Not since the release of
Tiamat
's groundbreaking masterpiece
Wildhoney
in 1994 had the
extreme metal
scene witnessed such an overwhelming show of fan enthusiasm and uniform critical praise as that bestowed upon
Blackwater Park
, the astounding fifth effort from
Swedish metal
titans
Opeth
. A work of breathtaking creative breadth,
(named after an obscure German
progressive rock
outfit from the 1970s) keeps with
's tradition by transcending the limits of
death
/
black metal
and repeatedly shattering the foundations of conventional songwriting, to boot. Rarely does a band manage to break new ground without losing touch with its roots, but
has made a career of it -- perhaps never as effortlessly as on this occasion. But the biggest difference between
and previous offerings lies not in the remarkably high songwriting standards achieved by main man
Mikael Akerfeldt
(that's a given with him), but in the first-time involvement of
Porcupine Tree
leader
Steve Wilson
, whose contributions as producer lend an unprecedented fluidity to
's restlessly inventive arrangements. Like all
LPs,
is divided not so much into songs as "movements," as the band likes to call them. Tracks start and finish in seemingly arbitrary fashion, usually traversing ample musical terrain, including acoustic guitar and solo piano passages,
ambient
soundscapes,
stoner rock
grooves, and Eastern-tinged melodies -- any of which are subject to savage punctuations of
death metal
fury at any given moment. Likewise,
Akerfeldt
's vocals run the gamut from bowel-churning grunts to melodies of chilling beauty -- depending on each movement section's mood. With all this in mind, singling out specific highlights is pretty much a futile exercise; but for the benefit of first-time listeners, why not start out with the colossal, Arabian-flavored riffs of
"Bleak,"
the memorable chorus of
"The Drapery Falls,"
the surprisingly gentle intro of
"Dirge for November,"
and, finally, the all-encompassing title track. Then, with patience (
's music is everything but immediate), the rest of
's grand scheme will be revealed. As for more experienced
disciples, few will disagree with the fact that, even compared to lofty prior achievements,
is surely the band's coming-of-age album, and therefore, an ideal introduction to its remarkable body of work. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia