What? I'm so confused. Uncle Ben is his own man and entity and just as good if not better than Rick betoe. I mean, beato not to be disrespectful. Rick is cool, but Uncle Ben is hella better. If Rick would not shy away from 7 string guitar and extreme styles of metal, I could see him being the king. But that's not Rick. He is a Beatles fleetwood 60's and 70's guy, whereas as a teacher, he should include and dissect everything, including Opeth, Dimmu borgir, Morbid angel to depeche mode. But the dood is hung up on the Beatles, stones, and the like from those eras. Rarely, he dabbles in other things.
Honestly you could make an entire 40 minute video on the song Blackwater Park alone. That song is a masterpiece and heavy as fuck. This album is Opeth at their finest. Also, more Opeth videos would be amazing. As always, great video uncle Ben
@@Celatra I think both are beautiful albums but I think blackwater park is the better album because of pretty much everything ben brings up. How unconventional and complex it is while being easy to listen to and feel. I don't understand how the fuck they do it.
@@gj4312 ..and you're saying Still Life isn't unconvential? Out of the two, Still Life is more creative and uses more keys than BWP. All songs on bwp except for Drapery falls are just stripped down Still Life songs. My Arms Your Hearse and Morningrise are also very unconvential. Its almost like unconvential is Opeth's trademark sound... I love opeth and i love bwp. Was my first prog death album i adored. But I can't help but feel like it's a stripped down, simplified still life. Songs on BWP feel a bit forced too compared to Still Life
@@Celatra oh not at all. I didn't mean unconventional compared to other opeth stuff, all opeth is unconventional. They break the mold in everything they do. I just think for how easy it is for a novice listener to feel the subtle complexities of blackwater park is what makes it such a genius album. Much of the same applies to still life, I just think the effect that you get from blackwater park's depth and the intention behind it is second to none. Don't get me wrong, still life is absolutely one of my favourite albums of all time and I see why it could be your favourite of the two. I wouldn't call them stripped down still life songs at all. That's just completely inaccurate, they're entirely different. I'm not even claiming that blackwater park is necessarily more complex than still life. I think the effect that it creates is more powerful and has stronger intent. I see nothing that is forced in there because while the ideas are complex, they are concise and brazen in their use.
I know a lot of people who hate opeth because their songs are too long, and I don't understand why. People will sit down for a 2 to 3 hour movie in a theater, but can't stand for a song that's over 3 minutes long.
Opeth arrangements are absurd... like doom metal or ambient levels of absurd. Ben does a great job of explaining why it’s ok, the key changes are a massive palette cleanser and reward your patience - but if your ears demand a change every 8 seconds (rap!) then waiting 15 or 20 is unreasonable 😂
I think the criticism is valid. I love opeth but even I think they go on for a bit too long sometimes. It's not the length that's the problem though, its simply them playing the same measure like 15 times when maybe 4 or 5 times would've sufficed. Long songs are great if there is enough variety. Regardless they're one of my favorite bands so hold your angry rebuttals please.
I have to admit I didn't finish your video. I got through half way and then I got too distracted listening to Opeth. I've got a confession to make: I never listened to them properly. Now 3 hours later I still haven't finished your video, but I have a new appreciation for Opeth. Thanks!
Same, and now I can't stop digging deeper. The combination of Steven Wilson's production (from Porcupine Tree) and Opeth's evolving sound took this album to "Best of..." well, pretty much every list.
Harvest was the first Opeth song I heard. I had no idea what I was getting into. I thought it was going to be all mellow kind of acoustic stuff. Bought the cd the day it came out, and holy shit!!! Had a definitive effect on my playing. Great video. Thanks, Uncle Ben!
Friend of mine gave me Opeth's discography back in 2012 and said "these dudes are BRUTAL". Only album that had its metadata correct was Damnation...took me another four years until another friend re-introduced me to open my eyes.
Great video Ben as always. Speaking of misheard lyrics RE: Harvest, Mikael said once on a live show “When i came out of the recording room, everyone was laughing. I said, why are you laughing? Then Steven Wilson said “those lyrics sounded like “Born of cement, but it’s me who’s tomato”. Now you'll always hear that. You're welcome ;)
Man I still remember back in high school in 2010 randomly going on Wikipedia and looking up and reading about different music genres, and finding a list of progressive metal bands and seeing Opeth pop up and decide to give them a listen, best decision EVER.
