Blackwater Park

I first came across Opeth on a recommendation from a former roommate. The album was "Damnation," and I found myself enthralled with a sound that I was looking for in a band. However, as any Opeth fan knows, "Damnation" was a special event: it was a mellow, cleanly sung, almost entirely clean channel album put out by a death metal band. The first "metal" Opeth album I heard was "Blackwater Park," and it hooked me right away. One song in particular, "The Drapery Falls" really drew me in with its semi-psychedelic feel. This was the first album that Opeth worked on with Porcupine Tree's Steve Wilson, and if you are familiar with Porcupine Tree's approach/production, it seems more apparent in this album than in the others (which isn't a bad thing at all). If you love progressive music and songs that cover vast musical terrain (essential view music as a journey rather than easy consumption), then "Blackwater Park" should be right up your alley. As for the Legacy Edition, I placed the order for it the day it became available and received it almost two weeks ago. The 5.0 mix is a real treat to listen to (as it was for "Still Life" and "Ghost Reveries"). I found that the 5.0 really brought out the bass quite nicely. The liner notes have some additional artwork (very cool) as well as an introduction to the album written by Mike Ackerfeldt that sheds some very cool light on where Opeth was at the junction and the humor and easygoing nature of Mike really comes out (it would be great to kick back some beers with him with Camel playing in the background...) The second disc also has a documentary that was filmed during the recording of the album that is quite enjoyable as well. Opeth is a band that works its tail off, and the hard work definitely shows. If you like Opeth but haven't yet purchased "Blackwater Park," just go for the Legacy Edition. If you've already purchased the album in past, I would recommend checking it out for the 5.0 mix (depending on how much extra cash you have to throw around on import special edition CDs, that is). In sum, a masterful work deserving of a re-release that has left me very satisfied.

Blackwater Park is the fifth studio album by Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth. It was released on 27th February 2001 through Music for Nations and Koch Records. This was the first Opeth album to be released in North America at the same time as it was in the rest of the world. It has been released on compact disc and vinyl record formats. A special edition of Blackwater Park was issued in 2001 with a bonus second disc that included "Still Day Beneath the Sun" and "Patterns in the Ivy II". Those two bonus tracks were released together as a vinyl-only 7" EP by Robotic Empire Records in February 2003. The limited edition EP sold out in less than 24 hours and continues to be one of Opeth's most sought-after releases to date. Two singles were also released to promote Blackwater Park. A shortened radio edit version of "The Drapery Falls" was released as a promo single (the full-length album version is nearly 11 minutes long). The bonus track "Still Day Beneath the Sun" was later released as a vinyl only single. The album marks the first collaboration between Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and the band, as Wilson had been brought in to produce the album, which led to a considerable shift in Opeth's musical style. Blackwater Park did not chart in North America or the United Kingdom. The album had two singles released from it: "The Drapery Falls" and "Still Day Beneath the Sun". Blackwater Park was highly acclaimed on its initial release and has been praised by critics, with Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic stating that the album is "surely the band's coming-of-age album, and therefore, an ideal introduction to its remarkable body of work". Opeth entered to Studio Fredman to begin work on Blackwater Park on 10th August 2000. The band had no previous lyrics written and had only rehearsed three times before entering the studio. The band's engineer Fredrik Nordström had arranged for the group to stay in a small room in the studio that had four beds. Opeth stayed there for around two weeks and then later rented out Dark Tranquillity member Mikael Stanne's flat. After recording the basic drums, rhythms, bass and acoustic guitars, Wilson arrived to produce the clean vocals and add some guitar leads. Åkerfeldt wrote that Wilson had an "immense impact on the recording" and after working with him the group entered "a new phase". Blackwater Park is yet another excellent album by Opeth - did you know that they named this album and a couple of their other albums (My Arms, Your Hearse and Still Life) after progressive rock bands from the 1970s? Anyway, this album is another masterpiece and is very highly recommended, particularly because of its 12-minute title track "Blackwater Park" and the acoustic piece "Harvest" (to be fair, all of the tracks on this album are great so it's difficult to choose a favourite).

Dobry album

凶暴性のある荒涼とした音の中から 輝くような美しさが時折顔を覗かせる。 メタルファン以外のかたにも聴いてほしい名盤。

Opeth es uno de los dos o tres más grandes grupos de la actualidad, si de buscar calidad se trata. El que busque algo más comercial, pues va a por los Muse, Coldplay y demás. Esto es otra cosa: música seria, con muchas variantes y recursos técnicos. No es el típico ritmo machacón donde el crítico de turno trata de convencerte de que esa estructura es única debido a las técnicas de polirritmos y no sé qué más cosas. Aun así, Opeth no ha inventado el estilo (hablamos de Death Metal mezclado con Rock Progresivo), pero ha dado con la fórmula magistral que lo ha elevado al nivel de música de culto. Es algo parecido a Tool, aunque por caminos distintos: Tool es más cerebral y geométrico; Opeth es más humano y emocional. Blackwater Park no es solo un disco de metal; es la evolución lógica de la complejidad que bandas como Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd o King Crimson sembraron en los setenta. Al escucharlo, se percibe de inmediato que Mikael Åkerfeldt bebe de esa sofisticación, pero la traslada a un terreno mucho más oscuro y potente. Se nota la herencia de los pasajes acústicos y bucólicos de los primeros Genesis, mezclados con la contundencia de Black Sabbath. Sin embargo, la gran innovación de este álbum es su capacidad de contraste: Opeth logra que una transición de un riff agresivo a una sección de folk melancólico no suene forzada, sino orgánica. Es un "caos elegante" que define un sonido propio e inconfundible. Aquí el virtuosismo no es de exhibición vacía; es un virtuosismo de composición y matiz. La producción (a cargo de Steven Wilson) permite que cada instrumento respire, destacando un trabajo de guitarras soberbio y unos cambios de compás que recuerdan a la precisión matemática de Rush, pero con una atmósfera otoñal única. Si vienes del rock clásico y buscas algo moderno que mantenga la dignidad técnica y la ambición artística de los grandes maestros, este disco es imprescindible. Es, posiblemente, el último gran estandarte del rock que se atreve a ser complejo y bello al mismo tiempo.