Opeth Albums- Beautiful Music in Mixed Genres

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.

Opeth’s real founder was David Isberg who took in bassist Åkerfeldt in 1990. This was to mark line up difficulties that would plague the band. The other members that had already been previously called together walked out when they learned of Åkerfeldt’s inclusion mainly because they were not informed early on that he would become a member.

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 came in second after one year. This piece of work stands out from all the rest because of a song in it that is twenty minutes long. Although this was even more unusual than the band’s first release, it did get the group the much needed attention for an excellent launch outside their home country.

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.