The solo in Blackwater Park is actually Mikael. The cool thing about the dynamic between Peter and Mikael is that both of their styles compliment each other and neither of them ever really “overplayed” Don’t get me wrong though I love Fredrik. Peter’s solos just sounded a bit more mysterious and evil. Especially Moonlapse Vertigo and Deliverance
@@tylerjacobson8012 His solos are like basic arithmetic compared to akesson's calculus. Fredericks solos are so much better and interesting. Watersheds solos are perfect.
Moonlapse Vertigo is the song that finally got me to love and not just tolerate death metal vocals, true story. The solo duel (you know what I mean) is so great.
Yeah good call, even though it uses a really similar lick that Peter would later use in the first Deliverance solo, that one is Mikael for sure. You can always tell by the vibrato because Peter had a weird, smaller vibrato whereas Mikaels was always wider and bluesier.
Its painfully obvious which solo's are Mike and which a peter as soon as a bend of any kind is involved. peters are usually a little weak and out of tune while Mikes were very spot on.
Man, good job getting these riffs right, lots of covers don't seem to get his voicings correct. One thing that did surprise me though is that their chords and fingerpicking lines are often simpler than I thought they were. Might be wrong but around 21:21 I think it's just open strings and a single descending note. "Ruby eyes in the fog" Other things I can't unhear: Master's Apprentices: "There is a penis, I am certain" Harvest: "Born of cement but it's me who's tomato"
I didn't Get into Opeth until 2019, but once I finally got it They're my favorite band. I still constantly listen to their 1995 - 2008 records and purchase the Garden of the Titans Bluray combo pack.
Hey, when the camera's positioned just right, it makes the spider's legs turn into Uncle Ben dreadlocks lol. I was super curious about Opeth around 2005, so I decided to just buy a couple songs at random. Went with Karma and The Leper Affinity. Only took me 1 listen of each one to realize that I had been missing something amazing, and ordered an Opeth box set the next day at work. One of the best musical purchases I have ever made. My favorite track on the record is Dirge For November. I just love how it starts so soft, then transitions to heavy, and then holy f**king heavy when the vocals kick in.
Bleak is my favorite Opeth tune. Nothing like a good build up, and Bleak has one of the best builds into the best riff section of all Opeth (in my opinion, of course) - at 6 minutes 40 seconds in the song.
This was actually the album that got me into more "hardcore" progressive metal - anything with distorted vocals. I was 18 and a really big Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree fan at the time, but hadn't gotten too far into progressive metal beyond them. Imagine my surprise when Steven Wilson showed up on "Bleak" with vocals! Still one of my favorites to this day, and I was very happy to snag a copy of the 20th anniversary issue. It sent me down an awesome musical road!
It’s crazy just how long opeth has been a part of my life. They are one of those handful of bands that have always been there and always will be there.
Listening to Opeth while driving by/ walking through the forest on a cloudy autumn day when the leaves are changing colors is an experience like no other.
Was waiting for this upload! Nice! Everything about this video is perfect. Love the theory inclusion, even though I barely understand it. Ace tones too. Great work!
Man I love this album. Blackwater Park, the song itself is just so nastily evil. The riff that starts at 1.56 minutes into the song is by far my favourite, and I love playing it on the guitar as well.. Can't help but dance with it kinda. Though I think out of the songs on the album itself my favourite song is 'The Funeral Portrait' as it is overall groovy, and has a decently fast pace which I prefer ( Given Thrash is what kind of metal I got into originally. ) and the ending when the clean vocals hits is just brutally beautiful. Dirge for November is top notch as well.
A video on this amazing album and then... The Cure is mentioned. Never thought about it, but yet another connection with two bands I love. The Cure is a perfect example how layering works, and so is Harvest.
The Funeral Portrait is probably the most underrated song in the album and arguably in their entire career, it's nasty and groovy and have some really iconic sounding sections with probably the most satisfying transitions Opeth has ever done, this album is my favorite album of all time, in any genre, the sheer amount of creativity and just smart songwriting in this album still impresses me to this day, would love to see you do one of this for Watershed, it's probably the most interesting in terms of songwriting from their "heavy" era
This video was excellent, really enjoying this format. And a great choice of album. I first got into Opeth when this album came out and to know it was 20 years ago makes me feel so old. Good to know Turkey has a great taste in tunes as well.
Uncle Ben, seeing I work in the trucking industry… lol check out the terms you call yourself all the time and the new meaning … lmao…. Anyway love the channel.
Killer video for an immaculate album. Made me want to jump out of bed and grab my guitar! I loved this video style, it’s so cool to see the theory laid out like that. Also, I definitely contributed to the Turkey pets.
Honestly a masterful album and I can't fault anyone for having it as their fave album, yet it probably wouldn't make my top 3 fave Opeth albums (Damnation, My Arms Your Hearse, Still Life). That's the beauty with Opeth, their early discography is absurdly strong, even Orchid edit: everyone unfamiliar with Still Life, check out Mikael's solo on Serenity Painted Death; I don't think he's ever come up with a better solo in the rest of his career
One of the things I love about this album, is it gives me a lot of Diablo vibes. I have to imagine the guys were fans of the game. I always stayed away from Opeth, not intentionally, but they always felt like I band I wouldn’t be able to get into. I’m honestly not sure why. Then I watched a reaction from Alex Hefner, which was a song off of Watershed. I think it was The Lotus Eater. That song got me immediately hooked. I tried listening to that album and I actually enjoyed it a lot. I remember posting about it, and then a friend recommended me Blackwater Park. Game over. I was hooked immediately and I don’t think I stopped listening until the album was finished. That doesn’t happen very often. Absolute masterpiece of an album.
I fucking love this album, definitely one of my favourites of all time. I was without internet for a month, but fortunately had this beauty downloaded. So I spent lots of time trying to figure out what I could by ear. That first riff off of “The Leper Affinity” had me stumped though, so thank you! Another thing I noticed they like to play with asides from the 6’s and 9’s is chromatic movements, like the ascending line cliche they use in “Patterns in the Ivy” it’s a cool way of stringing together chords that don’t really have a diatonic relationship!
What a great breakdown! I'm blown away by your knowledge of theory. EDIT: I'd love to see you do this for some others, Damnation, Deliverance, Ghost Reveries and Watershed. Your insight is awesome.
You just absolutely blew my mind by mentioning “Still Day Beneath the Sun”, a track I never even heard of. I’ve listened to Blackwater Park religiously for many years and I’ve known about “Patterns in the Ivy II”, but never heard of this track.
Awesome video. Love breakdowns like these. I am fairly certain that he said somewhere that of all things, he is most proud of the bass part in The drapery falls.
You can tell how big an impact this album had just by reading these comments, what a high watermark for the Metal genre as a whole. So few bands can match Opeth when it comes to creating atmosphere. Beautiful album, and great video Ben. You killed it.
What a cool video of my fav album of all time. Opeth has always been next level alien tech to me, thanks for the breakdown of wth is actually going on.
I was recently inspired by Harvest, and kindda came up with my own melody(or potentially a song) after the song would not stop ringing in my head ... Great job!
My favourite guuirtrr yutubber and my favourite guiart qlbum in the same video?!?! We are similar ages, and so this album was/is super significant for me as well. You absolutely did it justice here, great to see your take on some riffs that I've known how to play for years, and some I've never dared to attempt. You're an inspiration UB, 2 severed thumbs up
This week, I listened to Blackwater Park by Opeth, but what should I listen to next week?
Orchid. Or In their darkened shrines by Nile. Or Prometheus by Emperor... 2000 was an incredible time for music.
Symphony X - The Odyssey
Rage - Soundchaser
Steven Wilson 😁
Waterloo - ABBA
I see Opeth, I click without a moment's delay
Bete, mauj kardi
Second this.
Same
@@vikasbiliye5023 😂
Same
The GOAT album
First time that a song frightened me.
My favorite album by any artist of all time 👍🏻
yeah you're proabably right
I love this Rick Beato's Step Son Vibe format.
hahaha i'll take it!
Beato doesn't even know who Opeth is....
@@fcamiolayou would be surprised
@@fcamiola no I did see him mention it them one time but I see your point
What? I'm so confused. Uncle Ben is his own man and entity and just as good if not better than Rick betoe. I mean, beato not to be disrespectful. Rick is cool, but Uncle Ben is hella better. If Rick would not shy away from 7 string guitar and extreme styles of metal, I could see him being the king. But that's not Rick. He is a Beatles fleetwood 60's and 70's guy, whereas as a teacher, he should include and dissect everything, including Opeth, Dimmu borgir, Morbid angel to depeche mode. But the dood is hung up on the Beatles, stones, and the like from those eras. Rarely, he dabbles in other things.
