Watershed (Opeth album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Watershed
Watershed cover
Studio album by Opeth
Released May 30, 2008 (Continental Europe)
June 2nd, 2008 (UK)
June 3rd, 2008 (US)
Recorded November 1, 2007–January 10, 2008 at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden[1]
Genre Progressive metal
Length 55:00/71:33
Label Roadrunner
Producer Mikael Åkerfeldt[2] and Jens Bogren[3]
Professional reviews
Opeth chronology
The Roundhouse Tapes
(2007)		 Watershed
(2008)
Special edition cover
Special edition cover
Singles from Watershed
  1. "Porcelain Heart"
    Released: April 19, 2008

Watershed is the ninth full-length studio album by the Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth. Published by Roadrunner Records, the album was first released digitally on the European iTunes Stores on May 19, 2008,[4] and released physically on May 30, 2008 in continental Europe,[5] June 2, 2008 in the United Kingdom,[6] and June 3, 2008 in North America.[7] The album was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden between November 1, 2007 and December 13, 2007.[3] Watershed is the first studio album by Opeth to feature drummer Martin Axenrot and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson. The artwork for the album was made by Travis Smith (who has done the artwork for nine previous Opeth releases) in collaboration with Mikael Åkerfeldt and has been publicly available as of March 30.[8]

It was released in standard, 180 gram vinyl, and special edition versions. The special edition version includes three bonus tracks, a bonus DVD with a 5.1 surround sound mix of the entire album (not including bonus tracks), video content featuring rehearsals, and studio footage as well as expanded artwork. The vinyl release came in cardboard gatefold packaging and contained the album on two vinyl discs as well as a CD copy of the album (both included the bonus track "Derelict Herds") and a poster.

The album entered the Australian charts at #7 "[9], the UK charts at #34, the Dutch charts at #14 and the Japanese "Orcion" charts at #15. "[10]

The first song to be heard by the public was Heir Apparent, which was performed in concert and recorded on video by fans who uploaded the low-quality videos onto YouTube. Later many of the tracks were leaked onto YouTube several weeks prior to the album's launch.

The first single is "Porcelain Heart," which contains the tracks "Porcelain Heart" and "The Lotus Eater". The single was officially released to the public on April 19, 2008. The music video directed by Lasse Hoile that was shot for the track "Porcelain Heart" was made available from Roadrunner Records on April 24, 2008. As of May 26, 2008, the tracks 'The Lotus Eater' and 'Porcelain Heart' were made available to the public on Opeth's official MySpace page.[11]

Contents

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Mikael Åkerfeldt except where noted.

  1. "Coil" – 3:10
  2. "Heir Apparent" – 8:50
  3. "The Lotus Eater" – 8:50
  4. "Burden" – 7:41
  5. "Porcelain Heart" (Åkerfeldt, Åkesson) – 8:00
  6. "Hessian Peel" – 11:25
  7. "Hex Omega" – 7:00

All Songs Published By Zomba Music Publishers, Ltd.

[edit] Special Edition

The special edition of the album includes a bonus DVD featuring a 'making of' documentary, a 5.1 mix of the album, and three bonus tracks:

  1. "Derelict Herds" (Åkerfeldt, Wiberg) - 6:28
  2. "Bridge of Sighs" (Robin Trower cover) – 5:55
  3. "Den ständiga resan" (Marie Fredriksson cover) – 4:09

These bonus tracks are mixed in stereo, not 5.1.

[edit] Mellotron Heart

A track entitled "Mellotron Heart" (5:14) was included on a separate promotional CD with a limited number of copies of the album. "Mellotron Heart" is an alternate recording of album track and single "Porcelain Heart" performed on mellotron and mini-Moog synthesizers. The cover for the CD is the standard album artwork with the figure and writing desk replaced by a mellotron. The track is also available as a free digital download exclusively for those who pre-ordered the album from The End Records.[12]

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Trivia

The song "Hessian Peel" contains a backwards recorded verse - "My sweet Satan, I see you" can be heard.[13]. This might be a reference to a well-known example of backmasking featured in Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven, which purportedly contained the phrase "Here's to my sweet satan".

[edit] References

  1. ^ Opeth: Mainman Ready to Rock the Boat. Blabbermouth.net (2008-01-10). Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
  2. ^ Opeth: Frontman Says New Songs are 'A Bit More Energetic'. Blabbermouth.net (2007-12-21). Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
  3. ^ a b c Opeth – New Album Title, Track Listing Revealed. Blabbermouth.net (2008-02-05). Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  4. ^ iTunes Store: Opeth – Watershed (opens iTunes)
  5. ^ Amazon.de: Opeth – Watershed
  6. ^ Amazon.co.uk: Opeth – Watershed
  7. ^ Opeth – Roadrunner Records. Roadrunnerrecords.com (2008-02-05). Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  8. ^ "Watershed Artwork Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  9. ^ Watershed enters #7 in Australian Charts.
  10. ^ Watershed entered as #14 in the Dutch chart!. Opeth.com (2008-06-06). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
  11. ^ Opeth's official myspace
  12. ^ Mellotron Heart: Exclusive Digital Delivery for Opeth Pre-Order. RoadrunnerRecords.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  13. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsRojX9lFdc
v • d • e
Opeth
Mikael Åkerfeldt · Fredrik Åkesson · Martin Mendez · Martin Axenrot · Per Wiberg
David Isberg · Andreas Dimeo · Kim Pettersson · Johan DeFarfalla · Stefan Guteklint · Mattias Ander · Nick Döring · Anders Nordin · Martin Lopez · Peter Lindgren
Studio albums
Other releases
Singles
Related articles