Opeth

Not since the release of Tiamat's groundbreaking masterpiece Wildhoney in 1994 had the extreme metal scene witnessed such an overwhelming show of fan enthusiasm and uniform critical praise as that bestowed upon Blackwater Park, the astounding fifth effort from Swedish metal titans Opeth. A work of breathtaking creative breadth, Blackwater Park (named after an obscure German progressive rock outfit from the 1970s) keeps with Opeth's tradition by transcending the limits of death/black metal and repeatedly shattering the foundations of conventional songwriting, to boot. Rarely does a band manage to break new ground without losing touch with its roots, but Opeth has made a career of it - perhaps never as effortlessly as on this occasion…

Opeth's "Deliverance & Damnation", a double album almost 15 years in the making, will be made available on October 30 via Music For Nations. Originally released separately in 2002 and 2003 respectively, these sessions were written and recorded together and it's time for Music For Nations to present the album as a complete piece. Music For Nations will issue the double album in two beautifully reissued formats that includes new stereo and 5.1 mixes, with artwork redesigned by original designer Travis Smith; liner notes by Mikael Åkerfeldt and Jerry Ewing of Prog in a lavish four-disc bookset.

After album (or "observation," as the band likes to call them) number eight - Ghost Reveries - Opeth could have very easily coasted, merely rehashing their sound. Instead, they opted to challenge themselves and their listeners, creating an album that can - at times - expose its true nature and scope slowly and - at other times - be jarring, as if it were turning itself inside out. Opeth take chances that many bands in the same situation would be too scared to have a go at. It's hard to say if the recent membership changes affected bandleader Mikael Åkerfeldt's writing and production, or if he was enjoying his trip down classic rock (see: Deep Purple) lane. For whatever reason, Watershed is a new benchmark for Opeth…

In interviews before the release of In Cauda Venenum, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Opeth's vocalist, guitarist, and chief songwriter, stated that "heaviness" was an aesthetic rather than a sound, to explain why he had abandoned death metal. Beginning with 2011's Heritage, Opeth made a conscious shift toward progressive rock that has, as evidenced here, become pervasive. This set is their first to be issued in English and Swedish editions. Sonically and musically, the album contains musical and production traits already evident on Heritage and Sorceress – and to a lesser degree, on Pale Communion - as organs, synths, Mellotron, acoustic guitars, syncopated rhythms, strings, choirs, and key changes are crafted into the band's two-guitar-bass-drum attack…

After concluding their successful co-headline tour through North America, progressive metal legends Opeth finally release "In Cauda Venenum (Extended Edition)". This special edition, available on digipack, contains the English and Swedish versions of Opeth’s latest album "In Cauda Venenum" with new illustrations by internationally renowned Travis Smith in the booklet. In addition, there is also a third CD including 3 unreleased bonus tracks, both in English and Swedish…

Having taken their oppressive black metal symphonies to their furious zenith with their third effort, My Arms, Your Hearse, Sweden's Opeth began deconstructing their sound on 1999's brilliant Still Life. A logical next step in their evolution, the album finds the band re-examining their unlikely fusion of progressive rock and black metal to highlight the former while staying in touch with the latter. The result is a formidable splicing of harsh, often jagged guitar riffs with graceful melodies, and the increasing use of Mikael Åkerfeldt's "clean" vocals (alternated with his ever-present death growl). This tactic only serves to spotlight the quality of Åkerfeldt's lyrics (a rarity in extreme metal circles) and, in the tradition of prior efforts, Still Life is a full-fledged concept album, which, without going into unnecessary details, centers around a tale of unrequited love for a character called Melinda…

While they have taken a different approach with each album, Opeth has a very distinct and instantly recognizable sound: somber, mysterious, and very serious. Their style falls at a meeting point between melodic Swedish death metal and '70s progressive rock, though without any of the technical busyness that description might imply. Morningrise is, as far as the metal scale goes, possibly their least heavy album; it also contains their longest songs - just five of them, ranging in length from ten to 20 minutes. The tracks all take their time developing, shifting back and forth from full-on metal sections (marked by distorted dual guitar riffs and growling vocals) to calm, acoustic guitar-based passages with more softly sung vocals…

Opeth's debut, Orchid, was quite an audacious release, a far-beyond-epic prog/death monstrosity exuding equal parts beauty and brutality - an album so brilliant, so navel-gazingly pretentious that, in retrospect, Opeth's future greatness was a foregone conclusion. Fact is, these Swedes - with the opening cut, "In Mist She Was Standing," exceeding the 14-minute mark - laid their cards on the table at the beginning of the hand and still took the pot, so ambitious and convincing is the band's artistic vision. And while the record finds the group searching for the razor-sharp focus and prominent emotional hook put forth on the later, classic releases My Arms, Your Hearse, Still Life, and Blackwater Park, Orchid is still an exhilarating listen, with the band meshing double-time death tempos with bleak, frostbitten riffs and moodily expansive, jazz-influenced, melodic instrumental passages…