Honestly you could make an entire 40 minute video on the song Blackwater Park alone. That song is a masterpiece and heavy as fuck. This album is Opeth at their finest. Also, more Opeth videos would be amazing. As always, great video uncle Ben
Snap! Fully agree that is flawless.
I'd say Still Life is opeth's best album. Blacktwater Park is kind of a step down imo.
@@Celatra I think both are beautiful albums but I think blackwater park is the better album because of pretty much everything ben brings up. How unconventional and complex it is while being easy to listen to and feel. I don't understand how the fuck they do it.
@@gj4312 ..and you're saying Still Life isn't unconvential? Out of the two, Still Life is more creative and uses more keys than BWP. All songs on bwp except for Drapery falls are just stripped down Still Life songs. My Arms Your Hearse and Morningrise are also very unconvential. Its almost like unconvential is Opeth's trademark sound...
I love opeth and i love bwp. Was my first prog death album i adored. But I can't help but feel like it's a stripped down, simplified still life. Songs on BWP feel a bit forced too compared to Still Life
@@Celatra oh not at all. I didn't mean unconventional compared to other opeth stuff, all opeth is unconventional. They break the mold in everything they do. I just think for how easy it is for a novice listener to feel the subtle complexities of blackwater park is what makes it such a genius album. Much of the same applies to still life, I just think the effect that you get from blackwater park's depth and the intention behind it is second to none. Don't get me wrong, still life is absolutely one of my favourite albums of all time and I see why it could be your favourite of the two.
I wouldn't call them stripped down still life songs at all. That's just completely inaccurate, they're entirely different. I'm not even claiming that blackwater park is necessarily more complex than still life. I think the effect that it creates is more powerful and has stronger intent. I see nothing that is forced in there because while the ideas are complex, they are concise and brazen in their use.
I know a lot of people who hate opeth because their songs are too long, and I don't understand why. People will sit down for a 2 to 3 hour movie in a theater, but can't stand for a song that's over 3 minutes long.
Opeth arrangements are absurd... like doom metal or ambient levels of absurd. Ben does a great job of explaining why it’s ok, the key changes are a massive palette cleanser and reward your patience - but if your ears demand a change every 8 seconds (rap!) then waiting 15 or 20 is unreasonable 😂
I think the criticism is valid. I love opeth but even I think they go on for a bit too long sometimes. It's not the length that's the problem though, its simply them playing the same measure like 15 times when maybe 4 or 5 times would've sufficed. Long songs are great if there is enough variety. Regardless they're one of my favorite bands so hold your angry rebuttals please.
@@FringeSpectre i always say that everybody can write a music piece that's 30 minutes long but almost nobody can write a song with that lenght
Check out Wobbler's Merry Macabre.
@@FringeSpectre Ya I completely agree. Love Opeth, one of my favorites, but they're absolutely guilty of dragging the same thing out too long
This album holds a special place for me. Huge marker in my life. The Drapery Falls intro is something else.
I have to admit I didn't finish your video. I got through half way and then I got too distracted listening to Opeth.
I've got a confession to make: I never listened to them properly. Now 3 hours later I still haven't finished your video, but I have a new appreciation for Opeth. Thanks!
Same, and now I can't stop digging deeper. The combination of Steven Wilson's production (from Porcupine Tree) and Opeth's evolving sound took this album to "Best of..." well, pretty much every list.
Lol
Omfg I was about to do the same!! Lmfao
Harvest was the first Opeth song I heard. I had no idea what I was getting into. I thought it was going to be all mellow kind of acoustic stuff. Bought the cd the day it came out, and holy shit!!! Had a definitive effect on my playing. Great video. Thanks, Uncle Ben!
Friend of mine gave me Opeth's discography back in 2012 and said "these dudes are BRUTAL". Only album that had its metadata correct was Damnation...took me another four years until another friend re-introduced me to open my eyes.
Instant neuron activation by seeing the Opeth logo on the thumbnail
Great video Ben as always. Speaking of misheard lyrics RE: Harvest, Mikael said once on a live show “When i came out of the recording room, everyone was laughing. I said, why are you laughing? Then Steven Wilson said “those lyrics sounded like “Born of cement, but it’s me who’s tomato”.
