Honest opinions on Watershed

[Mr. Niel]

I think what really separates the last two albums from all the others is that the balance of "standard" songs to "damnation" songs is out of whack from the previous albums. Prior to "Ghost Reveries," one mellow song was par for the course (not counting instrumental interludes). On the last two records, more of the mellow stuff has been showing up.

On Watershed, the balance is even more in favor of the "Damnation" type songs to the "Standard" songs:

Coil, Burden, Porcelain Heart (no death vox, so I'm counting it as a heavy sort of"Damnation" song), and Hex Omega vs. Heir Apparent, The Lotus Eater, and Hessian Peel.

Of the "standard" songs, Heir Apparent shows the most ties to any previous album, while the other two tracks display reaching into new Opeth territories while still applying the signature sort of sound.

And then the "Damnation" sort of songs...Hex Omega is the only one that I think stands up with the other songs on the actual Damnation album. Coil and Burden are both cool, but they don't really stick out to me, particularly Burden. That song really seems like Mike could write it in his sleep. Porcelain Heart has some cool ideas but is drawn out way too long with too many repetitions. I thought the Mellotron version was better at getting the point across and would've fit on the album better.

So I think this might help explain the squabbling. Of course, there's always the new vs. old band member argument...


As for me, 4 songs that I like (2 of which I consider "classics" for the band) compared to 2 that I think are okay and one that has a cooler version is alright by me. Granted, I'm used to Opeth putting out totally solid albums, but hey, it's their 9th album for crying out loud!

 

[Alteredmindeath]

i gave the WATERSHED review 7.5/10 on the Opeth scale. 8/10 on the mag review.

 

[Annihilat0r]

7.5/10 Opeth scale would mean 15/10 on normal scale

 

[Alteredmindeath]

7.5/10 Opeth scale would mean 15/10 on normal scale

comparing it to other albums which spoiled me.

 

[DeepSouthMetal]

Watershed's a great album. To hell with how it compares to anything else Opeth.

 

[Lateralus14]

Overall I enjoy the album and will welcome more songwriting along the lines of HA/TLE/Burden/HP but am now just a tad skeptical of future Opeth albums because of all the musical gimmicks with female singing and really pretentious lyrics seen in Porcelain Heart and Coil. Burden was really pretentious too lyrically but I don't think anyone cares about the lyrics on that song, just listen to the solos and ignore the rest pretty much...

And Arasmas I'm a little surprised you say Watershed is easily their worst when your recent countdown put 3 Watershed songs over every song on MAYH besides Demon of the Fall - is it just because MAYH flows as an album?

 

[Blackfield]

am i the only one here who thinks that deliverance is the best album in world wide music? lol

 

[NicholasDWolfwood]

in the dvd to damnation and deliverance lopez said he writes/composes/comes up with like 90% of the drumming o.0 as for the bass i doubt mendez does more than 5% lol.

I'm talking about Watershed specifically, and on that record, I do not believe that Lopez played drums.

So again - on Watershed, it could have been session guys and it wouldn't have turned out much different.

I mean, hell, when a band combines death metal with progressive metal and jazz (just to name a few, as I'm sure you're all aware!)

TEH JAZZ INFLOOENCES! ZOMGZ!

 

[{-sapob-}]

I honestly think watershed is put together nicely.

remembering it was the first album to feature two new members, the pressure would have been immense.
Thinking about the circumstances Opeth were in att, for me takes a bit off the judgement.

To the people who say that you dont want something new (if you think about it thats what your saying), wasnt the keep you guessing factor one of the qualities of a band like opeth?

 

[Lateralus14]

am i the only one here who thinks that deliverance is the best album in world wide music? lol

Well Deliverance definitely > Watershed, and Wreath is currently one of my favorite songs of all time..

 

[Vamos]

Watershed is a good album I'd say. I think that Heir Apparent and The Lotus Eater are the main highlights here but Burden is good as well. Porcelain Heart doesn't bothers me as much as it does to some here but I think that the song literally screams for some parts of it to be sung with growls...but they never come and I think the song suffers a bit from it. I am not a fan of Coil or Hex Omega but Hessian Peel is good, specially the second half.

As far as comparisons with their other albums goes, I would definitely rank Watershed above Orchid, Morningrise, Ghost Reveries and perhaps even My Arms Your Hearse. But to me it doesn't reach the heights of Still Life, Blackwater Park or Deliverance/Damnation.

Overall, and as has been pointed out already, this is very much a transitional album for the band. I think they got a lot of good ideas going on in it and I think these will find their fullest expression in the next "observation".

 

[Walls1441]

MYAH > Still Life > BWP/GR > first two > Deliverance > Watershed> Damnation.

as for damnation being last, i like individual songs on it but do not like the album as a whole because i don't think it best represents the band at that point in time same for Deliverance.
I think it would've been better if you took halves of deliverance and damnation and released those.

