Opeth

1990-1993

The Swedish Opeth team was formed in Stockholm in 1990 by vocalist David Isberg and several of his friends. Soon, he proposed replacing the bass player with Michael Okerfeldt (former guitarist / vocalist of the Eruption band), which ultimately led to a quarrel and all members of the band quitting. With the exception of Isberg, the composition of the group was completely updated: Okerfelt and Andreas Dimeo became guitarists, and a little later, drummer Anders Nordin and bassist Nick Doring, former Michael's colleagues on Eruption, joined Opeth. Opeth originally played death / black metal . In February 1991, Opeth played their first concert in Stockholm, after which Doring and Dimeo left the band. Before the second concert, guitarists Kim Petersson and bassist Johan DeFarfalla (both from the Crimson Cat band) joined the group, but the latter left the band immediately after this concert. He was replaced by Peter Lindgren, who had previously played guitar in the band Sylt i Krysset. After the third concert, Petersson left the band, and instead Lindgren became the second guitarist. Having lost interest in the group , Isberg leaves the group in 1992, citing creative disagreements, the responsibilities of which took on Okerfeldt. The band began to rely less on blast beat and aggression, typical of death metal. Acoustic guitars and harmony guitars were included in Opeth music. In the future, this became the main sound of Opeth. Stefan Guteklind joined the band as a bass player in 1993, but left the band after signing his first contract with Candlelight Records in 1994. Then, former member Johan DeFarfalla began to play in the group as a session bassist for recording, but then he began to play in the main lineup after the release of the debut album Opeth in 1995. But after the first concert, DeFarfall left with his girlfriend in Germany and was replaced by Michael's friend Peter Lindgren. The lead guitarist, Pittersson, was later replaced by Peter Lindgren.

Orchid , Morningrise and My Arms, Your Hearse (1994-1998)

Opeth recorded her debut album Orchid , with producer Dan Swanoe in April 1994. Due to distribution problems with the newly created Candlelight Records, the album was not released until May 15, 1995, only in Europe ^[1] . Orchid went beyond traditional death metal with acoustic guitar, piano and clear vocals. Allmusic called Orchid “brilliant”, “strikingly unique” and “going far beyond the progressive-epic / deadly monstrous, exuding equal parts of beauty and cruelty” ^[2] .

After several concerts in the United Kingdom, Opeth returned to the studio in March 1996 to begin work on their second album, which was produced by Dan Swan. Morningrise was released in Europe on June 24, 1996. This album included 5 songs with a total duration of 66 minutes, and the longest track was Black Rose Immortal, which lasted 20 minutes. Morningrise was a huge success, and the music guide Allmusic rated four stars ^[3] . The group began touring the UK in support of Morningrise, and then on Scandinavian tours with Cradle Of Filth ^[4] . During the tour, Opeth attracted the attention of Century Media Records , with which they signed a contract for the release of two albums, the first of which was supposed to be international in 1997 ^{[5] [6]} .

After the tour, Okerfeldt and Lindgren were asked to leave DeFarfall from the group, citing personal reasons, without the consent of himself. When Okerfeldt informed Nordin, he was on vacation in Brazil. Nordin left the group and remained in Brazil ^[7] . Former Amon Amarth drummer Martin Lopez responded to a newspaper ad posted by Okerfeldt and joined Opeth in 1997. Lopez made his debut at Opeth playing a cover version of Iron Maiden's “Remember Tomorrow”, which was included on the album A Call to Irons: A Tribute to Iron Maiden ^[8] .

With a budget increase, the band began recording with Century Media . Opeth began work on their third album, with renowned Swedish producer Fredrik Nordstrom, at Studio Fredman in August 1997. Bassist Martin Mendes was invited to the group shortly before the recording, before that, Okerfeld played bass himself ^[9] . My Arms, Your Hearse was released and received critical acclaim on August 18, 1998. ^[1] This was the first international release of Opeth, the album showed a group of a global audience. My Arms, Your Hearse marked the beginning of a change in the sound of the band, focusing on guitar and harmony more on progressive metal riffs.

First Breakthrough (2000-2004)

In 2000, the band again changed the label - this time to Music for Nations . The fifth album, Blackwater Park , produced by Stephen Wilson ( Porcupine Tree ), was released in early 2001. With concerts in support of the new album, Opeth first visited the United States, having played a long tour with Nevermore , performed at several European summer festivals, and in the fall made their first European tour of their own. The new album brought the group significant success, allowing them to get out of the underground, which was due to the musicians themselves, and producer Wilson, and their record company. The nearly-halved song “The Drapery Falls” was released on the single and had some success on US and European radio stations, and a video was shot for the song “Harvest”. In the summer of 2002, the group simultaneously recorded two albums at once. Deliverance was released in the fall and was a slightly tighter Opeth , but Damnation , released in the spring of 2003, consisted entirely of melancholy semi-acoustic songs in the spirit of progressive rock of the 70s without any hint of heavy music - on all Opeth albums before that, one or two of these songs were stable. The albums were produced by Stephen Wilson together with the band. The end of 2002 and the whole of 2003 the group toured around the world, including the USA, Canada, South America and Australia, and also performed at many festivals in Europe. Damnation made it to the 193th place on the chart of the American magazine “ Billboard ”, which was a kind of achievement for Opeth . The song “Windowpane” (again in a truncated form) was released on the single, and a video clip was shot on it.

