I’m kind of hesitant to review this, my favorite CD. The first time I heard Opeth’s Blackwater Park, I was shocked, but not in a good way. It was my first foray into death metal. I immediately wanted to turn it off, in all honesty, I was scared. But as I listened to it more and more, I looked forward to the clean melodic sections so much that I could look past the harsh vocals, however, after listening to a few of the songs numerous times, the harsh vocals grew on me, what had first seemed unlistenable, suddenly became accessible.
Opeth’s sound revolves around combining the 70’s progressive rock akin to Pink Floyd, with the aggression of death metal. The average song length is over 7 minutes. Songs will often start in a deceitful manner, pummeling the listener into submission, until a soft section comes in. A perfect example of this, is on “The Leper Affinity,” after approximately 30 seconds of a single piano note, progressively getting louder, and louder, until all Hell breaks loose. It’s similar to getting punched in the face, the song continues, and at around 2:30, a short, but sweet guitar solo enters and exits, all within thirty seconds. The song moves a long, for a little while longer, before slowing down, almost to a halt. Then the, you guessed it, acoustic guitars come in and take center stage, along with Mikael Akerfeldt’s (almost) angelic singing voice. In the genre of death metal, there is not a better a singer than he.
On top of that, Akerfeldt is a top-notch lyricist. He writes about standard death metal topics such as death, shown by this excerpt from the title track, “It’s the year of death, wielding his instrument, stealth sovereign reaper, touching us with ease.”
Or just personal issues, such as this from, “The Drapery Falls,” “pull me down again, and guide me into pain.” Or even narrative, like this section from “The Funeral Portrait,” “you wait by the window, morning’s breath on the sill, idle hands given another try, so you wait and savor the moment.” Akerfeldt proves that he knows what he’s talking about.
So, in conclusion, if you’re looking for an album, that is more than just music. Something that transcends all boundaries, then get Opeth’s - Blackwater Park.
Sick liaisons
Raised this monumental mark
The sun sets forever
Over Blackwater Park |
