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- Blackwater Park (Music For Nations, 2001) Although Opeth's 90s output would earn them much acclaim, it was 2001's Blackwater Park that finally brought the band the popularity they so desperately deserved.
- Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner, 2005) There couldn't be a better sign of Opeth's establishment as one of the most exciting bands in metal than their signning to Roadrunner in 2005.
- Damnation (Music For Nations, 2003) Opeth's first experiment with ditching death metal entirely remains their finest work in the form. Unlike later releases, where it can often feel like the band are painting with a more limited palette, Damnation still keeps much of the magic and wonder of Opeth's turn-of-the-millennium sonics, embracing and exploring prog without losing some of their own identity in the process.
- Still Life (Peaceville, 1999) Opeth's time on Peaceville was brief, but yielded impressive fruit. After embracing the concept album on My Arms, Your Hearse, Opeth revisited the idea with Still Life, weaving an anti-religious narrative around immensely dynamic progressive death metal.
- Pale Communion
- Sorceress
- Heritage
- Watershed
- Morningrise
- In Cauda Venenum
- Deliverance
- Orchid
- Ghost Reveries
- My Arms, Your Hearse
While I’m not prepared to say that Opeth have an outright bad record, Pale Communionat least has some serious flaws. Sure, it begins with some gusto: “Eternal Rains Will Come” is gorgeous, and “Moon Above, Sun Below” is about as good as a ten-minute Opeth tune written past 2010 can get. In contrast, “Elysian Woes” can’t really justify its six minut...
Truth be told, 2016’s Sorceress isn’t much better than Pale Communion. Its second half is just as slow and introspective (or inscrutable) as its predecessor’s, full of homages and allusions to obscure and hyper-valuable prog rock classics. Seriously, nobody needs to hear “The Seventh Sojourn.” However, it does have one thing Pale Communion doesn’t ...
Heritage takes a lot of flak, as albums that mess with the template tend to do. With the exception of Damnation (which gets a pass since it was intended to be part of a double record), it’s Opeth’s first full-on prog excursion. Unlike Damnation, it’s not very cohesive or solid. To make matters worse, the band promoted it with a headlining tour of a...
If Opeth had disbanded after Watershed, they would have left behind the most perfect discography in metal, by my estimation. From here on out, each record is essentially flawless — we’re comparing diamonds, now. However, the departure of core members Martin Lopez and Peter Lindgren left a few imperfections behind. New drummer Martin Axenrot doesn’t...
Assembled in part before Opeth’s debut album Orchid was released, Morningrisehas the unfortunate-but-unavoidable sloppiness of a hasty sophomore release — some of its sections date back to 1991. The infamous, 20-minute “Black Rose Immortal,” for example, can’t really justify its running time, and the record would be much better without it. Still, e...
Curiously recorded in two languages with related-but-distinct lyrics, Opeth’s 2019 record still has trouble getting out of its own way, and still lacks any overt death metal elements, but it does show a noticeable uptick in Åkerfeldt’s songwriting ability. Finally, his prog rock compositions can hold their shape longer than four-to-six minutes, mos...
Originally conceived as a pure death metal record to counterbalance the dutiful progressive rock of its counterpart Damnation, Deliverance still winds up sounding more-or-less like a typical Opeth record, though it’s songs do tend to make their mark more immediately than the songs on Blackwater Park which preceded it, and Ghost Reverieswhich follow...
In 1995, when Opeth released their Decibel Hall of Fame-inductee debut Orchid, nothing sounded like it. Sure, some things came close: Emperor’s lavish detail, Edge of Sanity’s melody-first progressive death metal (Dan Swanö produced it), and various post-black metal bands’ willingness to leaven extreme metal’s intensity, but nothing that so devotio...
Martin Méndez and Peter Lindgren’s final Opeth record might be their most gothic. Written partially in always-creepy open D tuning, and including layers of mellotron and organ from now-permanent member Per Weiberg (he’d been a live member for some time), every song on Ghost Reveriessounds richer than chocolate cake and twice as dark. Åkerfeldt’s ro...
With the addition of Martin Méndez and Peter Lindgren, Opeth’s classic lineup fell into place and the band’s sound crystallized. What did Åkerfeldt do with his now-optimal lineup? Naturally, he wrote a concept record. Sung from the perspective of a melancholic ghost, My Arms, Your Hearse weaves an interlocking narrative with an abundance of filler ...
- Damnation (2003) Though Heritage would be a demarcation between the two halves of their career (or, depending on how you look at it, the middle third and the latter third), it wasn’t the first time Opeth recorded an album without death-growls and distortion.
- Morningrise (1996) Opeth’s second album found them really leaning into their ambitious songcraft. There are only five songs on Morningrise, but they each exceed ten minutes (including their longest track to date, the 20-minute onslaught of “Black Rose Immortal”).
- Heritage (2011) After Watershed, Opeth dove headfirst into straight-up progressive rock, with Åkerfeldt abandoning his characteristic death-growls for his equally distinctive, smooth baritone for the follow-up, Heritage.
- Watershed (2008) A clear sign that the band and their leader, Mikael Åkerfeldt, had perfected and pushed their unique, progressive death metal sound about as far as they could, Watershed is the only Opeth record that could be described as sounding tired.
Aug 13, 2016 · This is easily the most controversial album Opeth ever released, and caused many a closed-minded fan to jump ship. Although the second album not to feature any death growls, ‘Heritage’ was a much larger departure from their previous sound. Any pretense to metal, or even the general vibe of earlier mellow songs, were abandoned, and the sound ...
Oct 4, 2016 · 11. Heritage (2011) A divisive album for even the group’s most loyal fans, Heritage came three years after what still remains Opeth’s most experimental album, 2008’s Watershed. For many ...
- Stereogum
Nov 19, 2023 · Progressive Shift (Late 1990s – Early 2000s) Opeth’s sound took a dramatic turn with the release of “Still Life” (1999) and “Blackwater Park” (2001). These albums marked a shift toward progressive metal, incorporating acoustic interludes, clean vocals, and intricate song structures. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s distinctive growls coexisted ...
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There's so much variety in Opeth opinions! For instance, I've been listening to Opeth for almost 20 years, and here's my list: 1/2) Still Life / Blackwater Park. 3) My Arms Your Hearse. 4) Ghost Reveries. 5) Deliverance. 6) Watershed.