Now you'll always hear that. You're welcome ;)
Hahahahahaha wowwwwwww I’ll never unhear that!
God dammit!
Man I still remember back in high school in 2010 randomly going on Wikipedia and looking up and reading about different music genres, and finding a list of progressive metal bands and seeing Opeth pop up and decide to give them a listen, best decision EVER.
The solo in Blackwater Park is actually Mikael. The cool thing about the dynamic between Peter and Mikael is that both of their styles compliment each other and neither of them ever really “overplayed”
Don’t get me wrong though I love Fredrik. Peter’s solos just sounded a bit more mysterious and evil. Especially Moonlapse Vertigo and Deliverance
His solos are like basic arithmetic compared to akesson’s calculus. Fredericks solos are so much better and interesting. Watersheds solos are perfect.
@@tylerjacobson8012 His solos are like basic arithmetic compared to
akesson's calculus. Fredericks solos are so much
better and interesting. Watersheds solos are perfect.
Moonlapse Vertigo is the song that finally got me to love and not just tolerate death metal vocals, true story. The solo duel (you know what I mean) is so great.
Yeah good call, even though it uses a really similar lick that Peter would later use in the first Deliverance solo, that one is Mikael for sure. You can always tell by the vibrato because Peter had a weird, smaller vibrato whereas Mikaels was always wider and bluesier.
Its painfully obvious which solo's are Mike and which a peter as soon as a bend of any kind is involved. peters are usually a little weak and out of tune while Mikes were very spot on.
I've been waiting a long time for an Uncle Ben + Opeth video. My heart is full.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Mr. Eller you could fart on a snare drum and make it sound magical. I enjoy all of your content. Stay healthy good sir!
Man, good job getting these riffs right, lots of covers don't seem to get his voicings correct. One thing that did surprise me though is that their chords and fingerpicking lines are often simpler than I thought they were. Might be wrong but around 21:21 I think it's just open strings and a single descending note.
"Ruby eyes in the fog"
Other things I can't unhear:
Master's Apprentices: "There is a penis, I am certain"
Harvest: "Born of cement but it's me who's tomato"
I didn't Get into Opeth until 2019, but once I finally got it They're my favorite band. I still constantly listen to their 1995 - 2008 records and purchase the Garden of the Titans Bluray combo pack.
Yes! Patterns in the Ivy 2 is beautiful. I'm glad that had a mention.
Awesome Uncle Ben love the way you close up on your fingers hey doggy!
Simply one of the best albums ever made. This video was a treat, great new format!
Thanks again for teaching me the outro of Dirge for November
Hey, when the camera's positioned just right, it makes the spider's legs turn into Uncle Ben dreadlocks lol. I was super curious about Opeth around 2005, so I decided to just buy a couple songs at random. Went with Karma and The Leper Affinity. Only took me 1 listen of each one to realize that I had been missing something amazing, and ordered an Opeth box set the next day at work. One of the best musical purchases I have ever made. My favorite track on the record is Dirge For November. I just love how it starts so soft, then transitions to heavy, and then holy f**king heavy when the vocals kick in.
Okay you've convinced me. I'll listen to it for the third time tonight.
Bleak is my favorite Opeth tune. Nothing like a good build up, and Bleak has one of the best builds into the best riff section of all Opeth (in my opinion, of course) - at 6 minutes 40 seconds in the song.
sooooo good
I didn't need to be reminded that its 20 years old! Thanks ben! lol
Thanks for mentioning the bonus tracks “Patterns in the Ivy II” & “Still Day Beneath the Sun.” Great songs!!! 👍🏼
This was actually the album that got me into more "hardcore" progressive metal - anything with distorted vocals. I was 18 and a really big Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree fan at the time, but hadn't gotten too far into progressive metal beyond them. Imagine my surprise when Steven Wilson showed up on "Bleak" with vocals!
Still one of my favorites to this day, and I was very happy to snag a copy of the 20th anniversary issue. It sent me down an awesome musical road!
Thank you so much for posting this/creating this. This is my favorite Opeth album hands-down. It is a rock classic and is highly underrated
Absolutely love this! Great job as always Ben, and kudos to the extensive knowledge of the theory behind their riffs!
PLEASE do Ghost Reveries next!
I listen to Blackwater Park every Friday. A little gift to myself :) Thanks for this deep dive, I really enjoyed it!
