WATERSHED

Wow, this was definitely an interesting album for me. Before I review the album, a brief word from the author of this review of how he came into possession of this album: I found it behind the counter of a local record shop.as a Vinyl. It seems 'Opeth' snuck out a Vinyl copy of this album, and by being a religious visitor to the progrock website, I recognized the album cover, and remembered it was getting great reviews. No one had warned me what exactly it was I was buying; no one said to me 'be wary, this contains sounds that even a King Crimson fan like yourself might find disturbing.' No one had cautioned me that this was in fact, what I call 'Death Metal' or at least something that sounds to my ears worthy of a name of death metal. My most 'extreme' band of my collection is 'Dream Theater'. So this was a leap of faith on my part. That being said, I can review the album.

To a guy who is not use to this kind of music, I find parts of it very difficult to listen to, mainly, the demonic growling found on every other song. I don't mind 'hard metal' music. In fact, at time, I rather enjoy it. I just can't listen to a singer who sounds like Satan. To my 'virgin' ears, it makes them shutter in fear.

Other then that small fact, the album is really beautiful. The songs that do not display the whole Satanic singing are true progressive Gems. Even the epical 11+ minuet song 'Hessian Peel' is a new masterpiece of progressive music (mind you, this is one of the songs which have the demonic style of vocals, presented in this fashion makes it an interesting addition to the song, thus making it listenable). It's the beginning six minuets of the song that make the song beautiful beyond words.

Another song to gain instant prays by myself would be 'Burden'. (Can you tell that I'm a newcomer to this type of music?) I truly love this song. I love how it carries the notion of madness through a mellow tempo. Right at the end with the sound of just an acoustic guitar slowly unwinding its tight strings becoming more and more out of key, slipping deeper and deeper into the madness the song delivers.

The rest of the album is quite good. Even given the whole possessed by the devil kind of singing that I can't stand, I can still find the album enjoyable. I can honestly say that I can listen to the album in its entirety and still find it listenable. It delivers very complex compositions and movements, along with very thought provoking lyrics (when you can understand them). Although there still are points that I can't listen to, and for me, this weakens my enjoyment and overall view of the album.

I would recommend this album to anyone who likes progressive music, even if they do not like 'Tech/Extreme Metal' genre (which I am a culprit of). But if I can love and cherish some songs on the album, which deserves a full listen through, see if the album is right for you.

3.5 stars from a guy who normally would never listen to this kind of music. It is good addition to any prog collection, but be very warned of it's content.