Discovering Opeth

One of my regrets from my youth is not taking more notice of the shirts that people were wearing at festivals. One can make the assumption that if we are all at the same show, we all have at least some musical taste in common. From that I can see which bands are at least one degree of separation away from the music that I am seeing at the show. This works well at standalone shows, however not as much at festivals, especially festivals with wide ranges of music like Big Day Out. However when I am at somewhere like Soundwave, I can be safe to assume that everyone at the festival enjoys punk, and/or metal to some degree.

If I listen to the same music over and over then I will get bored and frustrated. I am not saying I don’t listen to my old records, I often go through them. What I am saying is when I get into a mood for a band, I’ll listen to their whole back catalogue over the week, but then won’t be able to listen to it again for another couple of weeks.

When I am browsing at the record store I’ll come across an artist that I saw had a cool shirt. I had seen Opeth on everyone else’s shirt, but never actually got around to listening to their music. It is good for the soul to roll the dice on occasion and take a chance on a new artist, at least new to me.
Who knows, you could be discovering your new favourite band. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is shit, but where the fun without some risk.

The chaps at the record store are there to help you. I will ask them, “I enjoy these bands, and these genres, what do you think of this record? Do you think I’ll enjoy it?” If you’re in Sydney and enjoy metal, I’d recommend a trip to Utopia Records as the scholars there know their genre and will help you. They understand the value of trust and goodwill built by giving an honest recommendation and receiving a regular customer over making a quick buck on a sale of a shit record and in effect mugging the customer.

This leads me to Opeth. I had seen their shirts for many years, but never got around to actually taking a punt on their music.  My entry point to Opeth’s back catalogue was their 2001 opus Blackwater Park.

The opening track, and the first song of Opeth I heard was The Leper Affinity
Depending on the quality of your sound system you will experience this song in many different ways. For the first 28 seconds it is a very slow build of a single note. If you’re listening to ear buds on the train you’ll most likely not hear anything until about 20 seconds, but when that 28th second hits, it is a like a wall of sound. I feel like I am on a roller coaster slowly building my way up to the top of the ride at the beginning with anticipation building waiting for… and I’m over the edge. There is a sudden drop and I am now on this ride feeling all sorts of emotions and experiences.

The roar of Mikael Åkerfeldt hits me just as hard as the guitars do, but it feels very natural for him to be there. For the first four minutes I am in a metal ecstasy, but then the song turns a corner to higher pitched guitars and slower melodies, this progresses to acoustic and a hansom baritone. The three sounds effortlessly flow and mix into one another. Over the ten minutes and twenty three seconds I get a good overview of what Opeth is all about. Is it black metal? Is it Prog? Is it folk? What is it? It is Opeth. One effect I love in a lot of their songs is the incorporation of an acoustic guitar paired with an electric guitar to add depth.

Steven Wilson (of Porcupine Tree), who along with producing the album, closes the song with a piano solo that invokes feelings of happier times past in a time of melancholy. One song later I am hooked. It was 2013 I heard the songs of Opeth for the first time, and now I am in love. If only I paid attention to the shirts I saw at festivals of my youth more, then I would have more years with one of my now favourite bands.

I will most likely write another blog on Opeth and where good entry points are, as well as an experience of this album.

#Opeth #BlackwaterPark #Utopia #Soundwave #BigDayOut #StevenWilson

Blackwater Park (2001, Music for Nations)


Mikael Åkerfeldt – Vocals, Guitar, Songwriter
Peter Lindgren – Guitar
Martín Méndez – Bass
Martin Lopez - Drums

Steven Wilson – Producer, Piano, backing vocals
Travis Smith – Artwork (original, and reissue)

Original Album
1                     The Leper Affinity
2                     Bleak
3                     Harvest
4                     The Drapery Falls
5                     Dirge for November
6                     The Funeral Portrait
7                     Patterns in the Ivy
8                     Blackwater Park
67:13
Bonus Disc
1                     Still Day Beneath the Sun
2                     Patterns in the Ivy II
3                     Harvest (Multimedia track)

14:47


Now I have my own Opeth shirt (Sorceress Tour 2017)

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