Watershed in perspective

[Vuashke]

i was hoping for more quiet acoustic passages, more prominent and abundant piano (not keyboard or synth, just acoustic piano), some darker/sadder stuff

less growling is something i liked although i would think that most people would disagree with that, i was hoping for less distorted chunky metal stuff

i think it was pretty good, i dont think there are any stand out songs or that the album is a masterpiece, it has some cool parts i like, but none of the songs do i listen to very much

 

[zdcheezit]

I thought every song was so freaking amazing from the start sans maybe Hessian Peel and Porcelain Heart. Hessian Peel, however has now become one of my favorite from the album (and I still like Porcelain Heart, too).

 

[gvndarklighter]

Now that I've been listening to it nearly every day all summer, I definitely think that Heir Apparent, Burden, and Hessian Peel have the most staying power with me. Individual songs may be lighter than normal, but on the other hand Watershed does have some of Opeth's darkest moments (i.e. about 5 min. into Hessian Peel, and all of Heir Apparent).

I think that it could have been a little better, in that sometimes the album seems to wander somewhat aimlessly. All of the music is good, but it seems to have less coherent direction than any other of their albums. On the other hand, it did reassure me that Akesson and Axenrot are more than just plug-ins for Peter and Lopez. Initially Akesson's solos seemed gratuitous, but then I just realized that it was because we have rarely had that sort of guitar play in Opeth.

The only glaring fault in the album in my opinion is Hex Omega. It has some great moments, but it is the first Opeth song since Orchid that does nothing for me. It's not even beginning to grow on me. Still, I give the album fourth place overall (Still Life, MAYH, and Ghost Reveries are better, IMO). Not bad for something so experimental, and after a major lineup change.

 

[Taotrac]

Personally, the only song that really stood out for me, was The Lotus Eater, and that was only the first half of it. I think this album was really simple compared to ALL of Opeth's previous work. All their other songs had so many instruments playing at one time usuaully. Usually a heavy guitar, bass, soft guitar, drums, keyboards, and vocals all at once. On this album, all that seems split up and it seems like each instrument is constantly on its own solo. Plus this whole album is full of "traditional" songs. Coil, Burden, most of Heir Appearant, and somewhat Porcelain Heart were all songs that could have very well been written by another band. The Lotus Eater and Hessian Peel were the only two songs that REALLY seemed Opethy. Listening back to Ghost Reveries, it makes me feel this album was a really simple album with no complexities to it. The songs were short, the album was short, ect. ect.

After Ghost Reveries, I was hoping for a album that cound top even Ghost Reverie's complex song structures and writing, its long songs, it's number of songs, its jazz influence, the tribal drumming, it's artwork, its cool concept, ALL of that stuff. And Watershed had none of it.

I mean, Watershed was a good album and I listen to it all the time, just, it was a let down, and more simple than anything they've ever done. But who knows, the sound might be just a temporary sound, like Damnation and Deliverance was. But honestly, Ghost Reveries, Still Life, and Blackwater Park made me absolutely fall in love with Opeth for their complexity, absolutely booty-shaking (lmao) groovy death metal parts, the jazz/prog rock solos, and the pure evil sounding yet poetic lyrics, and the soaring soft singing. And while most of that stuff tried to be on Watershed, I don't think it worked, and I think Watershed would have been much better if it was more of a shorter pure soft album, something to give the new members a test until they release a true Opeth album shortly after. I mean I think everyone can agree that Hex Omega coulda even been left out, and that Burden just seems out of place.

 

[BefriendedUnit]

^Heir Apparent couldn't've been written by another band. I refer you to 4:39. It doesn't get more Opeth than that! The whole song is a total masterpiece, and it's maybe the best "death metal" song I've ever heard (since there are no clean vox). Like I said, my favorite cut from the album.

 

[wut wut]

At first, I thought it was a great album. Now, I think it's Opeth's best album.

The only problem I have with it is that, while it is softer overall than most of their other albums, there is not one moment of breathtaking beauty. I'm talking about stuff like the intro of "Hours of Wealth," and the clean section in "Godhead's Lament".

The soft stuff on Watershed has more of a prog rock style than the soft stuff on their earlier albums, which were more fragile beauty folk. I think the softer stuff being less beautiful in that manner on Watershed was intentional, but I miss it a little bit. To me, it was a signiture of Opeth's sound.

Related to this, the soft breaks on earlier Opeth albums had more substance to them. On Watershed, the soft breaks in the heavy songs are extremely brief, and kind of feel like filler. Like 3:37-4:07 on "Heir Apparent," and 4:15-5:42 on "The Lotus Eater" (love the keyboard part, though). They don't feel like they're going anywhere. They don't pack the same emotional punch as the soft breaks on, say, "The Leper Affinity" and "Karma".

In the context of the songs, though, they work. Like I said before, it's Opeth's best record to date. There's just a couple of things from their old style that I miss a little bit.

 

[Black Session]

I can find myself in a lot of the criticism mentioned in this thread so far, and also in the positive comments. I think I will only have a clearer perspective after the next album comes out, like with GR which I only now appreciate much more.
It is a great album, without any doubt. But there are so many long passages on it that don't have the same opeth vibe I know from the other albums. But of course this is not necessarily bad, it is just different, and they said it would be very different ...
I dislike however that they put Coil on it ... I like the song on its own, but it does not fit the album at all and is again an example (I mentioned this several times before relating to GR as well) in my personal opinion that they (or Mikael solo or in side project) should keep stuff like this separately. With WS it has gotten to the point that when I listen to the album, I start off with Heir Apparent, skipping Coil all together ... because I want to listen to Watershed and with the first song I always have the feeling like I have to wait, listen to a song from something else first, before I can get started with the actual album.

And of course Derelict Herds should have been on it ... or at least it should be able to ripp it so we can put it on our iPod or something together with the rest of the songs! I barely listen to that song now because it is such a hastle to put in the dvd every time. I will download it soon I guess.

 

[.StaticA.]

I tend to get into the songs with more dynamics within them.

In this case, my favourite track is Hessian Peel. I freakin' love that song.