I feel like some people have been voting based on discographies rather than albums. A lot of people have been making the statement "Enslaved owns" but then their comments are contradictory. As Mondo Bungle said earlier, Vertebrae is no Frost. This is definitely true, and the songs are long, drawn out, and very progressive. I agree with what Janzsoon said earlier that Vertebrae sounds very tame. I think Opeth's album is very well executed. As was mentioned earlier, Blackwater Park has a little of everything. However, I think Opeth achieves a cohesive sound and I would argue they don't sound like they jam too much into an album. Even if they get a little formulaic in terms of style by the time you get to the end of Watershed, they certainly achieve a sound that only Opeth can. When it comes down to these two albums in particular, all context aside, I think that Blackwater Park blows Enslaved out of the water. It is a terrific album that incorporates many progressive elements without sounding random. Vocally Opeth is definitely better, especially in the clean vocals. The apathetic-sounding group type vocals on Vertebrae get kind of boring (and I mean boring by its basic definition!). Enslaved would have been better off sticking to the black metal vocals the whole time.
Opeth - 2
Enslaved - 2
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