The 30 year career of Sweden’s progressive maestros gets the Shredding treatment to find out which albums are worth the fuss.
Whether or not you grow to love them, no one can truly claim to be a metal fan without having heard of Opeth. One of the first examples of a specialist band gaining wider appeal, the phrase “progressive melodic death metal” entered the metal consciousness in the early 1990s and has stuck to Opeth ever since, with the occasional subtraction of one of its words. Since day one, vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained the creative force, though Martin Lopez (ex-Amon Amarth) and Martin Axenrot (ex-Witchery, Bloodbath) can now also be named among prestigious past and current members. Initially acclaimed and ridiculed in equal measures for lengthy songs that took in twisting extreme metal rhythms and vocals alongside folky acoustic passages, the year 2000 became the Swedes’ annus mirabilis as a new deal with Music for Nations, a new album recorded with Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson, and a first European tour coincided to push them into the spotlight.
Artistic maturity did wonders for Opeth’s confidence and the daring project of recording one heavy and one soft album simultaneously resulted in Deliverance and Damnation. On a roll, the band signed with Roadrunner and recorded a live album at the famous Royal Albert Hall, before striking a dizzying blow to fans of their unique approach to progressive metal. The band announced that 2011’s Heritage would feature a more prog rock sound, which has been the case on the 3 albums since, including ambitious recent work In Cauda Venenum, a full-length released with both English and Swedish versions. Despite this shift in direction, Opeth’s status as one of the most skilled and challenging groups in metal remains intact. Ready to shred each of their 13 full-length albums? Let’s begin!
#13 Heritage (2011)
The news that Opeth would abandon their progressive death style hit the metal world hard: no more demonic growls, crunching time changes, or madcap heavy riffs. A backlash was guaranteed against Heritage, yet too many experiments and too few really captivating songs didn’t help. Attempting to indulge a love for ‘70s prog in the vein of King Crimson, Comus, and Jethro Tull yet maintain the essence of Opeth’s past era, certain songs simply sound like Opeth sans mojo, while meandering oddities like “Famine” gain prizes neither for originality nor coherence. Although some cuts left their mark, the likes of the gloomily mournful “I Feel the Dark” felt like little more than ideas discarded from previous album Watershed.
#12 Morningrise (1996)
Opeth’s early years were marked by very long songs, and Morningrise proved the extreme example. The band’s sophomore album featured only 5 songs, all of which roamed over 10 minutes in length, rarely repeating parts and often inserting musical digressions in the form of acoustic interludes. As a result, the mazy compositions lost as many listeners as they entranced, not least “Black Rose Immortal”, which remains the group’s longest song at over 20 minutes. On the other hand, the instrumentalists all displayed dazzling talents and “To Bid You Farewell” proved a canny first attempt at an aching ballad. Morningrise was not a comprehensive failure, capturing a special, autumnal Opeth mood, though its structure and complexity still leaves it slightly inaccessible.
#11 Sorceress (2016)
For those confused by Opeth’s late-career detour into mellower territories, Sorceress certainly didn’t clarify matters. From a two-part title track grazing stoner rock on one side and frail folk on the other to mildly drifting compositions like “The Seventh Sojourn”, the Swedes frankly weren’t making all that much sense. Even the elaborate, bloodthirsty peacock on the cover confused things further, since Sorceress showed Opeth the furthest ever from peacocking their prodigious skills, favouring more discrete songs and tranquil interludes. For a calm and cautious sonic adventure, listeners will find plenty of pleasantly accessible material here, though it’s far from the band’s best.
#10 Watershed (2008)
Although Watershed was anything but a poor album, the ninth Opeth full-length came on the back of line-up changes (Fredrik Åkesson and Martin Axenrot had joined since Ghost Reveries) and preceded the great sea change in direction. Signs may already have been afoot that something was up, since the riffing took on less distinctive shapes, not helped by a slightly swampy production, while softer tracks like “Burden” and “Coil” would have fitted on more recent albums. The main niggle with Watershed, however, comes from the fact that none of the songs are absolutely killer, nor does the record as a whole flow or create an overarching atmosphere. Let that take nothing away from the riotous time changes of “The Lotus Eater” or strict guitar work of “Hex Omega” though.
#9 Pale Communion (2014)
Returning to progressive rock pastures for a second attempt, Pale Communion showed a better sense of songcraft added to the roaming textures of Heritage. One key difference came with the replacement of Per Wiberg by Joakim Svalberg, refreshing Opeth’s approach to keyboards and opening the sound to new possibilities. Right from the unexpectedly quick start of “Eternal Rains Will Come”, the Swedes seem to be thinking outside the box of their time as progressive deathsters. “Moon Above, Sun Below” forms a sumptuous centrepiece to a sprawling listen, yet not all of the ideas stick and the album as a whole lacks some of the emotion of their more expressive works.
#8 Damnation (2003)
Part of Mikael Åkerfeldt’s ambitious desire to record a heavy and a soft album simultaneously, Damnation was the first indicator that Opeth could focus entirely on contemplative rock sounds and still maintain their essence. Achingly melancholy as the bleak cover image suggests, this set of 8 songs remains the most accessible of the band’s career, wielding neither excess length or technicality to pierce the listener with loneliness and tranquillity. “Windowpane” sets the tone with delicate acoustics and semi-clean leads, plus misty washes of keys, while cuts like “Hope Leaves” barely leave a shadow on the glass as they breathe softly into life. Not quite essential Opeth, but a gorgeous set of reflective songs.
