the Special Edition and fell in love with it. I might add the DVD on it was pretty good I thought. I have yet to get any other Opeth CDs just cause...well cause I didn't know where to start ha. So I started listen to Opeth out of the blue and then I found out they we're releasing a new CD "Watershed" I downloaded the song "The Lotus Eater" and I was so excited to pick up the new CD.
After hearing "The Lotus Eater" I went to watch the music video for "Porcelain Heart" and really I didn't know what to think about it. I got the album the 1st day it came out I went to best buy right when it opened. The 1st listen I was kinda confused. I really liked it, but I was hoping it be as hard as "Ghost Reveries" which it clearly is not. And the song "Porcelain Heart" really grew on me. I don't care for the music video cause they cut a decent part of the song out. But over all I really enjoy this album.
The tracks I really enjoy are "The Lotus Eater", "Porcelain Heart", "Heir Apparent" and "Hessian Peel" Those are the main ones I listen to. Though I really must say the whole album is amazing I just tend to like more of the harder stuff, not saying the softer cleaner songs are bad cause they are clearly not.