Opeth

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Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm. While the band has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force since joining the group immediately after its inception in 1990.

While their style is firmly rooted in Scandinavian death metal, Opeth has consistently incorporated progressive music, folk, blues rock and jazz influences into their usually-lengthy compositions. Many compositions include acoustic guitar interludes and strong dynamic shifts, as well as both growling and clean vocals. Though they rarely toured in support of their first four albums, Opeth conducted their first world tour after the 2001 release of Blackwater Park.

Opeth has released nine studio albums, two live albums, two box sets, and two DVDs. The band released its debut album Orchid in 1995. Although their eighth studio album, Ghost Reveries, was quite popular in the United States, Opeth did not experience American commercial success until the 2008 release of their ninth studio album, Watershed, which peaked at number twenty-three on the Billboard 200, and topped the Finnish albums chart in its first week of release.

Dont have time for the links now

I love Opeth<3.I really love how they blend so many genres in one band.I really love the transition bettween the heavy and soft parts,plus Mikael's versatility between grunts and clean vocals.I feel so ashamed that IALMOST saw them live,but unfortuntely it didnt happen

This thread is defintely created for Gosia and I because we can't get enough of Mikael<3 But other Opeth fans are welcome as well

One of my many loves!!! I love the atmospheres they build in their songs.

Yeah I love their atmospheric work.Mostly theone on the Blackwater Park album,which is my favorite by themm (I also love the victorian/classic atmophwere on Watershed and the eerie stuff on Ghost Reveries )

Ahhhh I was hoping for some Opeth-Epica collaboration to be revealed here.

Anyway, I love Opeth! Their music is simply amazing, Probably they are and always will be the only progressive metal band I could love so much!
And Mikael... he's becoming like me fav male singer (and grunter of course!!), his voice just metls my heart...

Oh I'm sorry I dreamed about that last night and I wanted to make a thread to obsses over Opeth

They are my 2nd faveprog metal after DT But I have nown them for a longer time than DT,and when I discovered them I was like :'Wow,I have never heared anything like that before'.And that's how I firstly got into prog metal actually .

And Mikael..I cant say how much I love this guy.He is my all-time favorite grunter(and actually one of the few because nowadays I think grunters sound boring But he,Mark,Anders from Draconian and Sander from AF are true exceptions )Clean vocal-wise he is my 3rd all time favorite singer.I really love his voice.I mean he doesnt sing too high,neighter too low,just perfect.And my all time favorite vocal moment is on 'Porcelain Heart'.His voice really makes me cry on that song.

And about songs,it's hard to pick a top ten,so I will choose some more in no particular order:
Black Rose Immortal,Burden,The Drapery Falls,Ghost of Perdition,Deliverance,April Ethereal,In Mist She was Standing,Face of Melinda,Widowpane,Porcelain Heart,Blakwater Park,Under a Weeping Moon,The Night and the Silent Water,Hessian Peel,The Funeral Portrait,The Leper Affinty,Bleak...And I will go on forever

As for my fave albums here's my top:

1.Blackwater Park(a true classic,also my first Opeth album)
2.Watershed(Love it almost as much as BWP,I love how melodic and progressive it sounds)
3.Ghost Reveries(Creppy but awesome album indeed Love it<3)
4.Still Life
5.Damnation(This albums deserves more love,even though it's so soft..but so pretty<3)
6.Deliverance
7.My Arms,Your Hearse
8.Morningrise(Black Rose Immortal.Nuff said)
9.Orchid(I don't hate it.I love that atmosphere.But the production quality isn't very good)

Sorry for DP but I really feel like bringing this topic to life

Here is a video of Mikael talking about the new DVD release this eptember
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/news/Mikael-Akerfeldt-Comments-On-The-Limited-Edition-Vinyl-DVD-Box-Set-of-Opeths-Royal-Albert-Hall-Show-21952.aspx

And also Mikael is currently working to a non-metal project with Steven Wilson(Porcupine Tree),I really need to find the source again,but I hope you guys believe me .Those two are some of my fave musicians of all the time and seeing them working again(yes this is not the first time they're working together.Steven produced the Black Water Park LP,and some other Opeth Cds as well.Plus he also did the clean vocals on 'Bleak'(Shame on me I always though Mikael was doing them but I was wrong )

Sorry for the rambling,I hope you'll enjoy the video,Mike is so cute and funny as well

EDIT:Found the source!It's from Porcupine Tree's official Twitter account: http://twitter.com/PTOfficial
"Steven Wilson / Mikael Akerfeldt collaboration working album title is Storm Corrosion. Don't expect any metal on this one."

