Opeth is a band from Sweden that often finds itself under the heavy metal shelf in a band store. A diehard Opeth album fan however may actually want to argue against this forced definition. It seems there is no box that can contain the group simply because their works are punctuated by mixed genres such as metal, jazz and folk in acoustic renditions. Also, the clear vocals in many of their songs seem to stand in stark contrast to metal growling.
The path that the band is on is attributed to Mikael Åkerfeldt. This is surprising, considering that Åkerfeldt is not the founder or first member. It is perhaps appropriate to say that from the moment he took the steering wheel, the band moved more towards mixed tunes and strangely lengthy pieces rather than towards typical metal.
The group was originally set up by vocalist David Isberg in 1990 who recruited Åkerfeldt to play bass. This move however was to be the start of the contentious band lineup that became a pattern for the group. Isberg did not inform other members of his decision to take in a new member and this led to all band members walking out except for Isberg and Akerfeldt.
The two remaining members recruited new members, guitarist Andreas Dimeo, drummer Anders Nordin and bassist Nick Doring. Lineup problems resumed though as Dimeo and Doring immediately left even before they could seriously start work on Opeth albums. Kim Pettersson and Johan DeFarfalla replaced them but the two also left after only one performance and Peter Lindgren stepped in for bass and then for guitar. To make matters worse, Isberg himself quit two years after he founded the group.
It is perhaps because of the strange line up developments that the band didn’t produce a debut album until a couple of years. It was only in 1995 that Orchid was released. By this time the variety of musical influences was already apparent in the album. The work was not an absolute chart topper but it did introduce a unique brand of music that was strangely alluring because of its moments of clarity and depth.
Morningrise followed their first release a year later. This second album featured a startlingly long twenty minute song. Despite the clear departure from the norm though, the album was received very well and paved the way for the international release of the group’s work.
The succeeding years had been characterized by regular musical output. The albums that came in after the band’s introductory years were Still Life, Blackwater Park, Deliverance, Damnation, Ghost Reveries and Watershed. In twenty years, the group made nine album releases. Although they were already known outside their country, it is only with Watershed that Opeth was able to break out of Europe. This release took a high spot in Billboard 200 at 23.
You’d have to be a truly dedicated fan to listen non-stop to an Opeth album. The mixed influences plus the lengthy songs can be a bit trying for a casual follower. If you like Opeth merch only a little bit, you might just take the same route as its other band members and bolt for the door.