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Watershed 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Label: Roadrunner Records Catalog: Music Release date: 2008-06-03 Media: Audio CD discs number: 2 Format: Enhanced, Special Edition Ean: 0016861793654 Upc: 016861793654  Tip: compare prices with similar music CDsArtist:
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$22.99 | |
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| Album tracks: (7) |
 Coil Heir Apparent The Lotus Eater | Burden Porcelain Heart Hessian Peel | Hex Omega |
| Professional Review: |
| The Special Edition includes three bonus tracks, 5.1 audio mix of the entire album, extensive video content, expanded artwork and more.Special Edition includes DVD with bonus tracks. The forward-thinking Swedish titans, who seemlessly and fluidly combine metal, classic rock, prog, folk and free form jazz, continue the time-honored Opeth tradition on Watershed, their second album for Roadrunner Records. With this, their ninth effort, Opeth continue to shake things up, turn the corner and push the limits of their sound. And the results are breathtaking. Ultimately, Watershed sounds at once completely like and absolutely nothing like previous Opeth records. Watershed takes all that is Opeth, and goes where Opeth have never gone before. |
| User Reviews: |
 Written on July 1, 2008 Summary: A New Chapter Opens This release marks the most dramatic change in the band's history.The departure of Martin Lopez and Peter Lindgren left a vacuum that was filled by Martin Axenrot and Fredrik Akesson. The new band members are both very talented, but very different than their predecessors. Martin Axenrot's style is a more traditional Heavy Metal/Hard Rock variety and Fredrik Akesson style is that of a traditional shredder. For this release, Mikael Akerfeldt decided to take an unusual turn and write material that sounds more traditional than on any of the band's prior releases. The fact that a good portion of the music is written in major keys adds to the perception. Listen closely and you will hear everything from "Acid Rock" to "Jazz" coming out of your speakers. It just seems to me that the band takes this release in too many different directions. Unlike the band's prior efforts, there is an uncharacteristic lack of cohesiveness here.  Written on June 26, 2008 Summary: Remarkably Consistent - Opeth Triumps Again Leave it to Opeth to surprise us with every new album. Riding on the momentum built by their last two albums and recent successful tours, the Swedish quintet released in May their ninth studio album, "Watershed". Known for their wall-of-sound compositions and overall crushing tone, the album starts off with "Coil", a 3-minute acoustic song featuring diverse instrumentation, Mikael kerfeldt's softer side, and a cameo by female vocalist Nathalie Lorichs. It's quite a bold move for a progressive death-metal band, but it pays off as it leads into the merciless "Heir Apparent", arguably an upcoming single. From there we are treated to a diverse tapestry of sound, most of which we can call "vintage" Opeth, with several surprises thrown in the mix. The band had received some criticism on their previous studio album, 2005's "Ghost Reveries", namely that their trademark loud-to-soft transitions were becoming too forced. Whether or not they chose to acknowledge this criticism is moot, but the transitions in this album are much more fluid and graceful. Songs like "Hessian Peel" grow slowly from folk-inspired acoustic passages to the chthonic assault that makes Opeth such a powerful force. Along the way the band makes use of flutes, ("Porcelain Heart"), and strings to great dramatic effect ("Burden"). Though their 70's-prog influences are still shining in this album, the Swedes are far from going soft. "Heir Apparent" and "The Lotus Eaters" contain some of the roughest, fastest riffage heard since "My Arms, Your Hearse". This is no surprise - kerfeldt has been saying for a long time that it was a worthy successor to the album, released a decade ago. In between, it is clear how tightly the band has honed their craft. Even with a lineup change, replacing longtime guitarist Peter Lindgren with Frederik Akkeson and drummer Martin Lopez with the apty-named Martin Axenrot, there is a definite sense of consistency in the band's catalog. The dynamic, and often frantic, balance between intense and soothing, is still there, but not as deliberate and self-aware as it was in "Ghost Reveries". With "Watershed", Opeth have created an eponymous album that vastly exceeded my expectations. Much like prog-metal peers Symphony X and their release of 2007's "Paradise Lost", they have perfected their style and created a remarkable work of power, consistency, and beauty. Though not perfect, as exemplified by the album's lackluster closer ("Hex Omega"), it is a solid musical statement, driven by kerfeldt's intricate and disciplined songwriting. Whether you're a fan of the dark side of distorted metal or the serene landscape created by lush acoustics, Opeth will deliver. Written on June 26, 2008 Summary: Great album but warning for the Bonus Tracks This is a great album. We will start there. The personel changes have not hurt the band one bit. If anything, I think it has helped. Axe's drumwork is fantastic and fits well within the Opeth mold and Akesson shreds and solos fit like a glove within this well crafted music. So new members, same great music you have come to expect from this band. I like to review and breakdown by song so here we go. 1.) Coil:(4.5/5) Awesome slow opener, even thier acoustic work can't be simple as there is constant movement in the playing. Anyways, this is a slow track that clocks in around 3 minutes and is complimented with some beautiful female(don't know the name) during the second part. A perfect slow opener that blends into 2.) Heir Apparent:(5/5) One of Opeths heavier tracks. Fast shredding and death vocals are in full mode here, This album doesn'y get repetetive alot at all and this song is a perfect example. It changes pace several times but when it does the instruments and playing just pop out at you in spectacular fashion. So those parts, the breakdowns and the solos are fantastic in this song. 3.) The Lotus Eater:(4.5/5) Clean singing over blastbeats, death metal vox over just insane playing make this one of the better tracks on the album. The playing by all members is blazing on this track. 4.) Burden:(4/5) The slowest track on the album but a great track where every member gets to show off a little on thier respective instrument. Lots of keyboard and soloing in this one. This album really shows how much of an addition Per is on the keyboards. This song especially but this one really show how much he adds to thier sound. 