Opeth

A product of the Swedish progressive metal scene, Opeth has established itself as one of the genre's most influential bands worldwide. Formed in Stockholm in 1990 by guitarist and vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt, the band evolved with his sidekick Peter Lindgren and a rhythm section consisting of Johan de Farfalla and Anders Nordin, after many changes of musicians. Influenced by the progressive rock of the 1970s, Opeth's album after album produced a skilful blend that became more refined over the years, giving rise to titles like "Deliverance" and albums such as My Arms, Your Hearse (1998), Still Life (1999) and Blackwater Park (2001). Heritage's career has seen the band evolve from a simple death metal outfit at the start of their career to a groundbreaking indie metal powerhouse, with albums such as Damnation (2003), Ghost Reveries (2005) and Watershed (2008) charting in the US Billboard 200. In 2011, Heritage virtually marks the end of all death metal references. Opeth released Pale Communion in 2014, an album less appreciated by fans after its golden age, then followed up two years later with Sorceress, more affordable but also more inventive. In 2019, they are succeeded by In Cauda Venenum, released in two versions, English and Swedish. We had to wait five years, a period marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, to see the release of a new album. Entitled The Last Will and Testament (2024), the conceptual opus sounds like a return to the roots and balance of the critically and publicly acclaimed first recordings.