Review by Ben for Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)

Opeth goes big with another flawlessly executed example of genre defying beauty.

The critical and commercial success of 1999’s Still Life album meant that Opeth had not only a lot to live up to with their next release, but also a big opportunity to take the next step in global popularity. It was therefore unsurprising that the band decided to recreate much of the same working conditions they experienced for the fruitful Still Life sessions. That meant once again entering Studio Fredman on August the 10th, 2000, having had minimal rehearsals and with no lyrics written whatsoever. While this lack of preparation was due to unforeseen circumstances for Still Life, they were so happy with the result that they repeated the process intentionally this time around. Mikael had spent a couple of months at a friend’s house in the countryside forming riffs and basic structures, but much of the work to complete the writing would need to be done over a period of seven tough weeks in the studio. For the first two weeks the band slept in a little room within Studio Fredman that had four beds, but since there was no shower available, the guys started to really stink by about day ten. Mikael is quoted as saying “the smell in there was overpowering to say the least! Then again...for us it’s a natural way of recording....you gotta be filthy and disgusting to be able to release the pain”. They did however rent Mikael Stannes flat (from Dark Tranquillity) for the last five weeks, so I assume any benefit they were getting just couldn’t outweigh the negatives.

While Opeth were in some ways trying to repeat the positive results of yesteryear, there were some clear changes afoot that would affect the outcome. For the first time in their history the band went into the studio with a title chosen. The album would be called Blackwater Park, a name chosen after the German 70’s progressive rock band of the same name. Åkerfeldt has always been obsessed with obscure 70’s progressive rock (Still Life was named after a British rock band from the same era) and while Opeth may not have taken too much influence directly from the band Blackwater Park’s single release, he has suggested that knowing the title beforehand gave them direction in some small way. Another change between releases is that Blackwater Park was set to be released on yet another new label for the band. After only one album on Peaceville Records, Opeth signed an agreement with American label Koch Records (now known as E1 Music). I can’t find much info on why this change occurred, but I can only guess that the move was an attempt to crack into the American market, which is something previous albums had failed to do. After spending time on Candlelight and Peaceville, this would be Opeth’s first venture out onto a non-metal specific label, albeit one that also distributed Cradle of Filth. These differences are of course minor in the scheme of things, but the involvement of Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson certainly was not.

A month prior to recording Blackwater Park, Mikael had been having dinner with Wilson and they began to discuss the idea of the Porcupine Tree legend producing the upcoming album. Wilson displayed interest in the idea and after hearing some of Mikael’s demo material, agreed to travel to Sweden for the job. The idea was not for Wilson to oversee the entire seven weeks recording, but to come in midway through to make suggestions and add an alternate perspective. In fact, by the time he arrived at Studio Fredman, Opeth had already recorded the drums, rhythms, bass and acoustic guitars, leaving Wilson to produce only the clean vocals and guitar leads. It’s therefore pretty hard to understand how he made such a significant difference to the Opeth sound, but Mikael has stated that Wilson had “an immense impact on the recording” and that he took the band into “a new phase”. He suggested numerous “fucked up” ideas that Opeth would not normally have considered, including “strange noises for guitars and voice”, and yet they decided to implement pretty much all of them given their respect and trust for Wilson as a producer and musician. One of the most obvious influences can be heard on Drapery Falls with the so-called “telephone voice” often found in Porcupine Tree showing up in Opeth for the first time. On top of this, Wilson contributed some vocals, piano and guitar to the album, making his twelve day input into Blackwater Park invaluable.

When Blackwater Park was released on the 21st of February 2001, it was obvious immediately that Wilson’s involvement had caused a shift in Opeth’s sound, but that adjustment was more to do with production values than song structure. Opeth’s fifth album has a fantastic sheen to it where every part of the experience comes to life in crystal clear clarity, without reducing the metallic force. There was nothing particularly wrong with the production on previous albums, but Blackwater Park just feels ultimately more professional from start to finish, which when combined with slightly less intricate arrangements and storytelling (no drawn out, ever-shifting epics and no mood-controlling concepts), unsurprisingly resulted in Opeth’s most successful release and one that doubled their popularity overnight. All the elements that make Opeth so breathtaking are still present, with acoustic guitar mixed with highly atmospheric riffs, passionate growls switching seamlessly to emotionally moving clean vocals, and an often surprising progressive tendency that impresses on a musical level while never sacrificing “the song”. Wilson’s efforts would have all come to naught if the underlying creations weren’t awesome and Blackwater Park has eight memorable and awe-inspiring pieces at its disposal. So much so that comparing the least impressive moments on the album to attempts by the numerous clones that have popped up since merely highlights how far above the pack Opeth really are.

Speaking of highlights, there are four or five tracks here that deserve extra mention, and stand as some of the best examples of what Åkerfeldt and co are capable of. The Leper Affinity opens with some of the heaviest sections on the album before taking the listener through the whole Opeth repertoire of gorgeous leads, perfectly executed changes in tempo, atmosphere galore and even an elegant piano outro, but it’s Bleak that stands out as the album highlight for me. Mikael’s guttural vocals have never been better than they are right here and the lead guitars are simply breathtaking in combination. By the end you can’t help but feel a bit drained, which makes third track Harvest even more welcome than it would have been in any context. Opeth had already created brilliant acoustic ballads on their last couple of albums (Benighted and Credence), but they outdid themselves here. Harvest is stunning, not only a testament to Mikael’s ability to move the listener, but a fine example of how talented he is as a clean vocalist, despite what some naysayers out there might have you believe. The other track I’d like to pinpoint is Dirge for November, which is basically four minutes of hypnotic, melancholic bliss bookended by truly sumptuous acoustics. Although I’ve made some attempt above, I don’t believe Blackwater Park is an album that can be described in word form. It’s a magnificent piece of work for which the only true comparisons come from the band’s own body of work, and one you really should have in your collection.