Blackwater Park

Production

Following a few live dates in Europe, Opeth's guitarist and vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt went to an old friend's house in Stockholm, Sweden, to record some demos and develop ideas for the new album. The album is named after the German progressive rock band of the same name and was the first album for which the group had a title before they started recording. A few months later when Åkerfeldt was having dinner with Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson, Åkerfeldt discussed the idea of Wilson producing the next Opeth album. After Åkerfeldt sent Wilson the demos he had recorded, Wilson agreed to produce the album.

Opeth entered Studio Fredman to begin work on Blackwater Park on August 10, 2000. The band had no previous lyrics written and had only rehearsed three times before entering the studio. The band's engineer Fredrik Nordström had arranged for the group to stay in a small room in the studio that had four beds. Opeth stayed there for around two weeks and then later rented out Dark Tranquillity member Mikael Stanne's flat. After recording the basic drums, rhythms, bass and acoustic guitars, Wilson arrived to produce the clean vocals and add some guitar leads. Åkerfeldt wrote that Wilson had an "immense impact on the recording" and after working with him the group entered "a new phase".

Åkerfeldt described the recording of the album as "rather smooth". Soilwork was recording in the studio at the same time as Opeth. Åkerfeldt wrote that Opeth felt like "a bunch of amateurs in comparison. They were working all the time. When they came into the kitchen for a break, we're still there, on the same break we took 3 hours ago. We don't want this to become a 'job', or something you do because you have to. We wanna have a good time, and thus we only work when it feels right."

Release

Blackwater Park was originally released on February 27, 2001. This was the first Opeth album to be released in North America at the same time as it was in the rest of the world. It has been released on compact disc and vinyl record formats. A special edition of Blackwater Park was issued in 2001 with a bonus second disc that included "Still Day Beneath the Sun" and "Patterns in the Ivy II". Those two bonus tracks were released together as a vinyl-only 7" EP by Robotic Empire Records in February, 2003. The limited edition EP sold out in less than 24 hours and continues to be one of Opeth's most sought-after releases to date. Two singles were also released to promote Blackwater Park. A shortened radio edit version of "The Drapery Falls" was released as a promo single. The bonus track "Still Day Beneath the Sun" was later released as a vinyl only single.

Blackwater Park did not chart in the United States or United Kingdom. As of May 2008, Blackwater Park has sold over 93,000 copies in the United States.

On March 29, 2010, Opeth re-released a remixed Legacy Edition of Blackwater Park which included a live version of "The Leper Affinity" and then a second DVD which is the entire album in 5.0 Surround Sound and a making of documentary. This version was released in North America in April 2012 by The End Records.

Critical reception

Blackwater Park received positive reception on its initial release, and Opeth was compared to critically acclaimed groups from previous eras. The Village Voice wrote in their review of the album, that "Opeth paint on an epic canvas, sounding at times like... metal's answer to '70s King Crimson". CMJ also wrote a very positive review calling the album "Godlike ... A metal fusion of Pink Floyd and the Beatles".The Canadian music magazine Exclaim! wrote that the album "might be the best metal record this year, and it is worth every bit of energy the band has put into the creating of it".

Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic wrote that the album was "a work of breathtaking creative breadth" and noted the album's critical praise stating that "not since the release of Tiamat's groundbreaking masterpiece Wildhoney in 1994 had the extreme metal scene witnessed such an overwhelming show of fan enthusiasm and uniform critical praise as that bestowed upon Blackwater Park". He also said that the album is "surely the band's coming-of-age album, and therefore, an ideal introduction to its remarkable body of work". In a review of the 'Legacy Edition' reissue for Pitchfork, Ned Raggett praised the album, writing that "Blackwater Park has the reputation it does in large part because none of the songs follow the same songwriting formula, instead looking toward variations within general themes that all build to a dramatic conclusion in the title track."

A more mixed review came from Alex Silveri of Sputnikmusic, who praised several of the album's songs but wrote negatively about "The Drapery Falls", "Dirge for November" and "The Funeral Portrait", which Silveri referred to as "boring to the point of tears".

Accolades

The album was ranked at number eighteen on IGN's list of the "top metal albums", issued in January 2007.

In 2012, Loudwire listed "Blackwater Park" as number two on their list of the Top 50 Metal Songs of the 21st Century.

In June 2015, Rolling Stone ranked "Blackwater Park" at 28th place for their list Greatest Prog Rock Albums of all time.

Track listing

All tracks written by Mikael Åkerfeldt, except where noted.

Opeth

Additional personnel