Opeth have announced that they will release a new 20th anniversary reissue of Blackwater Park.
Reissued through Music For Nations on July 16 the album will come lovingly pressed onto heavyweight, audiophile approved vinyl, with a variety of deluxe finishes, and housed in a gatefold artwork sleeve, with updated liner notes and acknowledgements. The deluxe variants, including a hardcase CD, come furnished with an updated artwork booklet complete with new liner notes, never seen before memories from the band, and exclusive content provided by the Opeth fanbase.
"I know that Blackwater Park was the stepping stone into professionalism for us<' recalls Opeth mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt. "Since then the band has taken up all our time, and we’ve never really looked back. Always forward.
"It’s well known that Steven Wilson came in to produce the album, and that set off a lifelong friendship. I like to think the songs were different from what most other bands were doing at the time, but the production definitely set us apart from the rest. Steven helped to highlight the true strength of the band which was, and still is, our diversity."
Released in 2001, and produced by Steven Wilson, who would go on to produce 2002's Deliverance and 2003's Damnation, Blackwater Park is seen as the breakthrough moment for Opeth, introducing the band to a much larger audience, broadening their appeal from the somewhat restrictive confines of the metal underground to both the wider metal scene and, as only seemed right, the progressive rock world.
Blackwater Park, which was remastered for the 2011 CD reissue, will be reissued on deluxe CD, white vinyl and coloured vinyl on 16th July featuring bonus track, a live version of The Leper Affinity.
