Best time to be a Opeth fan?

[Taotrac]

I personally found out about and got into Opeth as soon as Ghost Reveries came out, but i wanna hear about what it was like to be a fan of them before that.

I would have loved to have been born alot longer ago, and found out about Opeth a lot longer ago. Anyone remember what they felt like about Opeth when they were underground and you were ona the lucky few who knew about them, or when they became sorta well known with the amazing Still Life, or Blackwater Park....I'de personally have loved to at least known about them before Deliverance and Damnation came out....They woulda both excited me alot more hearing them and thinking "wtf" kinda like im doing with Watershed...only thing is I LIKE liking Ghost Reveries, which isnt something older fans seem to do.

Anyway, for the older fans here, what what it like when all the other albulms came out. DId people not like some of them at first, then grow on them, or praise them as they came, escpecially what about Damnation? Have all of them been accepted as well or better or worse than Watershed? anyway I'm bored.

P.S. quick question: Does the song "Death Whispered A Lullabye" remind you of the movie/book "The Village"?....Every time i listen to that song it reminds me of that movie so much...

 

[FullMetalCornflake]

"Death Whispered a Lullaby" reminds me of steven wilson.

But to answer the original question, I was the only person I knew who was into Opeth. I tried to get others into it but they all had shit taste. The only real success I had was my brother and my boyfriend. (my ex husband doesn't count because he is an ass) That's why I'm online in the Opeth forum.

I've been a fan since BWP and get very excited whenever each new album comes out. I already pre-ordered this latest one and I cannot wait to finally listen to it. I hope the board doesn't shut down like when GR came out and everyone was posting about links.

 

[Kushantaiidan]

I got into opeth after hearing them on Triple J (Australian nationwide alternative radio station), hearing Godhead's Lament in late 98 or 99... And well, at first it was just awesome death metal and i was like cool. And then the next song came on which was like some kind of beautiful jazzy folky stuff, and thought that band was cool too. Then it went to deathmetal again, and i was thinking WTF? And then the radio announcer came on and announced that that was one song, one band..

Needless to say the next day I went to the local CD store full of pop music and numetal, and asked for one copy of Opeth - Still Life. They looked at me like I was an idiot! "Who?" After repeating many times, and writing it down on a peace of paper, because they couldn't understand what I was saying as I wasn't asking for a Britney Spears CD, they found the record company and ordered a copy for me. 5 weeks later, I received it.

And since then i've been obssesed with them. My obsession has dulled a little bit over the years, but they are still one of my favorite bands ever, and I rabidly await their new albums, and this one is no obsession. And they also opened the door for me into other extreme metal, death metal, and eventually into Prog Rock and black metal and so forth.

So along with devon townsend, they were my first foray into Metal, and out of Nu-Metal and 80's thrash.. =D

So the best time to be an opeth fan was around the still life and BWP years and seeing them live twice. These days there's just so much other metal out there on par with opeth, and it's all amazing.

 

[Vivören]

devon townsend, they

Huh?

 

[ramses]

Been a fan since I saw Orchid in a mail order Century Media Catalogue in 96'. They finally came to Florida in support of BP. My friend and I got to the venue early, and I sat around talking to all of them for the next 2 hours. Peter asked where a "bank machine" was. We pointed to the Hess station across the street. It was great talking about 70's prog to someone else for a change. Lopez, and Mendez were kinda quiet, but decent guys. Most of my favorite bands were out, and in their musical prime, when I was only 10-12 years old, so it was great to finally be around a great band that was just starting to get the attention they deserved, and to see them in such a tiny, but legendary shithole venue that band knew about,and all the great death metal bands played at many times.

 

[Frosties]

I got into them sometime after Blackwater Park was released, and don't consider it a long time at all. Because I was at the age when I just started getting exposed to this kind of music, what I say may be biased and wrong, but it seemed as if they were just beginning to be known at this point. I don't remember seeing any albums of theirs in stores until Deliverance was released.
When Damnation came out, it was "OMG, that is such a COOL IDEA!". I didn't know anything like it (remember - this was before Foo Fighters, Green Carnation and Borknagar had mellow albums ). At this point, the news that "a metal band has made a soft album" was making waves, and people started checking them out by the dozens. But thanks to Damnation, the expectations for Ghost Reveries was even higher, because it seemed like people were aching for a heavy-as-fuck album again, which may be why some people were dissapointed with the album. I think it was Moonlapse that said it before it was released "This next album is the defining one for Opeth, if they really can take it to the next level" or something of the sort.

So, that's my point of view of how things went, more or less. Hope I answered the question right.

