On Average Here, Blackwater Park Gets The Most Negative Comments - Why?

MetalManCPA

MetalManCPA

Papa Opeth
May 19, 2001
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I realize it's all a matter of taste, but I catch more negative Blackwater Park comments than from any other Opeth album.

And I'm only asking this because even after Deliverance, I find Blackwater Park their best album. For one, The Drapery Falls is my favorite song by any band. I also feel the album has a great flow to it, and I love the production. I also consider it musically more in depth than their prior efforts - but I am taking nothing away from any Opeth album.

What do I hear in Blackwater Park that others don't? Why do I find it such an amazing album, and others just don't like it?
 
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BAH!

I agree with you metalman.. it's an awesome album and tho' it's not so stuffed with technical fireworks as certain other albums, it's still an awesome creative effort... and personally I find Bleak and Drapery to be two of the most incredible songs ever... easy listening? Hell no... it's an awesome and progressive effort...
 
I agree with metalman and eirik> BWP is their best album by far, and it's certainly not the simplest as someone said earlier. I think it's just the opposite. Their attention to detail shows more on BWP than on any other of their albums (excluding Damnation cause I don't know yet). BWP has such intricate e-bow parts, and has such layered guitars. It's the densest and most atmospheric. If people don't like it it's prolly just cause it's not as heavy as the others.
 
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I've been agreeing about this for a while now! It's true, I am always seeing people throw in a random anti-BWP comment in their posts. And SIMPLE? What the hell are you talking about? How is BWP more simple than other opeth albums? It is perfectly produced, the song structures are percfectly varied, the guitars are very well layered, and the production is perfect for the album, all creating a dark and truly deep atmosphere..... it's musical perfection in my opinion.....
 
Depends where you are reading these comments, all the internet reviews I have read give it mostly perfect marks, it's only since I started coming here that I see these comments, I don't understand it either, I think it is a masterpiece along with Still Life:headbang:
 
Schism said:
Depends where you are reading these comments, all the internet reviews I have read give it mostly perfect marks, it's only since I started coming here that I see these comments, I don't understand it either, I think it is a masterpiece along with Still Life:headbang:
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Most of the comments I'm mentioning come from this forum.

It surprises me, and I too don't understand it. I think I know music - I've been an aavid listener of music for most of my 42 years of existance as well as a piano player for 1/2 my life. And I hear nothing simple in BWP. Quite the opposite actually. It's depth amazes me. It's progession from previous albums amazes me.

Opeth amazes me.
 
Any negative comments I feel would be that poster trying to be different from everyone else and saying it is not as good as their other albums just for the sake of an argument, I find it hard believe you can be an Opeth fan and not like their best album (arguably of course LOL)

:)
 
I think This Metal Judgement revieweer summed it up perfectly:

Abyss's Review:
[size=+2]"'And don't even get me started on linguine! Fucking sellout linguine, it makes me so mad!'"[/size]Have you ever noticed that all of the Opeth albums seem to have an equal percentage of fans that think it's their best? I've heard each album listed as their best in numerous conversations, reviews and articles. This has to tell you something about this band, and about the level of craftsmanship that goes into each album. Because, let's face it, I know a ton of KISS fans, but NONE of them are saying that Unmasked, Dynasty, or Crazy Nights is their favorite album. And for a long time Opeth were about the best-reviewed (by critics and fans alike) bands in all of metal, but this seems to be changing. As is often the case, once a band attains wide acceptance in our fickle little clique, the detractors start becoming more and more vocal. Because, after all, the only way to prove how true a metalhead you are is to tell others that the metal they're listening to is lame. And don't play innocent, because almost all of you have done it. "Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth are queer goth shit", "Nu-metal is NOT metal!", and "The Gothenburg sound is just stagnant now, all the bands suck". You've probably either heard (or more likely said) something like these idiotic statements in the recent past, and they just remind me of some of the shit I've been hearing recently about Opeth. Things like: "Orchid kicked ass, but Blackwater Park just sucked!" Really? I find that hard to believe. I mean, I can believe you liked one more than the other, I could even believe that one just didn't seem to move you the way you hoped it would. But one being great and the other completely sucking? I just can't believe that. I mean, when it comes to the overall sound, how different do you really find them? Obviously there are differences over the years, but the overall sound is quite similar. So how can one be great and the other be totally worthless? Do these people have such overly sensitive tastes in all facets of their life? Do they go to Italian restaurants and say things like, "I love spaghetti, but vermicelli is just plain disgusting! And don't even get me started on linguine! Fucking sellout linguine, it makes me so mad!"
 
