Opeth - Watershed
Roadrunner

Many will probably disagree with me, but Opeth have had a noticeable decline in quality for a number of years now. Deliverance, Damnation and Ghost Reveries all had moments that have enthralled me, but front-to-back these albums fail to move me like Still Life and Morningrise did. The band now has another album under their belt, Watershed. Does it continue the band's streak of lowering standards?

From the opening notes of Coil, one quickly hears that Watershed is a different kind of Opeth album. Bringing back the best moments of Damnation, Coil features a somber string section and some of Mikael Akerfeldt's best clean vocals to date. Couple that with beautiful guest female vocals by Nathalie Lorichs (no, I don't know who she is either) and you've already got an amazing start to this album.

Heir Apparent is the first real Opeth styled song. The heavy bits are augmented by some of the best riffs the band have ever written, especially about four minutes into the song. The melodic parts are remarkably played, especially the acoustic guitars. Watershed marks the debut for one Fredrik Akesson, who has played in an assortment of bands like Krux, Talisman and Arch Enemy. His playing style meshes great with Akerfeldt's and is a superb replacement for Peter Lindgren. Any doubters should be silence about a minute into The Lotus Eater, another great slice of Opeth brilliance. The greatest bit is in the middle of the song where the band plays something approaching a funky jazz-like break.

Burden is another hauntingly somber piece that focuses on acoustics and strings. There's alot more going on in this one song than all of Damnation put together. The next two songs, Porcelain Heart and Hessian Peel offer up more grandness. One thing I noticed in Porcelain Heart is that the acoustic parts may be even more memorable than the heavy ones (usually for Opeth its the other way around). The melodic parts on this album are on equal footing with the death metal. The massive Hessian Peel comes in at over 11 minutes and the band doesn't put it to waste.

I do have a few gripes though. Watershed is a concept album from what I can tell, but the booklet neglects to include any lyrics. I still can't understand to this day why some bands don't include lyrics to their works. Also, I bought the deluxe version of the album that included special packaging and a bonus dvd. The packaging does look good, made out to look like a package you'd receive in the mail, but once you open it, you kind of feel ripped off. All you get are two slipcases and the booklet. That's it. Considering the $20+ retail price for this, it feels like you're paying for a slipcase promo. Not good.

Besides that small gripe above, Watershed easily eclipses the last three Opeth albums by a long shot. The band sounds fresh and inspired, something I don't think they've been like since Blackwater Park. Kudos to Akerfeldt and co. for bringing it back home.

01. Coil
02. Heir Apparent
03. The Lotus Eater
04. Burden
05. Porcelain Heart
06. Hessian Peel
07. Hex Omega

Score: 9/10