OPETH SURVIVOR 2016: Results -> The sun sets forever over Blackwater Park!
- Thread starter Night Prowler
- Start date
Yep.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
I was really torn between Time of Need and Disease. I had to think about it for a considerable amount of time. The former has a beautiful pre-chorus and chorus proper, and the bridge is very interesting and haunting. The latter has progressive structure and is simple but effective in its first half. The end of the song (after Mikael's cool solo) loses me a bit, but overall the track creates a disturbing atmosphere and is simply more unique.
Eliminated after Round 10:
In My Time Of Need - 4 votes
Beneath The Mire - 4 votes
Promoted after Round 10:
Windowpane
Hope Leaves
To Rid The Disease
Watershed joins the game.
Derelict Herds is a bonus song, notably the last Opeth song to feature growls.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
Moor
Melinda
Baying
Coil
Burden
Porcelain
Hex
Derelict
Melinda
Baying
Coil
Burden
Porcelain
Hex
Derelict
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Holidays have overwhelmed me, I'll try to get to this in the next day or two.
I'll try to write my review and vote before I go on a trip on Thursday but I'm not making any promises.
Coil - This is an awesome song and a really cool way to start the album. Has a folksy Zeppelin vibe but much darker. The female vocals are cool too.
The bass work on this track is great. It's simple, but I think it stands on its own as a really cool song and I hope it survives a few rounds.
Heir Apparent - As far as I'm concerned, this is the swan song for Death Metal Opeth. I know there are other songs on the album that are heavy and have growls, but even those songs are pretty proggy. This is the only one that is consistently heavy and feels like something off of BWP or Still Life. There also isn't any clean singing. Mikael's growls might've started declining live (and even on other songs from this album) around this time, but he really brings it on this tune. So many great riffs on this song. Probably the best riffs in an Opeth song since BWP. It's relentlessly heavy but also very catchy. I also like how it switches between acoustic and distorted guitar riffs. Very reminiscent of classic Opeth.
And if all that wasn't enough, the outro is fantastic. I love the dramatic pause before going into that relentless guitar melody. Epic moment.
The Lotus Eater - I love this song, one of my favorite Opeth songs. The only appropriate word for it I can think of is schizophrenic. It takes so many twists and turns, even more than what we're used to with an Opeth song. I love how he switches back and forth between clean singing and growls. Love how it constantly pauses before taking another turn, it's like a bumpy rollercoaster. Also love the blast beats. Used very tastefully there. The dissonant keyboard stuff is great too. The bridge before the mellow section feels like a descent into madness. The mellow section is very suspenseful and creepy. You know they're building up into something intense. But then they pull the rug out from underneath the audience by building into a funk section. One of the most unexpected moments in the Opeth catalog. But it's awesome. It's funky and catchy. The band is pushing further into a proggy direction here. The outro is awesome. Great buildup and cool vocal melodies. The fadeout is delightfully creepy as well. Very eclectic and cinematic Opeth tune.
Burden - This is a cool song. It's a tad generic compared to some of their earlier ballads, but it's a solid song nonetheless. I really enjoy the hammond organ solo and the tradeoff guitar solos at the end. The guitar harmonies are really glorious though. The vocal harmonies earlier on are also nice. Love the acoustic outro with the downtuning. It's a nice song and a much needed moment of lightness on the album after a really heavy track and a really chaotic track. My only problem is that the song seems a bit too long. Certain sections, while nice, tend to overstay their welcome. It's all good music, but this is a song that could've used some editing.
Porcelain Heart - This is like a doom metal folk song. Dirge-y riffs in between a simple sing-song vocal melody. This is a cool weird track. The drumming on this is insane, great performance from Axe. All of the acoustic vocal parts are awesome. Especially the lullaby like part after the heavy instrumental section. Not a huge fan of the in between parts though. It's a cool play on the dynamics but the heavier parts fail to interest me, apart from the great drum performance. Like Burden, the song could've been shorter.
Hessian Peel - Interesting that this is the only song that is longer than 10 minutes. Usually there are several. Makes this one feel more like the epic than any other long song on other albums. Not only that, but this song feels like a journey in the same way that many of the Dream Theater and Iron Maiden epics do. This song is fantastic. Love the folksy start with this and the way it modulates keys. It quickly takes a very dark turn with the backmasked vocals. Love the mood of this part. Reminds me of Repentance by Dream Theater but better. Mikael gives a great vocal performance here. I also like the vibraphone textures. The keyboards really enhance this song. From being a texture to a lead instrument, they've totally added a new dimension to the band's sound. The keyboard pulse before we finally get to some growls is intense. You know it's getting serious at that point. The heavy section is awesome. It feels earned. This song is just one awesome moment after another and, like I said, feels like a journey more than any other Opeth song at this length. Love the acoustic riffs too. The outro is intense. The creepy organ is the perfect way to end it off. Awesome tune, best on the album and top ten Opeth.