Watershed feels kind like a pretentious attempt at a progressive metal album. Burden is my least favorite Opeth song. I really really do not like this song. Most of opeth that i like, i like because i feel like "wow, i never would've thought of that riff" or something. If you told me to write a 70s rock ballad i probably would've come up with something like burden. I'm also disappointed by the percentage of time that growling is not occuring. Mike has my favorite growls of any vocalist so that was a bummer. I think his shitty cleans were better anyways for the band like on MYAH.

 

[Walls1441]

actually you know my biggest gripe with Burden?

it overstays its welcome. That song really does not need to be 7 minutes long.
Same with epilogue.

 

[in limbow]

I don't really like it at all.

 

[TommyPickles]

Don't really care for the album. I really don't listen to it.

I will say I think they've picked the best songs to play live though.

 

[Vamos]

I'm also disappointed by the percentage of time that growling is not occuring. Mike has my favorite growls of any vocalist so that was a bummer.

Same here. There are growls only in 2 and a half songs out of 7.

 

[Korlich]

^ More like 4 out of 8 if you count in derelict heards. Then coil is more like an intro to HA, so its actually 4 out 7

 

[Cognitive Intercourse]

I agree with what others here have said in regards to Watershed sounding as though it is missing the "dark atmosphere" of Opeth's other works. In that sense, there is definitely something lacking on this album that is found on their other albums. It's not quite as...."Opethian"...as I would like.

However, some of the songs on this album are some of the strongest songs they have ever done. I love Heir Apparent, Lotus Eater, Hessian Peel....I even love Hex Omega, which a lot of people here don't seem to care very much for. So in that sense, the songs still stand up, despite the overall lack of "atmosphere" for want of a better term.

Overall, it's a damn good album. The songs are strong, the musicianship is stellar. And I like that they are not afraid of venturing out into new waters to experiment with differnet things. Sometimes it works brilliantly (Like the Lotus Eater), sometimes it doesn't (Like Porcelain Heart). But I admire them for not taking the easy road and just making Ghost Reveries Pt II or Return to Still Life. Know what I mean?

The only gripe I have with the album, really, are the little gimmicks which they throw in every now and then. Especially the detuning of the guitar at the end of Burden. Ugh. I mean...I get the joke but, it totally ruins the moment for me. And it always makes the beginning of Porcelain Heart sound a little out of tune if I listen to all of Burden going into it (Maybe that's part of the reason why some people don't like PH, subconciously at least).

But, other than that, a damn fine album. Then again, the worst thing that Opeth has ever done in their career still stands head and tails over about 99% of everything else out there. IMHO, of course.

There are times when it feels as though the band is still trying to gel with the new lineup. Like they aren't quite as tight here as they were on GR. Hopefully, that will be cured when they start to record the next album (When I saw them in concert last October, they sounded like they've been playing together for decades). Combine the cohesivenesss and atmosphere of GR along with the experimentation and new direction found on Watershed and the next album just may very well be the greatest thing they have done yet. I'm really excited to see where the transition of Watershed will lead them next.

 

[Chinese Whispers]

There are times when it feels as though the band is still trying to gel with the new lineup. Like they aren't quite as tight here as they were on GR. Hopefully, that will be cured when they start to record the next album (When I saw them in concert last October, they sounded like they've been playing together for decades). Combine the cohesivenesss and atmosphere of GR along with the experimentation and new direction found on Watershed and the next album just may very well be the greatest thing they have done yet. I'm really excited to see where the transition of Watershed will lead them next.

I thought similiar when I first heard Watershed, that they are in a 'transitional period' so to speak, especially considering that they had two guys come in that bring something different to the predecessors. You certainly get the sense that they are looking to branch out further with Watershed and that it probably won't be fully realised until another album or so - and who knows where that might lead - but it certainly makes you wonder.

 

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

i like the album, but imho its a step in a wrong direction. i mean, its the best opeth album in the musically way, and the most progressive one, but opeth should sound like opeth. and opeth = blackwater part, still life and my arms your hearse. i hope the next album will be more like the old ones, and not as different as watershed

I agree with you on everything except that it's a step in the wrong direction. I can see how some would think that, and the sentiment is perfectly valid as it comes down to personal taste, but I love to see Akerfeldt taking the band in new directions and getting more progressive with experimentation.

I think this album is a turning point from the band, a turning point that may put off a lot of fans as they get further and further away from the death metal sound. They could go back to what their older stuff sounds like on their next release, but I don't see it happening. Each album they put out has a evolving sound that gets more and more progressive. For me, I embrace the change. I want to see them grow, and there is plenty of material to satisfy the fans of their death metal sound.

The only complaint I have is that the album seems too short. It just ends abruptly. It feels like there is a track missing.