Interview - Opeth

Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm. While the band has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force since joining the group immediately after its inception in 1990.

While their style is firmly rooted in Scandinavian death metal, Opeth has consistently incorporated progressive music, folk, blues rock and jazz influences into their usually-lengthy compositions. Many compositions include acoustic guitar interludes and strong dynamic shifts, as well as both growling and clean vocals. Though they rarely toured in support of their first four albums, Opeth conducted their first world tour after the 2001 release of Blackwater Park.

Opeth has released nine studio albums, two live albums, two box sets, and three DVDs. The band released its debut album Orchid in 1995. Although their eighth studio album, Ghost Reveries, was quite popular in the United States, Opeth did not experience American commercial success until the 2008 release of their ninth studio album, Watershed, which peaked at number twenty-three on the Billboard 200, and topped the Finnish albums chart in its first week of release.