WATERSHED

Is this album a watershed for Opeth or not?Partially,it is.It is not definitely their best release but it keeps the quality level very high. Before referring to each song I must say that their sound is diverse and different from their previous releases, more progressive rock maybe which is something commendable, because stagnancy is not a step of evolution. The minus in this release is the absence of enough death metal growls. Some songs could have been accompanied by brutal vocals. Also, mr.Axenrot is not as skillful as Lopez, but he tries.

1-Coil: A very short track for Opeth(less than 3 minutes) but with a beautiful melody which hides a melancholic touch. The addition of female vocals which are actually very nice, works perfectly. Akerfeldt shows again his range and quality of his clean voice. An ideal opener-4/5

2-Heir Apparent: Wow,what a heavy and furious song! Many prog listeners did not like it due to the fact that combines mainly doom with death metal and then progressive. Akerfeldt's brutal voice is in its more hellish performance than ever. I like very much the part when Mikael growls and the drums follow his misanthropic tones in frenzy tempo. The ending is brilliant with that melodic part played by the guitarists. One of the harsher and best songs Opeth ever recorded. 5/5

3-The Lotus Eater: Probably the best song in this album. Akerfeldt is crazy enough to sing melodically while Axenrot punishes its drum kit with his double-pedal(I do not know if this is the right definition)beats and then switches to his top notch brutal taste. Very intelligent melodies and complicate playing. Who said that funky cannot be incorporated in Opeth music?Ask Per Wilberg and his keyboard cool stuff that he adds after the middle of the song(in sixth minute). Mendez also can be heard with his bass tones. To my opinion, Mendez is one of the most important members of Opeth, as it comes for the music. After the keyboard medley follows the main melody of this song with brutal vocals and it finishes with whispers in the background. Perfect song-5/5

4-Burden: The best till now ballad Opeth have ever written. It has a magical touch full of sentiments. Very good guitar work here along with the keyboard surrounding. It has though a stupid ending with a fade-out false tone guitar but it does not detract from the beauty of this song. 5/5

5-Porcelain Heart:The first official video and the first mediocre track in 'Watershed'. This is exactly the song that could have some death metal growls in some parts. Axenrot tries to prove that he is an able successor of Lopez and he plays really good but he is not as his predecessor. The song repeats itself and it is too big in comparison to its musical content. Not a bad song,just good nothing more. 3/5

6-Hessian Peel: The structure is typical of Opeth. It starts with a mellow part with clean vocals and ethereal melodies and then switches to a death metal vocal segment and a very progressive feeling. The second half of this song(after the sixth minute) is a perfect example of how progressive Opeth can be. In my opinion, the first part shoyld be shorter and the death metal growls more but generally it is a very good song.4/5

7-Hex Omega: A promising start which can deceive you to believe that it is a heavy song but it is softer than it is expected. Not bad. The keyboards have a significant role in this track along with Mikael's fragile impeccable vocals. There are also interesting riffs and percussion work. 4/5

Generally, a very good album to Opeth's career.

PS:Just one irrelevant question. How can Porcupine's Tree work 'The Incident' be rated while it has not been released yet? Is there only censorship to the content of your review and not to abnormalities like this? Please read the review in Porcupine's Tree 'The Incident' and wonder if it is written by a redneck or not.