Opeth – Blackwater Park

I own a different version of this reissue. The sonopress logo is different and the code is 51884108/82876829122 23 and no IFPI engraved anywhere. Can someone help me find my version ?

Great pressing, but wish they had included Patterns in the Ivy II and Still Day Beneath the Sun over the live track

There’s not much I can add to the rivers of ink that have already run on this absolute masterpiece.

Because that is exactly what “Blackwater Park” is: one of prog-rock/ prog-metal/ metal… you name it finest achievements.

I know some will rather have “Still Life”, “My Arms, Your Hearse”… or any of Opeth's earlier albums as taste is a personal thing, but I believe we all agree that “Blackwater Park” was the sublimation, distillation and perfecting of a path, a stylistic crucible that had already crystallized in parts of the earlier albums and most definitely in “Still Life”.

And while I think “Still Life” is also an impressive effort, I still think “Blackwater Park” beats it.
Maybe it’s due to the songs’ sheer quality, or maybe it is Steven Wilson’s input in the album’s production, -I think he wisely advised on the equalization and general tone of the album- that, to me, sounds better than any of its predecessors. In any case, the results are still an indisputable genre benchmark almost a quarter of a century later.

On the music, well, what else can be said? An utterly successful fusion of the brutality of death metal with the fragility and complexity of prog rock, giving other contemporary prog bands a run for their money.
“Blackwater Park” remains a total triumph, and this 20th anniversary edition reminds us why.

From its crushing opener “The Leper Affinity” to the (since then an essential classic in the band’s gigs) devastating closing title song, staples such as “The Drapery Falls”, “Dirge For November” or “The Funeral Portrait” take us on a trip that will indistinctly visit both peaceful yet dark rooms (as in the haunting “Harvest” or the uncannily delicate “Patterns In The Ivy”) and forests battered by wild storms at dusk, all crowned by my personal favourite, the exotic sounding and twisted “Bleak” and the absolutely wonderful bass line that breaks after the 06:40 mark. All of the above brought together by Mikael Akerfeldt’s versatile voice, undefeated in both clean and growling s.

What a ride.

My go-to pressing for this album! Sounds fantastic. No complaints.

Poor quality control. Mine was completely warped. Unplayable. Returned to Amazon.

Mastering is fantastic. But the pressing is really noisy and especially the second lp. And my god take the stupid live track off the album. Patterns in the Ivy should have started disc 4 going into Blackwater Park.

Sounds great. Have not compared it to the MFN pressing or later pressings tho.

No surface noise here. Maybe I got lucky on this pressing. Sounds great.

A masterpiece deserves a good vinyl, and this is the case, with both parts, album and pressing, being awesome.
Records are perfectly flat, clean and shining. Silent pressing, no clicks, crackle or noises. Loud enogh, dynamic enough, clear sound and a good amount of bass. Drums and bass have a very good sound. Everything sounds good actually. The re- imagined artwork is wonderful and the sleeve and inserts quality is high.

This is identical to the 10th anniversary edition of this album, which in turn featured the same old CD master from 2001. No remastering to be found here.