Opeth - Blackwater Park review
| Band: | Opeth |
| Album: | Blackwater Park |
| Style: | Extreme progressive metal |
| Release date: | March 2001 |
01. The Leper Affinity
02. Bleak [feat. Steven Wilson]
03. Harvest
04. The Drapery Falls
05. Dirge For November
06. The Funeral Portrait
07. Patterns In The Ivy
08. Blackwater Park
09. The Leper Affinity [live] [Legacy edition bonus]
[Limited edition bonus CD]
01. Still Day Beneath The Sun
02. Patterns In The Ivy II
[Legacy Edition bonus DVD]
+ 5.0 Audio Mix Of The Original Album
+ The Making Of Blackwater Park
Passion. That's what Blackwater Park is all about. Pure, unadulterated passion. Forget that Opeth display musical ability and know-how that is rivaled by few. Forget that the ending to The Leper Affinity goes from what can only be described as one of the greatest jam sessions ever, to a beautiful, yet melancholic pianistic epilogue. Forget that Harvest is one of the greatest acoustic songs ever written. Forget that Blackwater Park contains the perfect metal riff. Forget that Mikael Akerfeld quite possibly has the best voice in all of music. Forget that every moment of this album will make you stand in awe of what you're hearing. Why should you forget all that? Because none of it matters.
What matters is that Opeth's music connects with the listener on a level that no other band has ever obtained. Just what that level is can's be defined. It can only be felt. And the only way to feel it is to listen. And I do mean LISTEN. You shouldn's do so much as twiddle your thumbs during the play of this, or any other of their albums. You would only be hurting yourself. Their only rivals in this department would be the immortal classical composers, such as Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. But Opeth still beats them out.
I can's tell you how difficult it is for me to rate this at all. By doing so, I'm implying that Blackwater Park, and indeed all of Opeth's works, can be somehow compared with any other album by any other band. That is simply not true. I have given perfect 10's to bands that don's even register on the scale when compared to Opeth. The very fact that I'm pretending to be worthy enough to even discuss Opeth's music is an unforgivable sin. No amount of words in this, or any other, language can begin to describe the tapestry of emotions on this, or any of their albums. Opeth's creations transcend not only metal, but art itself. This is the language of the soul.
Written by Account deleted | 18.09.2003
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
9.9
9.9
|
Rating: 9.9 |
There are few bands that dare to continuously expand their musical sphere with each release, expecting their fans to accept the changes - even fewer succeed. Mikael Åkerfeldt, song writer and front man of Opeth, has pushed Opeth to do so since the band's inception and perhaps it's this constant change, not giving the audience a chance to adjust to one particular niche, which keeps them from ending up like so many metal bands before them: repetitive and uninspired. 2001 was the year Opeth opened the floodgates of creativity and released what many believe to be their magnum opus, an album so hyped you might doubt its brilliance. I'm here to tell you not to doubt. This is Blackwater Park. Read more ›› |
Rating:
2.0
2.0
|
Rating: 2.0 |
This charade has gone on long enough. It's time someone gave this crappy album an honest assessment. Read more ›› |
Comments page 3 / 6
Comments: 162
Visited by: 1085 users
| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18276  |
I just hate this review... And not only the rating that is waaaaaaay to high [I will agree with a 8,5-8,7... something like that] But not only the rating.. the review itself is really bad done.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| VPeter Posts: 1450  |
What an awfull crappy review, it shows the true face of the Opeth fanboy: an ugly and arrogant face.
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18276 |
Written by VPeter on 16.12.2008 at 18:06 Every fanboy from every band can be as narrow-minded as this one. The thing start when people can't accept that some albums are just not THAT good.... Because the first 4 albums by Opeth beat this one easily.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| VPeter Posts: 1450 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 16.12.2008 at 20:03 but I am a fanboy observer and I can tell you there are many species of them  but they all have 1 thing in common, they all suck.
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18276 |
Written by VPeter on 16.12.2008 at 21:12 Well... We know that we both agree on that
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Jotun_01 Account deleted |
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466  |
Written by Guest on 17.12.2008 at 20:38 Wow,congratulations.Really well done.You just ruined your friend for good.
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| DayFly Posts: 383  |
You guys can't be serious. Please delete this review if you want to uphold any form of review quality.
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466 |
Written by Metalhead2 on 08.06.2008 at 00:37 Amen to that! Totally true.
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| Borg Posts: 7  |
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| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10084  |
Written by DayFly on 03.01.2009 at 14:20 yeah i agree with the above post
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8662  |
It is "Guest review" so anyone can post one and claim anything in here...you guys can post your own review when you dislike this one personally i like Morningrise much more, but still great album is this one 
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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| DayFly Posts: 383 |
Written by Ellrohir on 06.02.2009 at 17:49 Have you actually read the review? Regardless whether you like or dislike Opeth, Rupophobic's account of Blackwater Park (I refuse to call it a review) belongs into fan-mail or in a forum and not in a review. It is uninformative, embarrassing, overblown, disgustingly self-important and was likely only written for the writer's own sake and not the reader's. The tag "Guest Review" shouldn't be an excuse for lack of quality. Guest reviewers ought to put just as much effort at professionalism as anybody else.
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8662 |
Well since mods of the site allowed this review to be published, i presume it meets all criteria given, though you dislike with the point...
