Review Summary: And I can see you... Running through the fields of sorrow...
Watershed is, if anything, extraordinarily aptly named. It signaled great change for Opeth, as we now know they would change their sound entirely after this album to cater to their more prog-influenced sensibilities. And the start of it all went pretty well.
Watershed isn't perfect, and it's far from monoliths like Blackwater Park or Damnation. But it's a big risk Opeth took again, and it paid off. Songs like Burden, Coil, and Hex Omega show the start of this new early-prog approach quite wonderfully. Coil is a completely acoustic track, and starts the album off beautifully. It also features a guest vocalist, a first for the band. Singing next to Åkerfeldt isn't something I would think is a good idea, considering they would likely be dwarfed by his presence, but Nathalie Lorichs, drummer Martin Axenrot's girlfriend, holds her own, and it makes for beautiful contrast. Burden is also fantastic, starting with soft piano and blossoming into gorgeous and haunting verses, which of course are sung beautifully by Åkerfeldt. But the true highlights of the album are Heir Apparent and The Lotus Eater, the two heaviest songs on the album. Lotus Eater features some absolutely killer work from the formerly mentioned Axenrot, showing him as a worthy successor to Lopez. And Heir Apparent is among the heaviest Opeth songs. It starts off slow and evil, and after a quiet piano part, the song kicks into gear, and absolutely kicks your ass. Definitely my favorite on the album. And the reason these two songs work so well is because they are simply what Opeth does best. They are performed to their peak by every member, and neither overstay their welcome or leave you wanting more. They're just killer Opeth songs, mixing a little bit of the new 70's prog influence in with the heaviness.
Where I run into problems is Hessian Peel and Porcelain Heart. The latter starts off great, but just kinda meanders along for the next 6 minutes or so, and I can never remember for the life of me what it sounds like when I'm not listening to it. And Hessian Peel is just ungodly boring. Far, far too long with no interesting parts to back up an 11 minute runtime, it's probably my least favorite Opeth song thus far in their career. The album was a solid 4.3 to 4.5 beforehand, and it almost killed the flow of the album entirely. But luckily, it's only one song, and Porcelain Heart's only flaw is just not being as interesting as the other songs on the album.
So at the end of the day, Watershed's a bit of a mixed bag, but a great one nonetheless. It's not as memorable as some of Opeth's earlier work, but its bright moments stand tall with the best of any album. And especially in comparison to the following three albums, this is a treasure. It's sad that Opeth went in the direction they did after this, considering there was so much potential for something truly amazing once it was refined for the next album. But that was unfortunately not the case.
Favorite Tracks: Heir Apparent, The Lotus Eater, Burden, Coil
Least Favorite Tracks: Hessian Peel, Porcelain Heart
