Blackwater Park
Occupation
- Vocals, Guitar: Mikael Åkerfeldt
- Guitar: Peter Lindgren
- Bass: Martin Mendez
- Drums: Martin Lopez
Blackwater Park is the fifth studio album by the Swedish metal band Opeth. It appeared in 2001 at Music for Nations.
Creation and publication
In 2000, Opeth switched to Music for Nations. In London, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Steven Wilson met and engaged him as a producer for a new album. Blackwater Park was taken from August to October 2000 at Studio Fredman. Wilson was also involved as a guest musician, as Markus Lindberg. Wilson, Fredrik Nordström and mixed Opeth album, Goran Finberg mastered it. Travis Smith designed the artwork. The album is named after the short-lived German progressive rock band Blackwater Park.
In Music for Nations also a limited edition with bonus CD was released. Sony Music put the album in 2006 and re- published in 2010 a remastered version with bonus tracks and a surround-sound version and making-of DVD.
Title list
Style
Blackwater Park works harder and catchier than the previous Still Life, but developed Opeth's characteristic fusion of Death Metal, Progressive Metal and Progressive Rock consistently. The atmospherically gloomy album thus moves between " thundering drums and blazing guitar effusions " with guttural vocals on the one hand and the quiet, ballad-like passages with acoustic guitars and clean vocals on the other. In between there are hypnotic soundscapes, elegiac piano solos and reminiscent of Andrew Latimer guitar solos. The pieces are arranged complex, usually not structured conventionally and have thus always unexpected musical twists on.
Reception
The album was highly praised by the press and was the breakthrough for the band. Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic considered as Opeth's Blackwater Park coming of age and it is recommended as an introduction to their work. Christian Rode of the Baby Blue Pages considers it " the crowning of the first five Opeth albums and their bottom line ," Dennis Hirth powermetal.de of the album offers " one hour of musical aggression [ sic], epic and variety, and is by the way still one of the most aesthetic works that ever were allowed to penetrate [s ] an ear ". Blackwater Park was the album with the seventh- highest score of the first ten years of the Legacy magazine, and eclipsed the magazine took it in his list of prog metal milestones.