#7 My Arms, Your Hearse (1998)
The third outing in Opeth colours took care of criticisms that their style was pretentiously elaborate and overlarded with disparate sections. However, My Arms, Your Hearse did that by using a name taken from obscure Comus lyrics, plotting a barely decipherable concept, and using the final lyric of each song (including, confusingly, the 3 instrumentals) as the title of the next. Despite all that, individual songs like “When” and “Karma” stood out as more focused efforts, while “Demon of the Fall” quickly became a fan favourite thanks to a vicious blend of riffs and roars. Largely speaking a denser and more concentrated album than its forebears, My Arms, Your Hearse signalled the beginning of Opeth’s ascent to popularity.
#6 Orchid (1995)
The Swedes patiently built their style from the initial death metal scenes of the largest two cities in the country. By 1995 and the advent of this debut album, several years of refinement had distanced Opeth from the underground death metal of Stockholm and moved them light years beyond the melodic experiments of In Flames in Gothenburg. Sprightly cuts like “In Mist She Was Standing” arrived fully-formed in grand complexity, while the monstrous “Forest of October” gave a pacier nod to the magnum opus of countrymen Katatonia, released 2 years prior. Some of the interludes and structuring would be tweaked on future releases, though the evocative stillness of the acoustic section in “Under the Weeping Moon” proved that Opeth kept nothing back on their first recording. Put in its proper context, this was a massive leap forwards for melodeath and progressive metal.
#5 Deliverance (2002)
As the “heavy” half of Opeth’s double album experiment, the brutish start of “Wreath” shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to listeners. On the other hand, time pressures, a limited budget, and a strained composer in Mikael Åkerfeldt pushed the frontman closer to the edge than necessary, resulting in a suffocating record only relieved by the sparse piano verses of “A Fair Judgement”. Broader, flatter guitars and long songs without many clean breaks make Deliverance an endurance test at times, yet the aura of haunting menace and some seriously mean riffs also reward fans with one of the group’s darkest releases. Just listen to the staccato denouement to the title track for a taste of prog metal hate.
#4 In Cauda Venenum (2019)
The band’s most recent 13th album put it beyond any doubt that they have got to grips with this progressive rock malarkey, while also condescending to throw a bone to some older fans. The more energetic likes of “Heart in Hand” brush the glass ceiling of Dream Theater’s domain, yet with the charismatic woody scent of Mikael Åkerfeldt’s clean vocals we never leave Scandinavia throughout a packed 68 minutes. Adding to Opeth’s newfound niche is the option of purchasing the Swedish version of the album, which may enhance the spoken interludes and sound collages that begin with the gorgeous Pink Floyd experiment of opener “Garden of Earthly Delights”. The old guard of progressive death metal will probably never be satisfied, but the rest of the music world has gained a rock band of multi-hued splendour.
#3 Blackwater Park (2001)
Blackwater Park was Opeth’s first real bid for acceptance, not that it looked like that to the unaware. Without compromising on their formula for knotty long compositions, the group’s first release on Music for Nations brought in Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree for production duties and emphasized hooks a little more. Cue some of the catchiest and moodiest prog metal ever made, from widescreen opener “The Leper Affinity” to romping riff-fest “The Funeral Portrait” to the monumental closing title track. Clean vocals played a much more prominent role than before, crafting the soaring chorus of “Bleak”, while Mikael Åkerfeldt’s growls were lowered a few tones to become truly monstrous. Even the acoustic balladry, which the band had previously struggled with, made “Harvest” one of the highlights.
#2 Ghost Reveries (2005)
After 10 years of recorded output and a healthy dose of touring, Opeth were totally into their stride. Ghost Reveries proved an infinitely richer mix of sounds than previous releases, partly due to the inclusion of Per Wiberg as the first permanent keyboardist. The smoky mystery of tracks like “Hours of Wealth” and the gloriously schizophrenic “The Grand Conjuration” wafts up from the new mellotron, while the sinuous riffs of “The Baying of the Hounds” delight in one the best productions for the Swedes. As a first album on Roadrunner Records, and with even fragile closer “Isolation Years” proving an entirely non-progressive gem, Ghost Reveries showed that Opeth were set for the big leagues.
#1 Still Life (1999)
Choosing the finest moment of Opeth’s career is difficult, since every album displays fantastic musicianship and targets the same kind of open-minded music fan. However, Still Life remains the only time that the full ambition of the Swedes has been realized without compromise or points to nitpick. Harbouring a full-blown conceptual story about a nun’s secret love and eventual tragedy, the drama of these 7 songs would remain palpable even if the lyrics were translated to ancient Egyptian. A year or two after the integration of Martín Méndez and Martin Lopez to the rhythm section, Opeth had the confidence to compose daringly and had formulated a unique riffing style that propels the swooning “Moonlapse Vertigo” and tense “White Cluster” down intriguing avenues of atmosphere and heaviness. The songwriting melds complexity with far-sighted congruence, something instantly recognizable in “Face of Melinda”, a song that paints such gorgeous emotions that Mikael Åkerfeldt named his first daughter after the heroine. Due to the band’s difficult nature, no Opeth album is perfect, yet Still Life comes within a hair’s breadth.
