Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band formed in Stockholm in 1989, with Mikael Åkerfeldt the constant through decades of death-metal growls, folk acoustics, and 1970s prog turns. Blackwater Park (2001) is the classic entry; The Last Will and Testament (2024) brought the growls back. Explore Opeth vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Opeth formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1989 around David Isberg, with Mikael Åkerfeldt joining shortly after. After lineup rotation and Isberg's 1992 departure, Åkerfeldt has been the only constant member across the band's multi-decade history. Their early catalog (Orchid 1995 through Damnation 2003) combined extreme death metal with progressive rock and folk acoustic material, with use of dual death metal growl / clean vocal arrangements. Their 2003 albums Deliverance and Damnation were companion releases - Deliverance being extreme metal and Damnation being acoustic progressive rock. Their 2011 album Heritage marked a creative pivot - Åkerfeldt abandoned his death metal growl vocals entirely in favor of clean vocals, with the band's subsequent material being 1970s-prog-rock influenced. Their 2024 album The Last Will and Testament returned the growl vocal approach for the first time in 13 years, with conceptual narrative structure. They have continued releasing material across multiple decades.
Opeth's sound combines progressive metal, progressive rock, death metal, melodic death metal, doom metal, folk metal, and acoustic with Åkerfeldt's distinctive dual death metal growl / clean vocal delivery (the growl abandoned 2011-2024), virtuosic dual guitar arrangements, and compositional approach to album-length work drawing on classic 1970s progressive rock (King Crimson, Camel, and Comus influence) alongside extreme metal traditions.
Candlelight, Music for Nations, Roadrunner, and Moderbolaget pressings of the Opeth catalog have been issued in extensive color variant editions and elaborate limited deluxe pressings, with collector demand.
Listeners new to Opeth typically start with Blackwater Park (2001) or Ghost Reveries (2005).