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep
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| DayFly Posts: 383 |
Written by Ellrohir on 06.02.2009 at 23:32 I don't quite understand what you mean or your diction is bad. I find it far more probable that the moderator who approved this review didn't actually pause to read it.
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| Ometal Posts: 3 |
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| AngelOfDisease Posts: 71 |
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| IronBlackZepp Posts: 180  |
Ya I heard this album all the way through, I dont think its that great. I dont, and never liked death metal, this could have somthing to do with it. I do like the guitar and the and all of the instruments alot of the time, but I hate the vocals. I hate growling vocals, and weak vocals. Plus all of the songs have the same monotone sound, and alot of them go from soft to heavy too much. Also these guys are not up to par with classical composers as far as complexity goes, I oftin love rock and metal more then classical, but if you know anything about the complexity of classical music then you would know better then to make a comment like that. These guys need to find an identity if you ask me, they go from Death to folk in 2 minutes it seems in most of their songs.
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| Akke920 Posts: 35 |
Written by IronBlackZepp on 24.02.2009 at 00:14 Seems like you forgot that it's progressive death metal! And i hope you know what that means
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| IronBlackZepp Posts: 180 |
Written by Akke920 on 25.02.2009 at 07:52 I have heard other Progressive Death albums and thought they were ok, like the Death album Human. I have heard alot of that album and I think Death did a better job of making the album flow then Opeth did on Blackwater Park. In Blackwater Park The songs just seem to jump from metal to acoustic is a matter of seconds, and you feel like you are hearing a different song all together. This is really the only Opeth album I have heard, I have heard most of Watershed and I am liking it alot more. so far I dont know If I could ever really get into Opeth. Mabey I should check out more of their albums.
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| Andresopeth Posts: 201  |
Wow the best album of 2001, how many good but good dongs have this one?, is what makes Opeth different, their albums have a high quality, is hard to pick a favorite song because they do albums with few songs but extremely good ones. They prefer quality than quantity. So this one is an album that is hard to not listen from the beggining to the end, is hard to push stop on it. The Leper Affinity, Bleak, Harvest, The Drapery Falls well for me has a sound which i can't stop listening. Maybe Dirge For November could have been excluded of the tracklist but, hey is good anyway
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466 |
O, Christ, Blackwater Park is now number 1 on the top 100...... Ugh...
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18276 |
Written by Slayer666 on 03.04.2009 at 14:25 Are you sad?  Meh... Who cares about the rating. I dislike a lot of bands that have been praised everywhere and I don't really care if they are still popular [Iron Maiden being a perfect example in my case] But then again... Something I truly dislike about Blackwater Park [that is still a very good album] is the fact that the 4 other albums behind Blackwater Park are better in every way possible.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 03.04.2009 at 15:48 Sad isn't the word I'd use. Pissed, revolted, disgusted are far better suited to describe my opinion on the matter. I care! I mean, not that much, but when I see an injustice such as this...... I don't like Iron Maiden too much either (too soft), but it's still THE Iron Maiden, you just can't call it bad. Right? One last thing, my judgment is not based on comparison of Blackwater Park to other Opeth's work, it is based on the way this album bores me half to death when I listen to it. No offense meant to anybody.
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| Dane Train Beers & Kilts Elite Posts: 8902  |
Written by Slayer666 on 03.04.2009 at 21:15 Ah, sort of the way bands like Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Slayer, Children Of Bodom, Nightwish, Amon Amarth, In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, Arch Enemy etc. bore me?
---- (space for rent)
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466 |
Written by Dane Train on 03.04.2009 at 22:12 I don't know, you tell me. These bands damn well bore me too (with the exception of In Flames and a few songs from Slayer). Besides, I think I know exactly where you are going with this. The whole thing about respecting other people tastes, and that I shouldn't be so ignorant, if I'm not mistaken. Well, I agree with all that, but I did say "no offense meant to anybody" which prety much means that's how I see this whole thing through my own angle.
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| Metalhead2 Skinhead1 Posts: 271  |
Fuck, even after so much time, opeth-Classical comparison makes my day
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18276 |
Written by Slayer666 on 03.04.2009 at 21:15 ... Man, you really shouldn't give a fuck. It's not a matter of respecting others opinion. It's mostly a matter of just knowing how useless is to even care about the subject. Even though I'm an Opeth fan, I still can count so many bands that I like that deserve as much or even more praise. They are just in the shadow and I don't really care about it because it doesn't affect anybody. The band doesn't pissed you off [and it shouldn't] is just the fan-boys, right? Well... Then is even more clear that it's nothing that should be disgusting. There are far worse cases anyway. In the worse case... This is what I always say: They who know, do not speak. And those who speak do not know. And about Maiden... Well. I dislike their songs but respect them as musicians. Their music is good just not my cop of tee. There's always a big difference between a band that you don't like and one that really sucks. Cheers man 
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Visioneerie Urban Monster Posts: 810  |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 03.04.2009 at 15:48 I'd say My Arms, Your Hearse and Still Life are on an equal note with Blackwater Park though for some reason i always seem to enjoy the aforementioned a tad more. Haven't heard Orchid or Morningrise yet and has anyone realised how that riff in the title track is exactly the same as In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson.
---- Any man can stand adversity, but to test his character give him power - A. Lincoln
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| JunN_Vai Posts: 53 |
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