I think I also read somewhere that Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater might do the drumming for this project,but as he stated he might not to because he is involved in other stuff.

Wow the dvd sounds EPIC! I hope I can buy it when it's out.

And this collaboration seems really interesting as well

Me too! It's Opeth's 20 year anniversary DVD after all

Yes I'm defintely looking forward for this collaboration.OMG.Steven and Mikael.And perhaps Mike too.This is just prog heaven

Yeah. 20 years... Omg. I really need to get back to listening to Opeth more!

GO FOR IT!


And this is the closest thing evr to an Epica/Opeth collaboration :

^ This is hanging on my wall!!!! Just next to Simone & Sharon pic. Right in front of me now *dreams of Opeth/Epica collab*

Really?That's awesome. I'm thinking of printing some Epica/Opeth and some other band's pictures and haing them on my wall,nearby my A2 TDC poster

But really I love that picture a lot.Simone really knows who's the boss .I wish Mikael didnt' wear sunglasses though because I love his gorgeus eyes

Sorry for bumping up in this thread.But i found this picture,that simply made my day
http://www.last.fm/music/Opeth/+images/44861895

Mikael is defintely the funniest man alive

Haha, love it!!

And it'd from the Rounhouse Tapes DVD as far as I read.I defintely need to have that DVD!

Mikael talking(well not actually talking,it's quite an interview thought but very short )about the upcoming project with Steven Wilson
http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/news/opeth-porcupine-tree-mainmen-work-together/

And also the live version of 'Dirge for November' from the upcoming DVD!
http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/uncategorized/exclusive-opeth-dirge-for-november-live-video-from-new-dvd/

And a new teaser about the DVD
http://www.metalinjection.net/tv/view/5666/opeths-mikael-akerfeldt-talks-about-royal-albert-hall

AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!NEWS FOR THE UPCOMING ALBUM!
https://www.facebook.com/Opeth/posts/165480386822496

And it's so great hat SW will be involved again with Opeth as he didn't since 'Damnation'.

And as far as the rumours go the next album will have a '70s classic rock influence

Opeth is the best progressive metal band ever. Mikeal is good on growls and clean singing. I love the albums Blackwater Park and Damnation!

^It's great to know that there are more Opeth fans around here Blackwater Park and Damnation are some of my favorites too

Mikael recently stated in some interviews(I don't know where,I found these on a forum) the following news concerning the new album and the new direction of the band:'

This was from last month:

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"We
have written 8 songs so far. We won't enter the studio before we have
15-20 songs ready. Opeth will enter the studio at the end of January.
The studio we will use is Abba's old studio Metronom in Stockholm. I
want the album to have a 70s-sound, more precisely like the album had
been released in 1978. There are some very dark tones on the new
material. One song is a tribute to Ronnie James Dio. This song might be
on the album, but maybe not on the regular edition."

And the more recent:

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"In the beginning it was meant to be some sort of metal album, but after
writing two song I realized I was lying to myself. The classic
Opethelemnts were there and the fans would have liked it, but I didn't
like it at all. This album will be really different to anything we've
ever done before and I want to revolt against myself in my style of
writing. I don't want this album to be the same as for example
Blackwater Park.

Everybody in the band has agreed on a kind of a
change of style, this album doesn't sound like anything the band want to
release just to keep the name fresh, I recorded a demo tape with the
classic metal sound and played it for Mendez and he pretty much said
that he'd be disappointed if this would be our next album. The album is
very complex and sounds kind of fusion-like and I think that many fans
who think they know what we're about will hate it, but I'm sure many
people will love it as well. One thing is for sure, no one will find it
boring."

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"Our record will have some heavier moments but calling it a metal
release would probably be misleading. But the music has an energy, nerve
and playfulness that I personally have been missing in the music scene
of today. I know my tastes in music is pretty extreme and very diverse
and a lot of metal fans probably won´t understand what the hell I´m on
about...but, well, I started this band, and became a musician because I
wanted to do what I loved doing. My music is not going to make me it´s
prisoner. I feel in my heart I want us to take this direction now, it
feels obvious and "right". I´ve tried to guide the band on those
impulses throughout our career and so far it´s been pretty decent. To me
the new music sounds like the very essence of Opeth, but that´s pretty
confusing to say I guess, cause everyone has a (different) opinion what
that is exactly. To put it like this,

it´s this record or nothing."

This sounds like a radical change.It's hard to imagine Opeth not being metal but I'm sure the new record will still be face melting

So I heard they're going to be playing at the Graspop festival, looking forward to hearing them live once in my life.

Why only once? You should see them more