THE OPETH REFERENDUM MMXXI: Results -> Blackwater Park wins again!

[Shmoolikipod]

Watershed, the least of the greats, but it's still pretty damn good. Talking in particular about the behemoth that is Heir Apparent, and one of my all time favourites from Opeth in The Lotus Eater! You can kind of hear the shift in sound begin here, but it's still miles away from Heritage and after in my opinion.

Eternal Rains
Faith in Others (previously it was a tossup between River and Treason. So I decided I like both of them better than this )
Nepenthe
Lines
Folklore

And from the newcomer, I only vote for Porcelain Heart and Hex Omega. Not terrible songs here. Also shoutout to Derelict Herds, very cool song, cool that you included it!

 

[Night Prowler]

1 more voter and I'm updating

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

8 votes!

 

[Brigantium]

Got enough voters yet?

 

[Night Prowler]

Voted for Nepenthe and Folklore from Heritage. From Watershed, voting for Coil, Heir Apparent, The Lotus Eater and Hessian Peel (by far the worst song on the album with a complete mess of a 2nd half). Yes, all the songs with growls. I don't understand how an awesome song like Hex Omega got the most votes; ending is on par with Deliverance and Harlequin Forest.

 

[Night Prowler]

Eliminated after Round 8:
Hex Omega - 6 votes
Nepenthe - 5 votes
The Lines In My Hand - 5 votes
Derelict Herds - 5 votes

Promoted after Round 8:
The Devil's Orchard
Folklore
Face In The Snow

 

[Detective Beauregard]

River Voice Coil Burden Porcelain

 

[Shmoolikipod]

Rains
Faith
Coil
Porcelain Heart
Hessian Peel

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Lotus
Porcelain
Hessian

 

[The Dissident]

Update? Gaging how long I have to relisten to the remainder of the catalog.

 

[Night Prowler]

Eliminated after Round 9:
Porcelain Heart - 5 votes
Hessian Peel - 5 votes
River - 4 votes
Coil - 4 votes

Promoted after Round 9:
Heir Apparent
The Lotus Eater
Burden

Ghost Reveries joins the game!

 

[Detective Beauregard]

Voice
Everything on Ghost Reveries except Perdition, Reverie/Harlequin (I see that as one song), Hours, and Conjuration

 

[Shmoolikipod]

For the first time this game, all of the correct songs were promoted

Rains will hopefully go now, and on to Ghost Reveries:

This album suffers from a severe case of the first half bring so, so much better than the second. The first three songs are the best streak in the entire discography and it's not even close, they're all probably top 10 and Hounds is my favourite Opeth song. Then Atonement is a beautiful melancholic song. It's their best acoustic song for my money.

And that's usually where I turn it off. Hours of Wealth and Isolation Years are fun, but they don't wow me. I like The Grand Conjuration's atmosphere and heaviness, and the main riff is the first Opeth riff I'd name if you asked me to, but the song itself is way, way too long.

And now the elephant in the room - I don't think Harlequin Forest is that good, let alone best on the album. What does it have? A memorable abrupt intro, fine verse/chorus structure for a bit. I like the harsh bridge. The acoustic section isn't nearly as good as those in the first three songs. The "false pretension" part isn't gargantuan like it pretends to be. And then the last two verses with the sludgy riff are the best part of the song, and an intro that doesn't hold a candle to much of Opeth's many great intros. It's what Dream Theater's latest epic is to their other epics. These songs are Opeth's strong suit, but here it's just average.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Eliminated after Round 9:
Porcelain Heart - 5 votes
Hessian Peel - 5 votes
River - 4 votes
Coil - 4 votes

River deserves better. It's better than either of the album closers from PC (which I still won't be voting off because I'm fully Team PC)!

Anyway, for this round:

Atonement (a pretty, vibey song but does not stack up to the others)
Reverie (silly to have it separate, I think)
Isolation Years (not my favorite and definitely a weak closer for such a powerhouse album)

 

[Night Prowler]

Voted for Ghost Of Perdition (most overrated Opeth song ever), Baying, Atonement, Reverie and Hours Of Wealth.

 

[Night Prowler]

I could update once more before 2022 if another person voted, @JudasMyGuide

 

[JudasMyGuide]

I could update once more before 2022 if another person voted, @JudasMyGuide

 

[Night Prowler]

Eliminated after Round 10:
Atonement - 6 votes
Reverie - 6 votes
Isolation Years - 5 votes
Hours Of Wealth - 4 votes
Eternal Rains Will Come - 3 votes

Promoted after Round 10:
Moon Above, Sun Below
Voice Of Treason
Faith In Others

Damnation (+2 bonuses from the same era) joins the game.

 

[The Dissident]

Voting to Promote:
Harlequin Forest
Baying Of The Hounds
Death Whispered A Lullaby
Closure
Weakness

Votes:
The other 3 Ghost Reveries Tracks
Hope Leaves
Ending Credits
2 Bonus tracks

 

[Detective Beauregard]

Hounds
Mire
Weakness
Patterns II

I’ve never understood the love for Hounds and Mire. There’s some neat parts in each, but nothing to justify their run times. They can’t even compare to the album’s true juggernauts (Ghost and Harlequin), and I consider them both weaker than Conjuration.

Damnation is one of my favorite albums of all time, but Weakness is a weak link unless the album is listened to sequentially. Patterns II is… fine, but Still Day is an eerie little track that I quite like.

The rest of Damnation is practically flawless, with Death Whispered and Closure being the next I’ll vote off the island. Windowpane and Hope Leaves are top 10 Opeth. Ghost and Harlequin are, too.