And with a harrowing and dark hum, Opeth's forth journey into your open mind commences with 'The Leper Affinity', a ten-minute plus excursion into the wide open where standard musical boundaries are set aside and leader Mikael Akerfeldt takes your studded wrist and pulls you over to his train of thought. Sure Akerfeldt has matured as a songwriter, but how much more maturing can the man do after creating such masterpieces as My Arms, Your Hearse and Orchid? He has the ability to thread the needle and create stellar handiwork. And Blackwater Park is his deepest, most personally gut-wrenching effort yet. When the acoustics kick in on the lead-off track, what follows is yet another musical yarn, inviting yet foreboding. He sticks with a good riff, leaving the listener enough time to digest until another sweeping melancholic melody takes hold. He keeps you tied to your seat waiting for the next hairpin turn or glimmering patch of scenery. Truly remarkable, his vision remains astute and all-encompassing. One quick realization is that Akerfeldt has got the Maiden, Rush, Yes creative juices down pat. He's had them since the debut. But more remarkable is the fact that four albums into his career he can map out a ten-minute track without the listener reaching for the fast-forward button. 'Bleak' begins with a long death grunt overture until the track is overwrought with Akerfeldt's more palatable vocals, although the aggressiveness creeps in as the musical anger approaches a fevered pitch and at last, a distorted ending. 'Harvest' ironically could be pulled off of Neil Young's Harvest, dirgey, down-tuned, a full-blown ballad. 'The Drapery Falls' is exquisite, a chapter from the My Dying Bride school of writing, soothing, yet overly perilous. Within moments the echoey hauntings and vocal effects make for Opeth's finest hour. Pure suicide. The ever-present theme of death rears its ugly head on 'Funeral Portrait' and the epic-closer 'Blackwater Park', the latter you'll be hard-pressed to live through after repeated listens. Akerfeldt has perfected the vocal trade-offs; the death growls are ever-present, scattered, but effective. Some may wonder why such seasoned musicianship is peppered by death, but Opeth are intent on staying true to form. Amidst the stubbornness lies a great feat, growing gracefully without offense or internal moral dilemma. But alongside the baritone GROWLS are some of the most intricate acoustic and piano passages you'll set your ears on. In the end, the mix is impeccable and Blackwater Park is another triumph.