Opeth
Opeth is a progressive death metal band from Sweden. Opeth adds some progressive elements to their music, with acoustic guitar, clean vocals and influences from jazz and progressive rock. Due to this mix between death metal and melodic elements, Opeth do not entirely fit the death metal genre, and are also described as melodic death metal, or sometimes forest metal, but they can also be said to not conform to any particular genre. Another factor that separates Opeth from the death metal genre are their lyrics, which are often not as brutal and gorey as those typically associated with the genre. The name was taken from the book Sunbird (1972) by author Wilbur Smith, and was originally spelled Opet. In the book, Opet is the city of the moon.
Biography
Opeth was formed in Stockholm in 1990 by Mikael Åkerfeldt on guitar and David Isberg on vocals. They were later joined by Anders Nordin on drums and Nick Döring on bass. Andreas Dimeo was recruited as a second guitarist. Rehearsing in an elementary school with old equipment they had found[1], this lineup lasted less than a year and only played one show.
After their first performance, both Andreas Dimeo and Anders Nordin and Nick Döring quit the band. For the second performance, Kim Pettersson and 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 Kim left, Peter returned to guitar, his original instrument.
David left the band in early 1992 and since Mikael had experience as a vocalist from the group Eruption (which he and Anders Nordin formed), 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 kicked out. 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. Following the release, Opeth travelled to the UK in 1995 to do a few shows. One such gig was together with Morbid Angel[2], considered to be one of the founders of the death metal genre.
Opeth's second album, Morningrise, was recorded in March-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. Opeth's first European tour followed the release of Morningrise; a 26 date tour together with Cradle of Filth[3]. After the tour, Johan DeFarfalla was kicked out of the band, and Anders Nordin quit the band, moving back to Brazil[4]. Morningrise contains "Black Rose Immortal", Opeth's longest song, clocking at a little over 20 minutes.
Their third album, 1998's My Arms, Your Hearse saw the addition of Martin Lopez (who left another Swedish band, Amon Amarth to join Opeth) on drums. Shortly before the recording of this album, Martin Mendez, a friend of Martin Lopez, was recruited as Opeth's bass player, but due to lack of time, Mikael Åkerfeldt played bass for the recording. This lineup (Åkerfeldt, Lindgren, Lopez, Mendez) continues to exist today.
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 each song being an average of 6 1/2 to 8 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 more death metal influenced tone: deeper and more menacing. My Arms, Your Hearse contains "Demon of the Fall", a fan favorite and often played as an encore at live shows. The final song, Epilogue, is a 3-minute outro that pays tribute to Camel's guitarist Andrew Latimer. My Arms, Your Hearse was Opeth's last album to be released with Candlelight Records.
Their fourth album, 1999's Still Life, released under Peaceville Records, is considered another concept album, returning to the more balanced sound of Morningrise, contrasting stripped-down acoustic guitar melody with death metal elements. This album contains further experimentation with the dynamics between dark death metal elements, and clean, acoustic elements. Still Life could be considered to be a major turning point in the evolution of the Opeth sound. It is the first release that was recorded with Martin Mendez on bass, and was only rehearsed twice as a full band[5]. Still Life was originally scheduled for release in late September, early October 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 KOCH Records, received critical and commercial success in North America. Opeth brought in Porcupine Tree frontman Steve Wilson to produce the album, as well as sing backup vocals and play some guitar and piano parts[6].
2002's Deliverance, also produced by Steve Wilson and released under KOCH Records, reached Billboard magazine's top-100 heatseeker chart. Deliverance contains five 10+ minute songs (the first album of this style since Morningrise), and an instrumental track clocking at a little over 2 minutes. Deliverance 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 outro to "Deliverance" and "By the Pain I See in Others", the album's closing track.
Their seventh album, Damnation, recorded simultaneously with Deliverance, was entirely a progressive rock album without death metal elements, showcasing a 1970s progressive rock vibe. The album was also produced by Steve Wilson, who also contributed backing vocals, keyboards, and co-wrote one song, "Death Whispered a Lullaby". Mikael Åkerfeldt dedicated Deliverance and Damnation to his grandmother, who died from a car accident during the recording[7].
In 2003, Opeth released Lamentations, 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 Steve Wilson, each talking about Opeth, Deliverance, Damnation, and the recording process.
For their recent tours, Opeth brought in Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars) to play keyboards. It has not been officially confirmed, but it is possible that Per will become the band's 5th memeber and continue to play keyboard for future albums and live shows.
Mikael Åkerfeldt is currently writing the next album, which should be released Spring of 2005.
Discography
Studio releases
- Orchid - (1995) (Reissued 2000)
- Morningrise - (1996) (Reissued 2000)
- My Arms, Your Hearse - (1998) (Reissued 2000)
- Still Life - (1999)
- Blackwater Park - (2001)
- Deliverance - (2002)
- Damnation - (2003)
Videography
Band members
Current members
- Mikael Åkerfeldt - Vocals, guitar - (1990-)
- Peter Lindgren - Guitar - (1991-)
- Martin Mendez - Bass guitar - (1997-)
- Martin Lopez - Drums - (1997-)
Unofficial members
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Former members
- David Isberg - Vocals - (1990-1992)
- Andreas Dimeo - Guitar - (1990)
- Kim Pettersson - Guitar - (1991)
- Johan DeFarfalla - Bass - (1994-1996)
- Stefan Guteklint - Bass - (1992-1993)
- Mattias Ander - Bass - (1992)
- Nick Döring - Bass - (1990-1991)
- Anders Nordin - Drums - (1990-1997)