Yes, better than them. At least to my ears, but that's my opinion, so screw yourself.
And I never said anything great about Black Ice, I think it sucks. Watershed, OTOH, is great.
you're a deaf retard then ttytt. watershed does not hold a candle to esoteric or deathspell omega, in anything.
watershed wasn't even that great in opeth standards, there was one song on there that I can enjoy from beginning to end (heir apparent) and then half of a song I can enjoy (second half of hessian peel.) everything else is

worthy, especially lyrics like "will the children cry when their mother dies" and "given up the ghost". not to mention the almost ridiculous david coverdale strained melodies on songs like burden.
ghost reveries was a better, and more cohesive, record on the whole. and most people on here have a knack of disliking ghost reveries because it was too formulaic, or too "generic" in some places - but it's a lot better, songwriting wise, than watershed was. most of the transitions on gr make at least a semblance of sense on gr, while on watershed there's riffs thrown in just for the sake of being there with no real transitioning. it's almost like a regression to the days of orchid, except there weren't any harmony guitars.
btw, thorns and ved buens ende are pioneers of black metal and their impact is long lasting - much more so than the impact of a band like tristania or theatre of tragedy.
thanks, have a good night.