Hex Omega - This is the forgotten song of the album. There's nothing bad about it, it just doesn't have anything that makes me want to come back to it or anything particularly memorable. Similar to The Funeral Portrait on BWP. It is a fine song, but an underwhelming finish to the album. Just seems anticlimatic after the breathtaking Hessian Peel.
Derelict Herds - Actually never listened to this before. The intro to this is almost kind of djenty. Reminds me of bands like Animals As Leaders. Also had no idea this song had growls. This song is cool but feels more like a jam than a fully fleshed out song. There are a lot of cool ideas here though. I actually wish they would've worked on making this one come together and put it on the album as a closer instead of Hex Omega. Neither songs are that great though.
I love Watershed. It is the most eclectic Opeth album. Each song is completely unlike any other. There's a great amount of variety on this album which keeps me interested the entire time. For the first time in the band's history, it feels like the Death Metal side is secondary to the prog side. I wish they would make more albums like this instead of albums like Heritage and Sorceress. Pale Communion was close to this sort of thing again, but still no Metal. I would love to see the band make another album that shows every side of the band. Not just the prog. Even just one all out heavy song like Heir Apparent and the rest proggy songs would be good. And the song Sorceress could've easily been that song on the last album, but we'll get to that later.
The only flaw with this album is that it's way too short. The weaker moments stick out because they make up a larger proportion of the album than they would if it had one or two more 10 minute tracks. But the good stuff on this album is among the band's very best. And there's more good than not. The weaker moments are still mostly enjoyable. Once again, Opeth don't write bad songs.
Ranking:
Hessian Peel
The Lotus Eater
Heir Apparent
Coil
Burden
Porcelain Heart
Derelict Herds
Hex Omega
The bass work on this track is great. It's simple, but I think it stands on its own as a really cool song and I hope it survives a few rounds.
Heir Apparent - As far as I'm concerned, this is the swan song for Death Metal Opeth. I know there are other songs on the album that are heavy and have growls, but even those songs are pretty proggy. This is the only one that is consistently heavy and feels like something off of BWP or Still Life. There also isn't any clean singing. Mikael's growls might've started declining live (and even on other songs from this album) around this time, but he really brings it on this tune. So many great riffs on this song. Probably the best riffs in an Opeth song since BWP. It's relentlessly heavy but also very catchy. I also like how it switches between acoustic and distorted guitar riffs. Very reminiscent of classic Opeth.
And if all that wasn't enough, the outro is fantastic. I love the dramatic pause before going into that relentless guitar melody. Epic moment.
The Lotus Eater - I love this song, one of my favorite Opeth songs. The only appropriate word for it I can think of is schizophrenic. It takes so many twists and turns, even more than what we're used to with an Opeth song. I love how he switches back and forth between clean singing and growls. Love how it constantly pauses before taking another turn, it's like a bumpy rollercoaster. Also love the blast beats. Used very tastefully there. The dissonant keyboard stuff is great too. The bridge before the mellow section feels like a descent into madness. The mellow section is very suspenseful and creepy. You know they're building up into something intense. But then they pull the rug out from underneath the audience by building into a funk section. One of the most unexpected moments in the Opeth catalog. But it's awesome. It's funky and catchy. The band is pushing further into a proggy direction here. The outro is awesome. Great buildup and cool vocal melodies. The fadeout is delightfully creepy as well. Very eclectic and cinematic Opeth tune.
Burden - This is a cool song. It's a tad generic compared to some of their earlier ballads, but it's a solid song nonetheless. I really enjoy the hammond organ solo and the tradeoff guitar solos at the end. The guitar harmonies are really glorious though. The vocal harmonies earlier on are also nice. Love the acoustic outro with the downtuning. It's a nice song and a much needed moment of lightness on the album after a really heavy track and a really chaotic track. My only problem is that the song seems a bit too long. Certain sections, while nice, tend to overstay their welcome. It's all good music, but this is a song that could've used some editing.
Porcelain Heart - This is like a doom metal folk song. Dirge-y riffs in between a simple sing-song vocal melody. This is a cool weird track. The drumming on this is insane, great performance from Axe. All of the acoustic vocal parts are awesome. Especially the lullaby like part after the heavy instrumental section. Not a huge fan of the in between parts though. It's a cool play on the dynamics but the heavier parts fail to interest me, apart from the great drum performance. Like Burden, the song could've been shorter.
