Opeth undergo some seasonal adjustment
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO overstate the significance of OPETH’s fifth album, Blackwater Park (Music For Nations) [10]. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, via a flurry of swanky formats and vinyl variants, the Swedes’ breakthrough album refined and redefined their sound, while casually inspiring a whole generation of bands to embrace a more progressive mindset. The album itself remains a flawless, grandiloquent joy from start to finish. A timeless classic, then, much like VADER’s De Profundis (Nuclear Blast) [9]. Originally released in 1995, the Poles’ second album established them as heavyweight contenders and set a new standard for sheer sonic muscularity. Still guaranteed to rip your face off and eat it for lunch, it’s as essential as death metal gets.