Opeth

Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter has remained Opeth’s driving force throughout the years. Opeth has consistently incorporated progressive, folk, blues, classical and jazz influences into their usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from black metal and death metal, especially in their early works. Many songs include acoustic guitar passages and strong dynamic shifts, as well as both death growls and clean vocals. Opeth rarely made live appearances supporting their first four albums; but since conducting their first world tour after the 2001 release of Blackwater Park, they have led several world tours. In 2011, they published Heritage. It represents a drastic change in style from their previous albums, adopting a mostly progressive rock sound and only clean singing. 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.” On August 26, 2014, Opeth released its eleventh studio album, titled Pale Communion. Fredrik Åkesson, spoke about the new direction the band was taking: “It would be interesting to do a really heavy album, but in a different way. Not to go back, we’re not about that. I’m still very proud with the last two albums, I think it’s interesting to listen to them, even if I listen in an objective way.” In 2016, Opeth founded their own label, and published the twelfth studio album “Sorceress.”