Hessian Peel - Interesting that this is the only song that is longer than 10 minutes. Usually there are several. Makes this one feel more like the epic than any other long song on other albums. Not only that, but this song feels like a journey in the same way that many of the Dream Theater and Iron Maiden epics do. This song is fantastic. Love the folksy start with this and the way it modulates keys. It quickly takes a very dark turn with the backmasked vocals. Love the mood of this part. Reminds me of Repentance by Dream Theater but better. Mikael gives a great vocal performance here. I also like the vibraphone textures. The keyboards really enhance this song. From being a texture to a lead instrument, they've totally added a new dimension to the band's sound. The keyboard pulse before we finally get to some growls is intense. You know it's getting serious at that point. The heavy section is awesome. It feels earned. This song is just one awesome moment after another and, like I said, feels like a journey more than any other Opeth song at this length. Love the acoustic riffs too. The outro is intense. The creepy organ is the perfect way to end it off. Awesome tune, best on the album and top ten Opeth.
Hex Omega - This is the forgotten song of the album. There's nothing bad about it, it just doesn't have anything that makes me want to come back to it or anything particularly memorable. Similar to The Funeral Portrait on BWP. It is a fine song, but an underwhelming finish to the album. Just seems anticlimatic after the breathtaking Hessian Peel.
Derelict Herds - Actually never listened to this before. The intro to this is almost kind of djenty. Reminds me of bands like Animals As Leaders. Also had no idea this song had growls. This song is cool but feels more like a jam than a fully fleshed out song. There are a lot of cool ideas here though. I actually wish they would've worked on making this one come together and put it on the album as a closer instead of Hex Omega. Neither songs are that great though.
I love Watershed. It is the most eclectic Opeth album. Each song is completely unlike any other. There's a great amount of variety on this album which keeps me interested the entire time. For the first time in the band's history, it feels like the Death Metal side is secondary to the prog side. I wish they would make more albums like this instead of albums like Heritage and Sorceress. Pale Communion was close to this sort of thing again, but still no Metal. I would love to see the band make another album that shows every side of the band. Not just the prog. Even just one all out heavy song like Heir Apparent and the rest proggy songs would be good. And the song Sorceress could've easily been that song on the last album, but we'll get to that later.
The only flaw with this album is that it's way too short. The weaker moments stick out because they make up a larger proportion of the album than they would if it had one or two more 10 minute tracks. But the good stuff on this album is among the band's very best. And there's more good than not. The weaker moments are still mostly enjoyable. Once again, Opeth don't write bad songs.
Ranking:
Hessian Peel
The Lotus Eater
Heir Apparent
Coil
Burden
Porcelain Heart
Derelict Herds
Hex Omega
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
I'm shocked that Porcelain Heart has so many votes. Yes, it's a more commercial version of Grand Conjuration, but the lullaby section in the middle is incredible.
Most of my other thoughts about Watershed are summed up quite nicely in Mosh's great review. I like Hex Omega more than he does, but that's about it. I've never cared for Burden, and Coil - while an interesting and pleasant song - is not one I generally find myself yearning to listen to (even as a bass player!)
The three growly tracks are amongst the band's best. I'd give Lotus a 9.5/10 due to some forced vocal structural issues (rushing words and whatnot), but the other two are 10/10. All three tracks take the listener on more twists and turns than any one song they've done since (there's one song in this style on Pale Communion, but the lack of growlies diminishes it).
This was the ringtone on my phone for years. It's one of my favorite musical passages in all of Opeth's catalog, and probably the most random thing on the album (aside from Burden's terrible outro).
Most of my other thoughts about Watershed are summed up quite nicely in Mosh's great review. I like Hex Omega more than he does, but that's about it. I've never cared for Burden, and Coil - while an interesting and pleasant song - is not one I generally find myself yearning to listen to (even as a bass player!)
The three growly tracks are amongst the band's best. I'd give Lotus a 9.5/10 due to some forced vocal structural issues (rushing words and whatnot), but the other two are 10/10. All three tracks take the listener on more twists and turns than any one song they've done since (there's one song in this style on Pale Communion, but the lack of growlies diminishes it).
This was the ringtone on my phone for years. It's one of my favorite musical passages in all of Opeth's catalog, and probably the most random thing on the album (aside from Burden's terrible outro).
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Easy choices here for this first Watershed round. As Foro said, the first side of this album is great. The second half has great parts, but ultimately feels disjointed and a bit...off? Still a great album that I will go into depth on later, but for now voting for a bunch of the H songs.
Hounds
Heart
Hessian
Hex
Hands
Hounds
Heart
Hessian
Hex
Hands
C'mon man. Porcelain Heart is easily the best song on the album and it gets 6 votes right at the beginning. Not fair.
Y'all are crazy.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
I think Porcelain Heart is easily the weakest, but honestly those last three songs all fall into the category of "Good, Not Great, Not Very Memorable".
