Most short bios for this Swedish band often put it under the category of heavy metal in a band store. Anyone who owns an Opeth album however would know that this isn’t exactly a strict categorization. In the twenty years that the group has been around, they have been known to mix folk and jazz music rendered in the acoustic approach with typical metal sounds. The usual metal growls too are offset or even upstaged by hauntingly clear and mild vocals.
The general mixed musical direction of the band is largely influenced by its current band leader, Mikael Åkerfeldt. The fact that the vocalist and guitarist was not the first founding member is perhaps one explanation behind the dramatic evolution of the band from characteristic heavy metal to mixed genres and long, effusive compositions.
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.
The quick changes in players are perhaps one major factor to the delay of the release of Opeth albums. Their debut album, Orchid was released only in 1995. Although it is considered the heaviest metal of all of the band’s work, it already held the distinct features that would set their music apart from all the others. The debut album was not a great success but it was nonetheless a good start.
The second album, Morningrise came out after one year. This piece of work was even more surprising and intriguing than the first one because of the inclusion of a song twenty minutes long. The album however saw greater success than its predecessor.
The good reception for the first two releases created the foundation for more releases. In twenty years, the band was able to dish out a total of nine studio albums. Following the first and second albums were Still Life, Blackwater Park, Deliverance, Damnation, Ghost Reveries and Watershed. Albums one to eight were already actually quite popular in Europe. The band was only able to reach success in American soil with Watershed which took number 23 in the Billboard 200.
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.