It’s crazy just how long opeth has been a part of my life. They are one of those handful of bands that have always been there and always will be there.
The "drapery falls" gives me goosebumps every time
Listening to Opeth while driving by/ walking through the forest on a cloudy autumn day when the leaves are changing colors is an experience like no other.
Uncle Ben that album was also my first, long story short I now I them tattooed on my arm and still love their work, awesome to see this video!
Was waiting for this upload! Nice!
Everything about this video is perfect. Love the theory inclusion, even though I barely understand it. Ace tones too. Great work!
These videos are so awesome Ben. Huge respect for all the work you put into this.
Glad you like them! Thanks dude!
Uncle Ben, you're legit as fuck. Opeth is my favorite band of all time, and this is the album that got me into them. Thank you so much for doing this!
One of my favorite bands and albums, it changed how I play and look at the guitar.
Every time you make an Opeth video, I always end up watching it about three or four times
Wow! Great idea for a video. Your insight allows me to appreciate the record even more! Outstanding work, thank you!
Bleak was the first Opeth song I heard . Immediately fell in love and spent the next couple of months digesting everything I could .
loved the video & format! More for sure!!
Great, great video for us music theory nerds and Opethians! cheers. Would love more like this on any and every Opeth record.
Love the video. Definitely would check out more in this format.
"Every note is everywhere"
Love your channel Ben...
The Drapery Falls is my favourite too, man!
Man I love this album. Blackwater Park, the song itself is just so nastily evil. The riff that starts at 1.56 minutes into the song is by far my favourite, and I love playing it on the guitar as well.. Can't help but dance with it kinda. Though I think out of the songs on the album itself my favourite song is 'The Funeral Portrait' as it is overall groovy, and has a decently fast pace which I prefer ( Given Thrash is what kind of metal I got into originally. ) and the ending when the clean vocals hits is just brutally beautiful. Dirge for November is top notch as well.
A video on this amazing album and then... The Cure is mentioned. Never thought about it, but yet another connection with two bands I love. The Cure is a perfect example how layering works, and so is Harvest.
I really liked this video. Thanks for making it.
Great video! One of my all time favorite Opeth albums and to me is the quintessential album for the start of Fall.
Thanks Uncle Ben! I remember listening to this album back in 2004. Thanks for bringing back memories.
I can't wait for the MAYH album breakdown. Demon of the Fall is another all-time favorite
Awesome. Opeth is such a great band. Thanks for the song insights for "Blackwater Park" \m/
Awesome video Ben!!
The Funeral Portrait is probably the most underrated song in the album and arguably in their entire career, it's nasty and groovy and have some really iconic sounding sections with probably the most satisfying transitions Opeth has ever done, this album is my favorite album of all time, in any genre, the sheer amount of creativity and just smart songwriting in this album still impresses me to this day, would love to see you do one of this for Watershed, it's probably the most interesting in terms of songwriting from their "heavy" era
This video was excellent, really enjoying this format. And a great choice of album. I first got into Opeth when this album came out and to know it was 20 years ago makes me feel so old. Good to know Turkey has a great taste in tunes as well.
Uncle Ben, seeing I work in the trucking industry… lol check out the terms you call yourself all the time and the new meaning … lmao…. Anyway love the channel.
Loved the bass highlight at 12:40 and awesome video overall
I liked this a lot. I'd love to view more on Opeth's albums!
Killer video for an immaculate album. Made me want to jump out of bed and grab my guitar! I loved this video style, it’s so cool to see the theory laid out like that. Also, I definitely contributed to the Turkey pets.
Patterns II is such a lovely tracks.
I spent many years in my 20s listening to this masterpiece album and go back to it from time to time.
Classic Opeth lineup... one of my favorite albums ever
I will be ever hungry for anything Opeth. Thank you Uncle BenOpeller.
I never thought of bass tone much. Until now. That bass sounds delicious!
each song if this album can be as long as this video! i just love this album!!
My favorite album from my favorite band! Thanks Uncle Ben!!
I need more content like this!
Man, Blackwater Park is my favorite album of all time, what a jewel.
