Blackwater Park (album)
| Blackwater Park | ||||||||
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| Studio album by Opeth | ||||||||
| Released | February 27, 2001 | |||||||
| Recorded | August–October 2000, Fredman Studio, Göteborg, Sweden | |||||||
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| Length | 67:13 | |||||||
| Label | Music for Nations/Koch | |||||||
| Producer | Opeth, Steven Wilson | |||||||
| Opeth chronology | ||||||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| Chronicles of Chaos |   |
| Pitchfork Media | 9.0/10 |
| Sputnikmusic | 3/5 |
Blackwater Park is the fifth studio album by Swedish band Opeth. It was released on February 27, 2001, through Music for Nations and Koch Records. The album marks the first collaboration between Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and the band, as Wilson had been brought in to produce the album, which led to a considerable shift in Opeth's musical style.
Blackwater Park did not chart in North America or the United Kingdom. The album had two singles released from it: "The Drapery Falls" and "Still Day Beneath the Sun". Blackwater Park was highly acclaimed on its initial release and has been praised by critics, with Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic stating that the album is "surely the band's coming-of-age album, and therefore, an ideal introduction to its remarkable body of work".
Following a few live dates in Europe, Opeth's guitarist and vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt went to an old friend's house in , 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".
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