Opeth is a heavy metal band that formed in 1990. The group incorporates progressive, folk, blues, classical and jazz influences into their heavy metal music. They formed in Stockholm, Sweden.
The group are mainly known for using black metal and death metal with their usually long compositions, more so in their early work.
The band is made up of Mikael Åkerfeldt, Martín Méndez, Martin Axenrot, Fredrik Åkesson, Joakim Svalberg. The group has been through a lot of changes throughout the years, but guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt has always been the main member of Opeth and stayed with it throughout its career.
Opeth has released over ten studio albums, live albums and several live DVD's during their career. They first released their debut album in 1995 called "Orchid".
The band achieved their biggest commercial success in 2008 with their ninth album called "Watershed" which made 23 on the Billboard 200. However, their previous album "Ghost Reveries" had become popular prior to this.
Opeth have sold over 1.5 million albums and DVDs internationally, as well as 300,000 collective sound scans of their albums in the US.
Mikael Åkerfeldt (the songwriter, singer and guitarist), said he was influenced from a young age by acts such as Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Ryan Ogle from Blabbermouth depicted Opeth's distinct sound as incorporating "the likes of folk, funk, blues, 1970's rock, goth and a laundry list of other sonic oddities".
Courtney Barnett
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