BLACKWATER PARK

Opeth were are creative peak years, pushing forward with each release. However it was with Blackwater park, that their leaps have increased.

The production is crystal, matched to progressive music and marks a successful collaboration with Steven Wilson.

Blackwater Park offers strong experience for fans of progressive metal, death metal, atmospheric metal and possibly also progressive rock.

The album starts strongly and brutally with "Leper Affinity" that shifts from ominous growls and death metal bass drums to more conventional progressive metal and even atmospheric piano outro in the end.

The songs is filled with darkness but also poignant singing of Mikael.

"Bleak" is, despite its name, less bleak than the first song and it is partly inspired by middle East chords. One of consistently played live tracks from this album. There are very progressive rhythm changes to be found there.

"Harvest" is a mellow catchy song and the only sung in a completely clean vocal. It predates songs from the Damnation album.

"The drapery falls" shows a perfect sense for graduation. Imagine a slow stream of water getting larger and faster to become a wild water that flows and some point starts calming again to enter the sea.

Acoustic guitars play the intro and repeat a sorrowful melody that comes into play in the end, too. The music progresses to the progressive death metal-influenced middle part. This is one of the most accessible songs on the album.

"Dirge for November" is yet another bleak song although the beginning seems to come from a quiet acoustic dream sung by warm voice. The instrumental fill allows drums, bass and guitars to lay ground for more ominous music that features pure evil sequence of chors

and brutal growling. A devastating track, possibly about suicide, leaves one feel like being in a dark forest during a storm. The acoustic outro is very effective in that it evokes the contemplative mood sounding like funeral music.

"A funeral portrait" is, in comparison, to the two previous sister tracks, a more upbeat nod to progressive death metal characterised by some of the most brutal growling on the record, that becomes hellish at 1:16.

The vocal pattern from the Karma track on 1998's My arms your hearse is repeated here with multiple passionate and evil growls. Solid guitar solos with great drumming follow.

"Patterns in the ivy" is not a memorable but acoustically pleasant short intermezzo before the main meal of the day is served "Blackwater park".

This colossal epic track, aware of its length, starts developing slowly, taking its time.

Vocals are almost completely absent in the first half and the riffs are repetitive so the track's atmosphere can be rapidly remembered.

The first highlight of the track is the lengthy well developed acoustic-electric guitar part. It showcases Opeth's masterful and confident work with mellow music, which is not common among progressive/death metal bands.

Death metal sneakes in again and stays as a guest until the end of the composition. Multiple varations on growling and powerful progressive riffs are on display. The track is slowly getting to its peak right before its end.

The vocal and music performance is breathtaking and inspirational to many younger musicians. Death metal vocals heard on that track are phenomenal and hard to recreate during the live performance, even though this track was often performed in the end of concerts where vocals could go crazy.

Every 20 seconds, at the longest, there is a change in the rhythm, motive or melody, and I strongly recommend you to liste to this masterpiece multiple times.

Opeth have set a new defining moment in the metal music with their Blackwater park.

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