In 2004, the first DVD Opeth Lamentations was released, recording the band’s performance in the London Shepherd's Bush Empire on September 25, 2003, as well as an hour and a half film about the creation of Deliverance and Damnation . The concert consisted of two parts - at first the album Damnation was fully performed, as well as the song “Harvest”, which was close to him, and after a short break the group played 5 harder songs from Blackwater Park and Deliverance . It should be noted that such a set list was used throughout the tour in support of Damnation , and the concert in American Providence contained only “soft” songs from all Opeth albums. Also on this tour was keyboardist Per Wieberg ( Spiritual Beggars ), who later joined the group on an ongoing basis. Lamentations also became Opeth 's latest release on Music for Nations, and after a long search for the label, the band signed to Roadrunner Records .

In 2004, several concerts were also canceled due to the severe nervous condition of Martin Lopez, and in subsequent performances he was replaced by the legendary Gene Hoglan ( Dark Angel , Death , Strapping Young Lad ). Towards the end of the tour, Lopez joined the group again.

World fame (2005)

In the spring and summer of 2005, Opeth recorded their new, eighth album, Ghost Reveries , which was released in August. The album took 84th place on the “ Billboard ” chart , a shortened version of the song “The Grand Conjuration” was released as a single, and a video was also shot on it. Martin Lopez again had health problems, and therefore Hoglan starred in the video. Martin Axenroth ( Witchery , Bloodbath ) went on tour with the band. Officially, the departure of Lopez from the group and his replacement by Axenroth was announced only in May 2006. All this time the group has been actively touring around the world. In the fall, Opeth took part in the North American Gigantour tour with Megadeth , Lamb of God , Arch Enemy , Overkill, and others.

A concert on November 9, 2006 in the London Roundhouse was recorded for a DVD, which was released in the fall of 2007. In February 2007, the group officially announced that a significant part of the material had already been written for the new album. On May 17, Peter Lindgren announced his departure from the group: “I realized that I can’t give myself to the group at 100%, and this is somehow bad for Opeth. ” At the same time, the replacement of Lindgren by Fredrick Oqueson ( Talisman , Krux , Arch Enemy ) was announced. On July 15, Opeth played their first concert with the new guitarist - at the Ilosaari Rock festival. On November 2, 2007, the group began recording the new Watershed album at Stockholm's Fascination Street studio, and by February 2008, work on the album was completely finished. The name of the album, its track list, and the release date were announced on February 5th. On March 8, the group performed at the Melloboat festival - this was the second Opeth performance in a new line-up. For the first time, a song from the new album, “Heir Apparent”, was performed at this concert.

They started recording their tenth studio album Opeth on January 31, 2011. The guys have already made arrangements with the owners of the legendary recording studio Atlantis studios (ex Metronome studios, Stockholm, Sweden), as well as with Jens Bogren, who also participated in the recording process. The information was taken up by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Roadrunnerner Records took up the release). The album was released on September 14, 2011. On this album, Opeth actively experimented with sound in the style of classic progressive rock from the early 70's.

Current squad

• Mikael Okerfeldt - rhythm and leader of the guitar (since 1990), vocals (since 1992), acoustic guitar, bass, sound effects, mixing, engineering, production, piano, mellotron
• Fredrick Oquesson - Guitar, Acoustic Guitar (2007)
• Martin Mendes - bass, upright bass (since 1997)
• Martin Axenroth (“Ax”) - drums, percussion (since 2006)
• Joachim Svalberg - keyboards, piano, mellotron, synthesizer, backing vocals, percussion (since 2011)

Former members

• Peter Lindgren - guitar (1991-2007)
• Martin Lopez - drums (1997-2005)
• Anders Nordin - drums (1990-1997)
• Johan DeFarfalla - bass (1991, 1994-1996)
• David Isberg - vocals (1990-1992)
• Stefan Guteklint - bass guitar (1992-1993)
• Nick Doring - bass guitar (1990-1991)
• Andreas Dimeo - Guitar (1991)
• Kim Petersson - bass (1991)
• Per Wiberg - keyboards, backing vocals (2005—2011)

Number Albums

• Orchid (1995, Candlelight Records)
• Morningrise (1996, Candlelight Records)
• My Arms, Your Hearse (1998, Candlelight Records)
• Still Life (1999, Peaceville Records)
• Blackwater Park (2001, Music for Nations)
• Deliverance (2002, Music for Nations)
• Damnation (2003, Music for Nations)
• Ghost Reveries (2005, Roadrunner Records)
• Watershed (2008, Roadrunner Records)
• Heritage (2011, Roadrunner Records)
• Pale Communion (2014, Roadrunner Records)
• Sorceress (2016, Nuclear Blast)

Live Albums

• The Roundhouse Tapes (2007, Peaceville Records)

EP

• Still Day Beneath The Sun (2003)
• Burden (2008)
• The Devil's Orchard - Live At Rock Hard Festival (2011)

Singles

• Hope Leaves (2003)
• Selections From Ghost Reveries (2005)
• Mellotron Heart (2008)
• Watershed Radio Sampler (2008)
• The Throat Of Winter (2010)

Video

• Lamentations DVD (2004, Music for Nations)
• Live At Academy DVD (2006, Manchester, Uk 2006-11-10)
• The Roundhouse Tapes DVD (2008, Peaceville Records)
• In Live Concert at The Royal Albert Hall DVD (2010)

Other

• Collector's Edition Slipcase 5 CDs (2006, Koch Records)

• Official site
• Official fan club site
• Roadrunner Records Website
• Opeth page on the Encyclopaedia Metallum portal