Opeth - Watershed (2008) #Review

Hello friends, again I want to recommend another good album of Metal. I will present you an album made by the good band of Progressive Death Metal / Progressive Rock , this is Opeth, which is already quite recognized in the world of metal, and one of the best without doubt in these last decades. From Sweden, and also led by a great progressive metal legend, Mikael Åkerfeldt. Watershed, is the third Opeth album that I recommend, I decided to publish it because of the great musical quality it has, and some songs that I will never forget, contained in it.

Watershed was published at a time when some critics approached the Swedes, mainly for their previous work, for leaving aside their initial sound, with more extreme metal, to dedicate themselves to other prog rock progressive sounds, something that does not please the fans of Opeth's death metal facet. In addition to the greater implementation of clean voices, which for me was great, for those good transitions between guttural and clean voices. Also for this album, Opeth had to renew his line-up, due to the departure of drummer Martin López and guitarist Peter Lindgren, thus leaving Mikael as the only original member of Opeth, which I need to incorporate for this work as substitutes to Fredrik Akesson ( Guitar) and Martin Axenrot (Drums).

Despite these criticisms, this album was well received by a large part of the listeners of Opeth, as another great work and that showed that the metal, had not been forgotten and could be played in the same great way that in its beginnings. And so it was, with some extreme metal cuts, which fit very well. This good album is loaded with a lot of progression and elements of which Opeth has already accustomed us, such as impressive riffs of Metal, completely acoustic passages, amazing transitions, between energetic moments and relaxing moments, besides guttural voices, in combination of voices perfectly clean, melodic, and emotional. This makes Watershed a great progressive metal production. Also the album has an atmosphere like no other, with some touches of melancholy and darkness, that attract us and give us a good trip.

1. This album starts with a little acoustic introduction, called "Coil", it's a very good start, a ballad that mainly has acoustic guitar, creating a very melancholic atmosphere, which Opeth has already accustomed us to. The voice of Mikael Askerfeldt is totally clean on this subject, and is complemented perfectly in the last minute, with the beautiful angelic voice of Nathalie Lorichs, which gives a more folkloric touch to this cut. It's a short ballad, simple but perfect to start this work.

2. The next, "Heir Apparent" , is totally different at the beginning, from the beginning it denotes the darkness that this subject has. It is characterized mainly by the presence of severe gutturals, changes of rhythms, and an extreme structure, both musically and voices. It has clear elements of Death Metal, which even at times, makes us think about the density of Doom Metal. It should be noted the very good solos, Death Metal style; the good accompaniment with the keyboards, and some beautiful short acoustic passages. A totally Opeth song, very good.

3. It follows a majestic composition of metal, called "The Lotus Eater", is similar to the previous one, by force and style, but has much more versatility, greater rhythmic and melodic changes, besides the great alternation between clean and guttural voices, which perfectly runs Mikael. All this, in its first 4 minutes, then in its second part, changing completely to a long emotional instrumental passage, clearly influenced by progressive rock bands, like Led Zeppelin, and the sound after 5:50 minutes, clearly reminds us King Crimson and some touches of Camel, that progressive and amazing experimental. Finally the theme recovers the strength of the beginning, bringing us a more melodic and emotional ending.

4. After two songs with metal elements, the atmosphere completely calms down with: "Burden", a perfect ballad. Where again the clear voice of Mikael is the guide of this beautiful melodic composition, where they complement in a calm way, the acoustic guitar and the relaxed chords of the electric guitar. The choir is wonderfully melancholic and beautiful, a beautiful ballad, with a very good ending at the end, quite relaxing. good

5. Again we return to the dark Opeth and loaded with quite progression, with "Porcelain Heart" , a theme as I mentioned, with very dark riffs, but with many quiet and acoustic transitions, where the clear voice is the that stands out Central line is a very sad and melancholic theme. The transition at 3:20 is fascinating, I recommend giving it a chance, and also Mikael's outstanding acoustic performance at minute 5. In the end, those dark riffs come back and good enough for the occasion.

6. The next one is the longest track on the album, "Hessian Peel", it has 11 minutes. With a start that reminds us a lot of his album Damnation. Sound that extends the first 5 minutes, with a very melodic background, acoustic guitar, clean voices and even a beautiful violin. After that good progressive, after minute 5, Opeth accelerates us with an incredible change of pace, to an incredibly wild style, with double bass, distorted riffs and powerful gutturals. It's a change that totally represents the musical quality of Opeth, a combination of amazing sounds. One of my favorites.

7. And finally we ended up with "Hex Omega" , a very dark and dense theme, that wanders between calm atmospheres and instrumentally aggressive moments, with riffs that create a melody that reminds us of Arab music. The voice remains calm throughout the whole song, which is not the best song, nor a great ending, but it's not bad, I highlight the good riffs in the "aggressive" moments.

In conclusion, Watershed is another great gem of Opeth, this album is an incredible execution of progression and metal, very well structured and executed in a way, that only Opeth can do it. That although it does not sound completely like Opeth in the 90's, it has impressive elements, and that show us the great musical versatility of Opeth, mainly of the ideas embodied by Mikael. And that although there are only 7 songs, it is a long album and in it we find a great variety of sounds and compositions of high quality, and that are executed with great agility. Opeth in this album left great jewels for his record as they are "Burden", "The Lotus Eater" and "Hessian Peel". Compositions that will not be forgotten and stop the Swedes. Another great work of a great legend.