Watershed some light

I was just noticing all the five star reviews on Opeth's new offering ' Watershed' Is it really that good or are the review ratings skewed by overzealous loyal fans? I was thinking that maybe the novelty of a new album will wear off and we might see some more realistic overall ratings down the track. I must confess not having listened to it other than seeing the video on PA but if it is really that good....

Edited by Chris Stacey - June 10 2008 at 01:28

Due to the glowing reviews I feel I better check it out , I'm not into Opeth much but it feels like the glowing reviews are twisting my arm to the point its nearly fallen off !   

The rating at Rate Your Music for this CD is a bit lower, They have more reviews so far perhaps things will start to become more accurate in time here with more reviews etc. 


Edited by Yorkie X - June 10 2008 at 02:02

I've had some trouble getting into it. I listen to the first few seconds of a song and I'm already bored of it (although I haven't checked the last few songs yet). It just isn't as immediately appealing to me as Ghost Reveries (which is the only Opeth album I've been able to get into). So I dunno, I'll give it a few more chances but I have a feeling you may be right.

Avantgardehead wrote: I can't stand it.

Write a review then 

It doesn't have the flow or power of Ghost Reveries. It's more of a transitional album, though it is a darn good one. Not as good as the reviews say, but a worthy release.

I agree that this is NOT a five-star album. I've had the mp3s for quite a while but only reviewed it after purchasing the album on the day it came out. It's far short of a masterpiece. Most of the reviews focus on the usual things reviewers hear when they first listen to an album - cool moments, odd things, solos - but not on the songwriting.

If you're a casual progger and not an Opeth fan, don't buy it yet. Wait for more even-handed reviews ...

This album is pretty good but not great - it's far behind "Still Life" and "Blackwater Park" which are masterpieces IMO, and it also isn't as good as "Ghost Reveries", which is a very good album too. I believe that a month or two from now this album average will be around 4.0-4.1.

I thought the album was pretty good.
Obviously won't be as good as Still Life.
But Heir Apparent, Lotus Eater and Hessian Peel were all great songs imo.
Certainly a solid release.
I'd give it 4/5.

plan to two-star this.
yeah i know i always two-star metal but Dark Suns and this year's Meshuggah fared better and so will To-Mera
the album just isn't very exciting

Certif1ed wrote: Ye Gods - I've only got to track 3, and I'm bored of it.   This is NOT a Masterpiece of Prog - be warned!!   There's nothing wrong with it, if you like this sort of music, but the 5-star reviews are misleading...   ...actually, they're not - if you read them, they almost all say "This is good because I like it a lot", and nowhere does it actually mention anything that's progressive.     And to think there's a thread in this forum questioning the proggyness of Pink Floyd...

Have you heard the album only one time? And you've made a review giving it only one star yet? What an accurate reviewer!

I don't write a review of an album after a long time of hearing... Usually months. Because the first impressions are often wrong. Reading your review carefully, I really doubt you've heard the album completely, and I even don't think you've paid attention to it... And these comparisions with Nickelback!

About "Watershed", I think it's a really good album... Maybe not my Opeht's favourite, but the most complete album the've ever released. Maybe the death metal fans will miss more growling and hard parts, and people who are not into death music, will find some songs annoying... But speaking from my own point of view, I can only say that I enjoy all the songs included in "Watershed".

Of course, this album deserve the 5 stars rating... But it also deserves the 1 star rating. Because everyone has a different opinion, and everyone has the right to give it. My favourite Opeth album is "Deliverance"... And it only has a bit more than 3.5 in ProgArchives! But it will not change my mind.

I don't know how many stars will I give to "Watershed"... But it's a worthy purchase, without any doubt!