Was anyone else very impressed by Watershed?

[Vuashke]

to understand and appreciate is one thing, to enjoy it and listen to it and regard it highly is another. also, i dont know how you can gauge the maturity of a band like opeth (or most good bands/artists), and i dont know what you mean by make a connection with myself.

i have an open mind (i listen to alot of different styles of music), and really theres nothing about this album that requires an open mind or any of that, its not COMPLETELY different to other stuff theyve done. i listened to it, and id rather listen to something else. simple as that

 

[Hedon-]

I hated Watershed the first couple of times I spun it. Then I loved it, then I hated it again. Now I like it alot, but I wish they'd've spread out Heir Apparent and The Lotus Eater...Maybe Heir Apparent/Burden/Lotus Eater. I don't like how the cd starts out as one of the heaviest things Opeth has done (Coil not with-standing), and then turns into by far their softest, with only a few scattered growls occupying the last four tracks.

+1

 

[isolation_years]

first time i heard it, i thought, wow great opeth album. then i didn't listen to it for like 2 weeks. listened to it a bit here and there. and just recently i just fell in love with it. it really is an amazing album

 

[FRUGiHOYi]

If Derelict Herds would have been on the standard edition, Watershed would have amazed me on first listen (because I think this is the best song together with Heir Apparent). Ghost Reveries remains one of my favorites from Opeth and It's way up in my "toplist", and it surely beats Watershed for me.
Initially I thought Watershed was the first ever Opeth record that was not extremely good and thus a pretty big disappointment but as always their records grow with time and so did this one!

I agree with everything, except I still don't think it has grown on me so much.

 

[The Antihero]

Very impressed. I find it to be the most dynamic and varied album the band has put out. It impresses me in the same way that Physical Graffiti does, there's a lot of different ideas and styles going on but somehow it still stays cohesive.

 

[Crepuscularia]

I love it, probably no. 3 after BWP and SL. Loved it from first listen. It's one of those albums I have to play end to end (although I sometimes skip PH).

I have to disagree with people who say "Coil" is "upbeat" or "happy". I find it to be equally as dark as say, Isolation Years. Major chords do not always equal happiness! It's all about context....

And while a lot of people complain about the relative lack of death metal, I think the relative lack of them makes them all the more effective when they appear.

 

[FRUGiHOYi]

Here's my very quick review of Watershed:

1. Coil
Good song. Nice that they tried something different and it worked well. Good way to open the album.

2. Heir Apparent
Fucking masterpiece. Might be one of Opeth's best songs.

3. The Lotus Eater
Pretty good. I like the "Nintendo" part, although I don't think it sounds like Nintendo music (as I've heard people say). The vocal melody following the music near the end is awesome!

4. Burden
This song is alright, but too average. Not Opeth enough. One of my least favorite slow songs that Opeth has done.

5. Porcelain Heart
Some pretty cool melodies, but overall a pretty bad song. It seems to have no direction! Bad transitions.

6. Hessian Peel
Starts out really cool, but then goes into a not so special clean guitar part, made even worse by the crappy lyrics. Sounds way too happy. Some really cool parts in the song though. Another terrible transition at 5:30.

7. Hex Omega
Good song, but not that special. I like the last riff because it reminds me of stuff from Orchid or even before. Overall the song sounds a bit uninspired to me though.



So that's my opinion on Watershed in comparison to previous Opeth observations. Although I didn't dig it that much, they are still miles above most other bands.

Edit: Oh yeah and Derelict Herds is up there with Heir Apparent. Den Standiga Resan owns as well.