When mankind clamored for music, the earth responded with a resounding Opeth. Since the early 90s, Mikael Åkerfeldt and his band have been paving and repaving and upheaving the metal landscape. They have been one of the most progressive artists of modern heavy metal, pushing metal through chameleon-like revolutions, incorporating jazz, folk, prog rock, and numerous other genres, textures, and dynamic shifts, making metalhead and music-snobs senses spin. With Mikael at the helm, Opeth has inspired and continues to inspire legendary artists and aspiring generations of artists to come.
With such legend comes great story and intrigue, culminating in the production of the ultimate book to surpass all books for the super salivating and insatiable Opeth fans. If a question has ever been asked about who, what, when, where, why, and all the nuances in between the lines, the Book of Opeth opens the floodgates for information from the innermost workings of the band since even before Mikael decided to take himself, and everyone else, along on the ongoing Opethian journey.
It’s amazingly mind boggling to imagine that Opeth is now 25 years young, and there is truly no better way to celebrate than a guide through their history, through the eyes and anecdotes from everyone that has helped to forge the megalith of Opeth into existence. Upon opening the book we find ourselves face-to-face with Mikael, an iconic image, offering us a glimpse into his crystal ball, an image that allows us to instantly understand what the book is going to give up. As we delve into the words, we discover all the wonderment of Opeth and their musical wizardry. Reading about where they came from bring these metal lords to a level to which we can understand. Opeth is not the standard deep metal band. They are akin to a fine wine, allowing musical connoisseurs to imbibe and savor the sophistication and complexity of their sound.
Stated early on and throughout, we can appreciate that evolution of Opeth was always aligned with Mikael’s musical tastes. Whatever he got into would immediately have an impact on what he was writing, and where Opeth’s music went.
Opening our minds to other, non-metal music enabled us to develop our own sound.
With over 200 pages of personal interviews and pictures, from beginning to end, you can sense and experience every Opeth milestone and stumbling block. You travel throughout time alongside Mikael, as with all things Opeth, the magic revolves around his musical tastes. The narrative isn’t the unique medium in the reader may experience the history of this band, but the reader can palpate the change from struggling band to legendary status through the quantity and quality of the images. From personal photos to press portraits, the Book of Opeth provides an easy to follow chronological history of the band, watching them evolve from the inside out.
A joy to read and feel, The Book of Opeth is the keyhole through which a fan can peep into the what has made Opeth tick over the last 25 years, and we certainly hope that they (and we) are still around for the next 25.
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