WATERSHED

I've had and still have incredibly mixed feelings about Opeth's latest release as of this review, Watershed. In a sense, it's Opeth's masterpiece; in a sense, it's Opeth's worst effort since My Arms, Your Hearse. Even more strange, when I think about this album while I'm not listening to it, I don't think well of it, but when I am listening to it it's amazing. I love the tracks individually but the idea of the album as a whole isn't very good. Both die hard and casual fans (myself somewhere between the two) either adore or despise this album, and I can kind of see it in both respects.

A few things are sure, however. It's a transitional album to a new period of Opeth's music, which is saying a whole lot considering Opeth's music evolves with each consecutive album to begin with. This is probably the result of the inclusion of a new drummer and guitarist, and Åkerfeldt having more control on what is happening with the song writing. The album is also more preferred by those who listen to Opeth despite the death metal influence rather than because of it, while the fans of the band's early not-very-prog period tend to dislike if not loath it. Probably the most progressive of Opeth's record, it incorporates much more symphonic and psychedelic elements with more extensive use of the keyboard and wind instruments than ever before. We even have a dance funk section in Lotus Eater (my personal favorite track on the album, one of my favorite songs really). And seeing as it is a transitional album, we can probably (well, hopefully) expect to see some incredible albums following this release.

Other than that, I'm not even too sure what I think of the album. I love it and dislike it at the same time. I guess I can conclude that it is essential for the Opeth fan to understand the leap the band took with this album. It is indeed a Watershed of an album, meaning it reflects on everything the band has accomplished and is at the same time covering much ground the band hadn't really even flirted with. Conclusion: one small step for prog, one giant leap for Opeth!

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