There's a gently humming prologue, then 'The Lotus Eater' becomes a slab of blastbeats iced with clean vocals that - as with many Opeth tunes - takes a 'break' two-thirds of the way through, only to take one hell of a left turn out of nowhere. But it is track three where Opeth really take the listener by the ear and twist. After the pastoral introduction of 'Coil,' Opeth move into pummeling mode with 'Heir Apparent.' It's one of the few tracks here to feature growling death metal vocals. The tricky part is pointing out that while Watershed is a fantastic record, one that takes chances while remaining totally metal (dude), it feels less like a complete statement than a preview for something even greater. For whatever reason, Watershed is a new benchmark for Opeth. It's hard to say if the recent membership changes affected bandleader Mikael Åkerfeldt's writing and production, or if he was enjoying his trip down classic rock (see: Deep Purple) lane.

Opeth take chances that many bands in the same situation would be too scared to have a go at. Instead, they opted to challenge themselves and their listeners, creating an album that can - at times - expose its true nature and scope slowly and - at other times - be jarring, as if it were turning itself inside out. Buy the album Starting at £16.39Īfter album (or 'observation,' as the band likes to call them) number eight - Ghost Reveries - Opeth could have very easily coasted, merely rehashing their sound. Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

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