Hello everyone. Welcome to my Opeth discography thread. Be prepared......
Current members of the bandMikael Åkerfeldt – lead vocals (1992–present), guitars (1990–present), bass (1997, on My Arms, Your Hearse)
Martín Méndez – bass (1997–present)
Martin "Axe" Axenrot – drums, percussion (2006–present)
Fredrik Åkesson – guitars (2007–present)
Joakim Svalberg – keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals, percussion (2011–present)
Former members of the bandDavid Isberg – vocals (1990–1992)
Martin Persson – bass (1990)
Anders Nordin – drums (1990–1997)
Andreas Dimeo – guitars (1990–1991)
Nick Döring – bass (1990–1991)
Kim Pettersson – guitars (1991)
Johan De Farfalla – bass, backing vocals (1991, 1995–1997)
Mattias Ander – bass (1991)
Peter Lindgren – guitars (1991–2007), bass (1991)
Stefan Guteklint – bass (1991–1994)
Martin Lopez – drums (1997–2006)
Per Wiberg – keyboards, mellotron, backing vocals (2005–2011, touring member 2003–2005)
DiscographiesOrchid (1995)
Morningrise (1996)
My Arms, Your Hearse (1998)
Still Life (1999)
Blackwater Park (2001)
Deliverance (2002)
Damnation (2003)
Ghost Reveries (2005)
Watershed (2008)
Heritage (2011)
Pale Communion (2014)
The History of Opeth
Opeth was formed as a death metal band in the autumn of 1990 in Stockholm, Sweden by vocalist David Isberg. Isberg asked former Eruption band member Mikael Åkerfeldt (just 16 years old at the time) to join Opeth as a bassist. When Åkerfeldt showed up to practice the day after Isberg invited him, it became clear that Isberg had not told the band members, including the band's current bassist, that Åkerfeldt would be joining. An ensuing argument led to all members but Isberg and Åkerfeldt leaving to form a new project. The band name was derived from the word "Opet," taken from the Wilbur Smith novel The Sunbird. In this novel, Opet is the name of a fictional Phoenician city in South Africa whose name is translated as "City of the Moon".
Isberg and Åkerfeldt recruited drummer Anders Nordin, bassist Nick Döring, and guitarist Andreas Dimeo. Unsatisfied with Opeth's slow progress, Döring and Dimeo left the band after their first performance, and were replaced by guitarist Kim Pettersson and bassist Johan De Farfalla. After the next show, DeFarfalla left Opeth to spend time with his girlfriend in Germany, and was initially replaced by Mattias Ander, before Åkerfeldt's friend Peter Lindgren took on the role of bassist. Rhythm guitarist Kim Pettersson left following the band's next performance, and Lindgren switched to guitar, with the role of bassist falling to Stefan Guteklint. The following year, David Isberg left the band citing "creative differences".
Following Isberg's departure, Åkerfeldt took over vocal duties and he, Lindgren, and Nordin spent the next year writing and rehearsing new material. The group began to rely less on the blast beats and aggression typical of death metal, and incorporated acoustic guitars and guitar harmonies into their music; developing the core sound of Opeth. Bassist Guteklint was dismissed by the band after they signed their first record deal with Candlelight Records in 1994. Opeth initially employed former member DeFarfalla as a session bassist for their demo recordings, and he went on to join on a full-time basis following the release of Opeth's debut album, "Orchid", in 1995.
Musical Styles and Influences
As Opeth's primary songwriter and lyricist, vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt heads the direction of Opeth's sound. He was influenced at a young age by the 1970s progressive rock bands Camel, P.F.M. and Gracious, and by heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden, Slayer, Death, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Celtic Frost, King Diamond, Morbid Angel, Voivod, and most importantly Judas Priest. Åkerfeldt considers Sad Wings of Destiny the best metal album of all time, and notes that there was a time when he only listened to Judas Priest. Åkerfeldt sings "Here Come the Tears" by Judas Priest before most Opeth concerts while warming up. Åkerfeldt later discovered progressive rock and folk music, both of which had a profound impact on the sound of the band.
Opeth's distinct sound mixes death metal with progressive rock. Steve Huey of Allmusic refers to Opeth's "epic, progressive death metal style." Ryan Ogle of Blabbermouth described Opeth's sound as incorporating "the likes of folk, funk, blues, '70s rock, goth and a laundry list of other sonic oddities into their trademark progressive death style."In his review of Opeth's 2001 album Blackwater Park, Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia wrote, "Tracks start and finish in seemingly arbitrary fashion, usually traversing ample musical terrain, including acoustic guitar and solo piano passages, ambient soundscapes, stoner rock grooves, and Eastern-tinged melodies—any of which are subject to savage punctuations of death metal fury at any given moment." Åkerfeldt commented on the diversity of Opeth's music:
"I don't see the point of playing in a band and going just one way when you can do everything. It would be impossible for us to play just death metal; that is our roots, but we are now a mishmash of everything, and not purists to any form of music. It's impossible for us to do that, and quite frankly I would think of it as boring to be in a band that plays just metal music. We're not afraid to experiment, or to be caught with our pants down, so to speak. That's what keeps us going."
More recently, Opeth have abandoned their death metal sound resulting in a mellower progressive rock sound.
How I found out about this band
Well, how did I find out about Opeth? If I gave you a hint, would you yourself be able to figure it out? Let me give you one hint: Dream Theater's Repentance.
I'm sure a light bulb just went off right? For everyone that is like this poor fellow:
Mikael Åkerfeldt spoke during one of the samples on Repentance.
Mikael Åkerfeldt-"One of my best friends who's the godfather of my daughter, he asked me to sing or play something at his wedding, and I turned it down because I was busy and too much of a chickenshit to do it...And I feel sorry for that, because it was a very very close friend of mine."
I wondered who had spoken that line because it called out to me the strongest and I saw that it was Mikael from Opeth so I started listening to their albums. At first, I didn't like the growling because it was so intense and made me wince, but now, I'm used to their growling and I've grown to love them.
That would be all for this introduction. I will see you later with their first album: Orchid.
Topic: The Opeth Discography Thread (Read 8571 times)
