Нов албум от OPETH Опции

[MadHatter]

Шведската шесторка съобщи заглавието на новото си творение, а именно "Watershed". Парчетата са както следва:

01. Coil
02. Heir Apparent
03. The Lotus Eater
04. Burden
05. Porcelain Heart
06. Hessian Peel
07. Hex Omega

Албумът ще бъде издаден от Roadrunner Records на 2 юни.

[abydos]

Courtesy of Roadrunner Records, I was selected to meet Mikael and Fred from Opeth and listen to the whole of Watershed in 5.1 surround sound on Monday night at a studio in London.

So I arrived at the recording studio at about 17:50. It was on a back-street of north-west London, but apparently the band really liked it, and suggested it may be used by them in the future. There were about 10 of us and we waited around until about 18:20 when Mikael and Fredrik came out. They were both really friendly and we just chilled with them, watching The Simpsons. At this point, we all got things signed and photos taken etc and just had a general chat with them. After everybody had arrived at about 18:40, we went into a side room, fully equipped with a brilliant surround sound system and sat down:

First things first. Anybody who had doubts about whether Akesson and Axenrot could match Lindgren and Lopez, fear not. They both put in excellent performances on their debut album, and have both seem to have settled in really well. Fredrik seems really down-to-earth, and he was a really cool guy to chat with.

Now to the album:

Coil is truly a beautiful acoustic track. In the 5.1 surround sound, Mikael's haunting voice and the harmonies he created with it echo around the room and immediately establish a sinister vibe for the entire album. There is some excellent acustic guitar work, as well as violins, cellos, oboe and flute used to complement the fantastic guest vocals from Nathalie Lorichs.

Some of you might have heard the live version of Heir Apparent on Youtube. Well trust me, the brutality of this song is a hundred times stronger than it comes across in the video. There are some very nice guitar solos by both Mikael and Fredrik and some of the characteristic contrasts between incredibly heavy and incredibly beautiful that we have come to expect from Opeth: the sudden switches between distortion and clean guitars that feature in albums like Blackwater Park.

One thing I did notice is that there is a noticeable lack of 'cookie-monster' vocals, at least compared to albums like Ghost Reveries, Deliverance and My Arms, Your Hearse. When they do arrive though, it is in short bursts, with Akerfeldt at his very best.

The Lotus Eater is another classic Opeth track. For me this is one where Axenrot really shines. He plays some astonishing blast beats, and includes some devilish syncopated patterns, but maintains the groove that Martin Lopez was the master of. No problems with the drumming.

Burden is a ballad, in the Damnation (and dare I say it, Repentance) vein. Again the vocals are beautifully haunting and I'd be interested to know more about the concept of the album. The lyrics were intriguing to say the least. I also caught a whiff of the Pink Floyd influence within the band, with some rather Gilmour-esque solos. Another excellent track.

From here on, I can't really remember enough to distinguish the three remaining songs (I'd need to hear it just once more to do that), but rest assured, it's all good stuff, with some more brutal riffs. A few things I do remember are:

- a very folky section with some very upbeat acoustic work
- some unconventional vocals from Mikael, along the lines of humming and laa-ing
- a very sinister laugh at the end of one of the tracks, leading into the next song.
- a section using out-of-tune acoustic guitars, producing a doom-laden atmosphere

Overall, I don't think any Opeth fan will be disappointed with this new album. If Ghost Reveries was a glitch in the band's discography (I don't feel that way but I know some do), Watershed is a true return to form. Throughout there is an eerie, ethereal atmosphere, and in a way it is one of the band's most progressive albums. Keyboards are more prominent than they have ever been, and there are nice mellotron parts in a couple of songs. They certainly flow well, as does the entire album.

Those of you who enjoy My Arms, Your Hearse and Still Life will be most pleased as I could definitely sense a return to that kind of style. I just wish I didn't have to wait two months to hear it again.

In other Opeth news, they will be doing a headlining European tour in November, the Roundhouse dvd is definitely out in September, and they have already filmed a video for the song Porcelain Heart.

Обложката с по-голяма резолюция: http://imagezion.com/images/Opeth/opethwatershedcover.jpg