thats the cd that got me into them more...after my freind bought it i copied it and listened to it a few times..then i downloaded all the rest of there stuff and started from the begining..the only problem is im still stuck on Orchid, that album just amazies me time after time and doesnt get old. i did however listen to the rest of them and liked them of course. but i just feel that Orchid has an atmosphere like no other. BWP is a really good album i just enjoy Orchid more.
 
IanDork107 said:
I agree with metalman and eirik> BWP is their best album by far, and it's certainly not the simplest as someone said earlier. I think it's just the opposite. Their attention to detail shows more on BWP than on any other of their albums (excluding Damnation cause I don't know yet). BWP has such intricate e-bow parts, and has such layered guitars. It's the densest and most atmospheric. If people don't like it it's prolly just cause it's not as heavy as the others.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly...
 
After about 3 1/2 months of intensive, full-tilt, got-all-the-albums-can't-stop-listening fandom, BWP is my favorite. With rich, textured, varied, punchy, crystal-clear production, each track is a fully realized composition with its own distinct identity AND the whole album flows from beginning to end.
To me it's like the music IS a place, a world, called Blackwater Park.

I just keep loving it more and more. All the albums are great though.

We'll see what I think over time.
 
Speaking for the other side, BWP compared to their other albums seems to have less interplay between the band. Arrangement-wise, some parts even sound a bit sparse. Plus some of the themes/songs just don't match up to the quality of some of the older albums (although I wouldn't call anything on the first two albums songs really...). Adding the heavy part to Dirge For November also was a horrible idea that didn't fit IMO as well.

And it has nothing to do with heavy, personally, I think Deliverance was quite a step down from BWP, which was a step down from SL and MAYH (my personal favorite).

On a good note though, I will say that BWP easily has the best production out of all the Opeth discs. Steven Wilson adds just enough atmosphere without overkill and all the instruments are relatively clear (compared to the muddy production on MAYH).
 
Schism said:
I think This Metal Judgement revieweer summed it up perfectly:
Click to expand...

yah, good quote there, i agree with most of what they said.

BWP is my favorite album, i find it almost perfect (don't care for dirge for november too much, but it's necessary). in addition, i think mikael's death vox in BWP are his best work to date... the delivery on some of the lines absolutely kills me, he's badass on all the albums but there's just another dimension to it on BWP, there's like a thick texture or something (i obviously don't know what the hell i'm talking about here, excuse the babbling). anyhoo, you're right metalmanCPA, people need to back off this album, it's great stuff.
 
I genuinely dislike BWP (and no, it's not me trying to be different, or because it's 'popular', so bollocks to whoever said that :p). I feel it's much too predictable. Also, the riffing is more chord based, which appeals to me less (I also dislike SL for this reason, the Opeth I fell in love with had complex interweaving of guitar lines). And I just don't like the songs- simple as that, the riffs do not do it for me.
 
yourdeadgroom said:
I genuinely dislike BWP (and no, it's not me trying to be different, or because it's 'popular', so bollocks to whoever said that :p). I feel it's much too predictable. Also, the riffing is more chord based, which appeals to me less (I also dislike SL for this reason, the Opeth I fell in love with had complex interweaving of guitar lines). And I just don't like the songs- simple as that, the riffs do not do it for me.
Click to expand...

I by no means mean to criticise your taste, because we wouldn't all be here if it wasn't for the music, but don't you believe in progression??
What about layers and textures that cover all the albums you mentioned, you say it in a way as if they are more simplified rather the actual complex works that they are.
Do you mean to say that "The Drapery Falls" is not an amazing song to you?
I am just curious that's all:)
 
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