Blackwater Park album cover
Blackwater Park

Opeth

2001
Music For Nations

Mikael Åkerfeldt’s friendship with Porcupine Tree mainman (and noted prog rock archivist) Stephen Wilson paid massive dividends on their fifth record – hell, the album itself is named after an obscure 70s one-off band. Opeth went from being a death metal band with progressive elements to being a progressive metal band with death elements here. The change suited them well. Emphasizing the dynamics between acoustic and electric, growled and crooned, complex 10-minute epics like “Bleak” and “The Drapery Falls” bloom like beautiful orchids. And when they go for the direct approach on “Harvest,” they release the deluge.

Jeff Treppel

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