So, lately I've been checking out Opeth's discography and my fave album by far is "Blackwater Park". Can you folks recommend me anything in the same vein?

A very underrated band/album (IMO) is Asgaut - Village. They're from Israel and only had that one album but it's very enjoyable. It may not be quite as heavy as you're looking for, but it's very Opeth-esque and pretty diverse. The title track actually features Kobi from Orphaned Land as a guest vocalist too.

Firstly - make sure you give Opeth's Watershed the proper attention it deserves. The feeble minded rag on it, but it's their best work yet by a long shot.

Secondly, ANCIIENTS - HEARTS OF OAK is pretty much Opeth worship but it's excellent.

Hear hear, this guy knows what he talks about! Watershed has less death metal for sure, but it's progressive in the real sense of the word. Heir Apparent is one hell of a track. And Lotus Eater is imo their best track ever.

First of all, thanks a lot for the recs! Anciients is a bit too DM for me, but Asgaut is pretty good, let's see if they grow on me! And actually I've already heard "Watershed" but it's a bit too jazzy for my taste. If you folks can think of anything else, post it!

Really? I thought the heavy parts were pretty unique, more along the lines of Akerfeldt's take on Ishan's melodic, black metal style that he developed on Watershed. There's not a lot of stock death metal riffs on Hearts of Oak, the heavy to mellow ratio is nearly even, and like I said the heavy parts are too melodic and proggy to really be considered death metal. Like Blackwater Park.

Just as well though, Asgaut are nifty too!

Right on! Another band (that is more aggressive sounding than Asgaut) which you may enjoy is Darkening.

http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Dar ... 3540398628

https://soundcloud.com/darkening999

I've recently discovered a band (not on the archives) called OCEANS OF SLUMBER, and they have some heavy Opeth influence at times. Not always Blackwater Park in particular, but I think you should give them a listen and see if you hear it differently.

The singer and drummer are both mind-blowingly amazing.

What about The Fall of Every Season - Amends?

It is a wonderful album, though I typically only listen to the final track, which is one of my favorite modern metal compositions. It's a one-man act that is more similar to Blackwater Park than to any other Opeth album. The clean vocals AND the harsh vocals even sound like Mikael Akerfeldt.

PS - I also agree that Watershed is some of their best work the climax to Heir Apparent is one of a few moments in music that consistently gives me chills.

In terms of riffing and vocals, Dan Swano - Moontower is quite similar and has an acoustic presence and similar production. It has keyboards but that shouldn't bother an Opeth fan.

Thanks a lot for all the recs folks, I'll sure be having a lot of stuff to go through!