5.) Porcelain Heart:(5/5) Thier first release of this album it switches between excellent heavy brooding parts and slow verses before kicking back into the heavy mode once again. This song also contains a crazy drum part by axe which some find off putting but I find fascinating as it is different than the music being played yet fits perfectly within the context of the song. A marvelous track. 6.) Hessian Peel: (4.5/5)Starts off with some brilliant slower paced playing and builds into some really heavy parts. This is the longest track and goes back and forth a few times. Another great song. This album jusst flows well which leads to the last song on the regular release, 7.) Hex Omega: (5/5) My favorite track on the whole album. It's a heavy track with an epic feel to it. Starts off with some great playing. Each verse is clean sung and then builds into some incredible heavy playing. The ending has a real epic feel. A great end to an incredible release. The 2nd disc holds the cool dvd segment and the bonus tracks where I think the album kind of screws the customer as the bonus songs are only accessable on the dvd and can't be added to your player of choice. You have to go to Itunes and buy the whole album again to get these without having the dvd and they get you by having one of te bonus track as an album only buy. That's the only killer to this great album. The dvd is a fun look at the band during the making of the album which I always find interesting and the 7 tracks of the regular release in 5.1 surround sound which sounds magnificent. The bonus tracks are all good but the only real standout to me is bridge of sighs. A cool cover indeed. So aside from the screwy way the bonus tracks are offered up(which is the only reason I give it 4 instead of 5 stars) this is another great release from one of the best bands out there today. Don't miss this one. It rates right up there with thier best. Written on June 23, 2008 Summary: For a metal album, there's very few metal songs in it. I had picked this up as something to listen to, being a fan of almost every kind of metal that I can name. I've heard a lot of praise for Opeth and thought I'd give them a shot with Blackwater Park. Didn't really suit my tastes at the time, but I heard they had a new album out and gave them a second shot. All I can definitely say is that this is an album that I would not say is for everyone. First of all, it heavily feels like a mix track. The first song, which is mostly just acoustic guitars and light vocals with some melody made me wonder what I was about to get into with this album. When the second song played things started to pick up, but once that was over the rest of the album continued off just like the first song did with occasional melodic death metal rhythm. I got rather tired of it right away to be honest and I don't think aside from the second song, which is very good, I will be listening to this full album at all. I will say though that it made me go back and listen to Blackwater Park and made me appreciate that album much more. In the end, as far as I can say who this album is for; if you're a fan of Opeth then I assume that you'll enjoy this album. But if you're discovering Opeth for the first time because of some recommendations, I suggest looking into Blackwater Park first as that seems to be their better album out of their discography. Written on June 22, 2008 Summary: Hex Omega Interesting. For all the talk, here and elsewhere, of Watershed being a "transition" album, I find Opeth's latest to be the craftsmanship of a tight and mature band, one which still has something to say and places to go after eight albums. In case the five-star rating didn't convey it, this is going to be very favorable review. So let the gushing begin! Opeth's reinterpretations of '70s progressive rock within a death/black metal context have achieved a new level of creativity and skill in this briskly-paced release, which at around 50 minutes is one of the band's shortest to date. There's something for everyone on this album, from ballads to black metal blast beats, with serene acoustic bits and groovy keyboard-driven middle sections. The keyboards--and backing vocals-- of Per Wiberg (according to Mikael "the most heavy-metal keyboardist player") are featured much more prominently on this album. A happy side effect of this more refined effort is that none of the over-repetition that occasionally cropped up in earlier efforts is any longer in evidence. Mikael's clean vocals are his strongest yet and the guitar riffs are, well, what can I say? legendary. What deal with the Devil did Mikael make, I wonder? A word here about the dearly departed. Those concerned about the loss of Peter Lindgren and Martin Lopez should cool their heels and stay awhile. Opeth has lost nothing musically in this personnel transition. The upgrade at guitarist (with respect) adds a new dimension to the band's technical virtuosity--that of shredder. A somewhat more conventional style, perhaps, but the heightened contrast between the two guitarists' voicings is welcome. As with stringed instruments, so, too, with the drumming, which is formidable, tasteful--despite its brutality--and dead center in the mix. The extra tracks on the expanded CD/DVD are well done and frankly I'm surprised that Derelict Herds didn't make it onto the album. Rip them. The hourlong piece on the band is insightful and a great way to get to know the band members a little, if not exactly over-produced. I will admit that I would love to see these guys get a little more attention in the press. A "watershed" event, indeed. Highly recommended as a defining album of this band. |
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| Price comparison |
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| Our price | $22.99 | $13.99 | $13.99 | $18.98 | $13.99 |
| List price | $24.98 | $16.98 | $15.98 | $18.98 | $15.98 |
| Lowest used price | $14.99 | $12.21 | $11.95 | $9.48 | $7.49 |
| Lowest new price | $17.42 | $10.57 | $8.98 | $10.99 | $7.99 |
| Collectible price | $49.99 | - | - | - | - |
| Catalog | Music | Music | Music | Music | Music |
| Release date | 2008-06-03 | 2008-04-15 | 2008-04-29 | 2007-11-20 | 2008-03-11 |
| Media | Audio CD | Audio CD | Audio CD | Audio CD | Audio CD |
| discs number | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Format | Enhanced, Special Edition | Special Edition | - | Live | - |
| Ean | 0016861793654 | 0801056818324 | 0727361200527 | 0801056820921 | 0727361193720 |
| Upc | 016861793654 | 801056818324 | 727361200527 | 801056820921 | 727361193720 |
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