Honestly a masterful album and I can't fault anyone for having it as their fave album, yet it probably wouldn't make my top 3 fave Opeth albums (Damnation, My Arms Your Hearse, Still Life). That's the beauty with Opeth, their early discography is absurdly strong, even Orchid
edit: everyone unfamiliar with Still Life, check out Mikael's solo on Serenity Painted Death; I don't think he's ever come up with a better solo in the rest of his career
2001 was a blessed year, Blackwater Park and some of the best games of all time.
It was a great year for video games! Super Smash Bros. Melee is my favorite game of all time, and it came out that year.
@@alecneevel2897 forget SSB lol. 2001 was the release year of our lord and saviour of shitty games, Diablo 2 LOD!
loved this. My favourite record probably.
Opeth come up with the most original, engaging guitar riffs - both heavy and acoustic.
One of the things I love about this album, is it gives me a lot of Diablo vibes. I have to imagine the guys were fans of the game.
I always stayed away from Opeth, not intentionally, but they always felt like I band I wouldn’t be able to get into. I’m honestly not sure why. Then I watched a reaction from Alex Hefner, which was a song off of Watershed. I think it was The Lotus Eater. That song got me immediately hooked. I tried listening to that album and I actually enjoyed it a lot. I remember posting about it, and then a friend recommended me Blackwater Park. Game over. I was hooked immediately and I don’t think I stopped listening until the album was finished. That doesn’t happen very often. Absolute masterpiece of an album.
Gonna use my bi-yearly TH-cam comment to say this is an awesome video format. Keep it up uncle Ben!
I fucking love this album, definitely one of my favourites of all time. I was without internet for a month, but fortunately had this beauty downloaded. So I spent lots of time trying to figure out what I could by ear. That first riff off of “The Leper Affinity” had me stumped though, so thank you! Another thing I noticed they like to play with asides from the 6’s and 9’s is chromatic movements, like the ascending line cliche they use in “Patterns in the Ivy” it’s a cool way of stringing together chords that don’t really have a diatonic relationship!
What a great breakdown! I'm blown away by your knowledge of theory.
EDIT: I'd love to see you do this for some others, Damnation, Deliverance, Ghost Reveries and Watershed. Your insight is awesome.
Funeral Portrait is my favorite Opeth tune. Badass band/album. The growls....
We can never have enough Opeth. Keep it up!
You just absolutely blew my mind by mentioning “Still Day Beneath the Sun”, a track I never even heard of. I’ve listened to Blackwater Park religiously for many years and I’ve known about “Patterns in the Ivy II”, but never heard of this track.
Also my first Opeth album. It’s such a beast. Instantly hooked. Been a fan ever since.
Awesome video. Love breakdowns like these. I am fairly certain that he said somewhere that of all things, he is most proud of the bass part in The drapery falls.
Best Opeth line up ever. That rhythm section is phenomenal, complementing Micheal's inspirational melodies perfectly.
Such a great video idea, definitely need more! Or you can go through the whole Opeth discography I wouldn't complain lol
Thanks Uncle Ben, learned Dirge For November from you earlier. Love Opeth
Loved the video. Opeth = 👍. Would love to see a video on Ghost Reveries or/and Pale Communion.
This man never fails to deliver!
You can tell how big an impact this album had just by reading these comments, what a high watermark for the Metal genre as a whole. So few bands can match Opeth when it comes to creating atmosphere. Beautiful album, and great video Ben. You killed it.
This is so great. Love this!
God, I love Opeth...nice acoustic playing!!!
Opeth is legendary! Thank you for dissecting this album!
What a cool video of my fav album of all time. Opeth has always been next level alien tech to me, thanks for the breakdown of wth is actually going on.
Awesome video Uncle ben, thanks
This made me like the album even more, thanks for the insight uncle Ben!
That's a masterpiece. Thanks Ben.
Love your analysis
blackwater park is my fav prog metal album, love it!
I was recently inspired by Harvest, and kindda came up with my own melody(or potentially a song) after the song would not stop ringing in my head ... Great job!
What a coincidence. I was listening to this album this week too!
Man I'm so happy you talked about Patterns in The Ivy II and Still Day Beneath The Sun, such incredible songs
Awesome record, awesome analysis! Maybe some more Opeth dissection videos?
My favourite guuirtrr yutubber and my favourite guiart qlbum in the same video?!?!
We are similar ages, and so this album was/is super significant for me as well.
You absolutely did it justice here, great to see your take on some riffs that I've known how to play for years, and some I've never dared to attempt.
You're an inspiration UB, 2 severed thumbs up