In 2001, Blackwater Park confirmed Opeth as one of the most inventive, indefinable bands in metal, and it’s still visionary 25 years later.
Opener (and closer, as a live bonus track) The Leper Affinity encapsulates much of what this album can do. A two-minute chunk in the middle of the track drifts seamlessly from a moment of dark, crystalline folk into a cinematic instrumental filled with twisting rhythms that offer tribute to their prog forefathers, before emerging into an elongated section of polished brutality.
