Track Listing
1. The leper affinity 2. Bleak 3. Harvest 4. The drapery falls 5. Dirge for November 6. The funeral portrait 7. Patterns in the ivy 8. Blackwater park Year: 2001 Label: Koch - Official Site |
Opeth - 'Blackwater park' - S. Spurrell
All too rarely it seems in today�s metal scene are bands capable of inspiring something more deep and profound than the desire to get drunk and slam-dance. There always has been an inherent mood to Opeth�s music that is both overpowering and unexplainable. A combination of the finest Swedish death metal and the bands own unique depth and quality. Blackwater Park is no exception. Hailed by some as Opeth�s greatest release yet, this latest offering drags you kicking and screaming through a maze of energy and emotion defined in layers of astounding musicianship hampered only by its ever coming to an end. Even as the first song draws to a close you feel as though driven from screaming rage to sorrow so profound one could just sit and cry. But you are left with no time to re-group. The tracks Bleak and Harvest both fill the listener with something which mere words are at a loss to describe. As the album progresses none the initial awe and wonder is lost. The track Dirge For November, for me the high point of the album, is as hauntingly brilliant as music can get. The isolated Patterns In The Ivy is a stream of dreamy patterns compelling the mind to follow. Even as this track ends the best has been left for last. The title track is a seamlessly blended mix of riffs, rhythm and lead able to not only hold your attention drag it down and drown. At the last you will come out at the other side, only to turn back and start again. Each listen to the album brings more out, I cannot be expected to give a full and complete description, because there is far too much there. Above and beyond the desire to prove oneself or fight petty political battles, Opeth are playing music at the level it should be, so difficult to attain. All we can ask for is more of the same. Metal Obsessive Grade: 95% |