BURDEN

There are 3 tracks on the release which has a total playing time of 13:20 minutes. There´s a radio edit version of Burden from Watershed (2008) which is pretty nice, but I can´t say I´m much of a fan of radio edits. It´s like removing 1/4 of a painting or something like that IMO. The real treats on this release are Mellotron Heart and the cover of Would? by Alice in Chains. The former is a softer mellotron drenched version of Porcelain Heart from Watershed and while I find the more heavy original version a bit more interesting Mellotron Heart is actually a nice little variation. The cover of Would? is pretty much true to the original. Mikael even makes an effort to sound a little like Layne. There´s no doubt this is a great cover version but it stays a bit too close to the original IMO. I like cover versions to sound like the band who play them wrote the song. Or in other words make the song their own. I think Opeth fail to do that here but it´s still an enjoyable song.

The production is excellent.

Burden isn´t the most necessary Opeth release I´ve come across. If you ask me they should have added Bridge of Sighs, Den Ständiga Resan and Derelict Herds ( all featured on the bonus DVD from the special edition version of Watershed) to this release and then it would have been really worthwhile to get a hold of. Still the quality is allright and I think a 3 star rating is warranted.