Opeth

Opeth is a progressive death metal band from Sweden. Opeth adds several lighter elements to their music with acoustic guitar interludes, and influences from jazz, 1970s progressive rock, blues and folk on top of a fast, churning death metal-esque sound. Vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt performs both clean singing and death vocals. Due to their unique blend of melodic and progressive elements, they are said not to conform to typical death metal acts, or any other specific metal sub-genre. Opeth has also attracted a lot of attention from doom metal fans. The name Opeth was taken from the novel Sunbird by author Wilbur Smith, and was originally spelled Opet. In the book, Opet is the name of the location for an ancient empire which translates to "City of the Moon".

Opeth was formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1990 by David Isberg. Isberg invited Mikael Åkerfeldt to join the band at a practice session as a bass player, but failed to inform the current bass player or any of the other members of the band. All band members except for Isberg quit, and Åkerfeldt soon joined Opeth after his band, Eruption, faltered. With Åkerfeldt on guitar and David Isberg on vocals, Opeth still had a lack of members, and was not doing well. Needing more musicians, they were joined by long-time friend of Åkerfeldt and former Eruption drummer Anders Nordin and Nick Döring on bass. Andreas Dimeo was recruited as a second guitarist. Rehearsing in an elementary school with old equipment they had found, this lineup lasted less than a year and only played one show. In 1991 they spent the summer rehearsing on the island of Hamnholmen outside Stockholm with their old school friend and bass player Max Jaderberg who suggested a more prominent bass sound.

After their first performance, Andreas Dimeo and Nick Döring quit the band. For the second performance, guitarist Kim Pettersson and bassist Johan DeFarfalla joined the group. After the show, DeFarfalla left, not to return until 1994. Pettersson stuck with the band for another show before leaving in late 1991. For that show they got Peter Lindgren to play the bass, but once Pettersson left, Lindgren returned to the guitar, his original instrument.

Isberg left the band in early 1992 due to creative differences and since Mikael had experience as a vocalist from the group Eruption, he became the new vocalist, and immediately began writing material with Peter Lindgren. They rehearsed as a 3-piece for more than a year, but eventually found a new bass player, Stefan Guteklint, who played with them for about a year.

After the band received a contract from Candlelight Records, Stefan Guteklint was removed. They recorded their first album, Orchid, in 1994 with Johan DeFarfalla as a session bass player. He eventually became a full-time member. Candlelight Records released their debut album in 1995. In 1997 it was released in the United States by Century Media Records. Opeth themselves handled the production and Dan Swanö was the engineer.

Opeth's second album, Morningrise, was recorded in March and April of 1996 and released later that year. Again Dan Swanö was the engineer and this time he also handled the production. The album contains five songs, ranging in length from 10 to 20 minutes. Black Rose Immortal, the twenty-minute track, remains Opeth's longest song. Opeth's first European tour, a 26 date tour together with Cradle of Filth, followed the release of Morningrise. After the tour, Johan DeFarfalla was kicked out of the band, and Anders Nordin quit, moving to Brazil.

Their third album, 1998's My Arms, Your Hearse saw the addition of Martin Lopez, formerly of Amon Amarth, on drums. Shortly before the recording of this album, Martin Mendez, a friend of Lopez, was recruited as Opeth's bass player, but lacked the time to learn Opeth's material, so Åkerfeldt played bass for the recording. The band also enlisted the help of acclaimed Swedish producer Fredrik Nordström, who has worked with other notable bands such as Arch Enemy, In Flames, and Dark Tranquillity.

My Arms, Your Hearse exhibited a change in writing style. Instead of the 10+ minute epic tracks found on Morningrise, My Arms, Your Hearse contains shorter songs, with most songs being between six and a half and eight minutes long. The album was lyrically a concept album, darker than the prior release, with acoustic transitions playing a smaller role. Mikael's vocal style also took on a deep and menacing death metal-influenced tone. The album contains Demon of the Fall, a fan favourite and often played as an encore at live shows. The final song, Epilogue, is a 3-minute outro. This was Opeth's last album to be released with Candlelight Records. Martin Lopez' jazz-influenced drumming on this record was met with great critical acclaim.

Opeth's fourth album, 1999's Still Life, released under Peaceville Records, is another concept album which centers on the tale of a man's love for a woman called Melinda and his return from exile to find her, upon which they are both executed. Åkerfeldt named his daughter Melinda in honour of the character. Again produced by Fredrik Nordström, the album marked a return to the more balanced sound of Morningrise, contrasting stripped-down acoustic guitar melody with death metal elements. Still Life is considered by some to be a major turning point in the evolution of Opeth's sound. It is the first release that was recorded with Martin Mendez on bass, and was only rehearsed twice as a full band. Still Life was originally scheduled for release in late September of 1999, but was postponed to October 4, and later to October 18, the final release date.

Opeth's fifth album, 2001's Blackwater Park, released under Music for Nations, received critical and commercial success in North America. The album displayed a stronger metal influence. Opeth brought in Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson to produce the album, as well as sing backing vocals and play some guitar and piano parts.
2002's Deliverance, also produced by Steven Wilson and released under Music for Nations, reached Billboard magazine's top-100 heatseeker chart. It contains five ten-plus-minute songs, the first album to do so since Morningrise, and an instrumental track clocking at a little over 2 minutes. The album is one of Opeth's heavier albums, containing some song introductions that resemble Morbid Angel's style. Opeth continued their experimentation with time signature changes and syncopation, notably in the intro and outro to Deliverance, where the intro being played in 7/8 time and the outro showcases heavy syncopation, and in By the Pain I See in Others, the album's closing track.

Their seventh album, Damnation, recorded simultaneously with Deliverance, was entirely void of the musical elements of death metal and instead showcased a 1970s progressive rock vibe. The album was also produced by Steven Wilson, who contributed backing vocals and keyboards, and co-wrote one song, Death Whispered a Lullaby. Mikael Åkerfeldt dedicated Deliverance and Damnation to his grandmother, who died in a car accident during the recording.

In 2004, Opeth released Lamentations (Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003), a DVD release of a two-hour live performance at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, England. The show was divided into two sets. In the first set, Opeth performed the entire Damnation album in order, plus Harvest from Blackwater Park. The second set included heavier tracks from Blackwater Park and Deliverance. Also on Lamentations is a one-hour documentary about the recording of the Damnation and Deliverance albums, featuring all four members of the band and Steven Wilson, each talking about Opeth, Deliverance, Damnation, and the recording process.

Opeth entered the studio on March 15, 2005 to record their next album, entitled Ghost Reveries. In many ways the logical culmination of everything Opeth had tried over their last three albums, Ghost Reveries also resumed several threads in their music that had been largely abandoned. These were the first songs dealing with occult themes Åkerfeldt had written in fifteen years, and it was the band's first release since My Arms, Your Hearse to be extensively rehearsed. Although the band's official forum was temporarily closed on July 23, 2005 to prevent leaks of Ghost Reveries, nevertheless it spread across several BitTorrent and P2P networks several weeks before its release date. The album was released to nearly universal acclaim on August 30th, 2005 under Roadrunner Records. Ghost Reveries is sometimes referred to as a concept album, as Åkerfeldt originally intended it to be. With the addition of the song Isolation Years which had nothing to do with the original concept, Åkerfeldt decided against creating a full concept album.

In an interview conducted in January 2006, Peter Lindgren commented that Lopez's future with the band was uncertain. On May 12, 2006, Martin Lopez officially left Opeth, due to illness and anxiety attacks. Martin Axenrot became Lopez's permanent replacement, having played with Opeth for the last 5 tours and the BBC recordings on a previously temporary basis.

July 24, 2006, Dave Mustaine announced that Opeth would be performing on the main stage of Gigantour 2006, along with Megadeth, Lamb of God, and Arch Enemy. The tour kicked off on September 6th in Boise, Idaho and ended on October 8th in Orlando, FL.