12. Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QwWydffbc4 In the realm of epic progressive death metal, it doesn't get much more epic, more progressive, or more deathly than Opeth. And it was Blackwater Park which proved the greatest showcase of their multifaceted brand of Scandinavian metal. Here the Swedes struck a fine balance between a layered black metal-inspired sound and the intricate constructions more associated with technical death, often wandering off into meandering acoustic progressive sections and back again. It's heady stuff, the kind of metal that may be accused of trying too hard, but Opeth had been chiseling away at their style for years to get to this point, and with Blackwater Park they had it all figured out. Previous albums may have been just as ambitious as they were musically complex, but felt cold and bleak compared to the dense sound achieved here. A stunning melding of classic Opeth heaviness and melancholy.
Henry Dowling
Contributor
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
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Henry