 

[Ruun]

Been a fan since I saw Orchid in a mail order Century Media Catalogue in 96'. They finally came to Florida in support of BP. My friend and I got to the venue early, and I sat around talking to all of them for the next 2 hours. Peter asked where a "bank machine" was. We pointed to the Hess station across the street. It was great talking about 70's prog to someone else for a change. Lopez, and Mendez were kinda quiet, but decent guys. Most of my favorite bands were out, and in their musical prime, when I was only 10-12 years old, so it was great to finally be around a great band that was just starting to get the attention they deserved, and to see them in such a tiny, but legendary shithole venue that band knew about,and all the great death metal bands played at many times.

you rule man.

 

[Albatros]

Best time when you feel melancholy

 

[Slynt]

As a fan of Opeth, which I've been since My Arms, Your Hearse or thereabouts, the best time to be a fan was when Still Life was released and it ruled so hard, and the last year in which I fell in love with Ghost Reveries, and have been anxiously awaiting Watershed.

 

[Korlich]

I found out about them in 2003 but my first rec was BWP. I was somewhat dissapointed with D1 and D2. GR for me was a step in the right direction. Today I think I like GR better than BWP, but thats just because I outplayed BWP, I think. SL is still their best though.

 

[Ermz]

I got into Opeth just as they were breaking out, after the release of BWP and their tour to the states with Nevermore. I'm not sure whether that was the best time. I'd say during the first two albums would have been killer, but you may have felt a bit betrayed when MAYH came out. As much as I love the new direction Opeth took with MAYH, if I had really only known Opeth for the first two albums it would've been very hard to adjust... actually much as it is now. Watershed doesn't sound like Opeth to me. As far as I'm concerned the band ended with Ghost Reveries and this is a side project that Mike is carrying on to get closer to his influences... which is definitely cool, but largely not for me.

 

[Kushantaiidan]

Huh?

Zuh?!

Or is it Devin.... I have a friend called Devin... or is it DevOn? Oh gosh I don't know.

But around the same time or before I got into Opeth and Still Life, i discovered Devon Townsends Ocean Machine, and Strapping Young Lad.

iunno... Guhh??!!!

 

[Metalstrm]

I got into Opeth when I was going through a bad period. I was depressed, abroad, and lonely. As such, I had heard Opeth before and hadn't thought they were anything special. And then one gloomy day I woke up and put Blackwater park on because the name fit the day perfectly. Not only that, I found that the music also fit the day and the mood perfectly. And I quite literally buried myself in Opeth (that sounds so emo ). Few days after that I just went out and bought all the other records. Of course, now that I'm not depressed doesn't mean I don't like them anymore. But the music tends to attract people who are realistic or just a tad on the negative side.

 

[Metalstrm]

Watershed doesn't sound like Opeth to me. As far as I'm concerned the band ended with Ghost Reveries and this is a side project that Mike is carrying on to get closer to his influences... which is definitely cool, but largely not for me.

Boy, do I agree.

 

[Kushantaiidan]

Boy, do I agree.

I flagrantly disagree! I hear bits of MAYH, SL, BWP and a bit of everything in the new stuff. So I think it is very much indeed Opeth. But then again, the opeth of the first two albums, with the dual guitar melodies, and the general atmosphere is quite different, and a unique entity in itself, which is sadly gone forever. >.<

 

[Tepheron]

I became a fan some time before Ghost Reveries, around 2003/2004. The only reason I am a fan today is because of Damnation. I listened to bands like Pain of Salvation and Dream Theater, and could not stand Mikael's growling. Thankfully though, Damnation made it possible for me to fall in love with all their music, and by the time Ghost Reveries was out, I was sold.

 

[ndSinister]

Oh my story of getting into Opeth is kindda funny.
I started to play guitar couple years earlier and by then I was playing stuff like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Creed, Cold and some more of this kind. In addition to that I was a GTA freak... u know the computer game Grand Theft Auto... so I used to listen to music while "driving" my car in GTA and then one day my best friend came to me and said "Hey you should listen to that" and he gave me Harvest by Opeth.
So I was still "driving" my car and listening to some songs and among them was Harvest and it was exactly then when I felt really close to the lyrics... donno why but it felt very emotional for me.
Then one day he invited me to his house to watch Lamentation and there I was stunned by the band and Mike singing ability and the emotions he put in his playing. So I started listening to the mellow songs at first and then I thought that the heavier songs: Deliverance and Master's Apprentice are cool so I started listening to them too and then I checked up BWP and I really liked it. Few months after my crash on Opeth my best friend, the same guy who introduced me to Opeth, said: "Hey you wanna come to watch Opeth? they're coming to Israel in 4 months" so I said "HELL YEAH!". so we bought the tickets right as they were on sale and I remember that the tickets were sold out in two days!!
It was a tough time till the gig cuz by then I broke up with my long time girlfriend and begun turning more and more into.... THE DARK SIDE muuuuhhhaahhahahahhhaa!!!
And now, here I'm today. Living in Scandinavia, thanks to Opeth

 

[Battering Ram]

I got into them around the time Blackwater Park was released. The main reason I got into them was because the songs were progressive but didnt turn into a wankfest (like Dream Theater, even though I do like Dream Theater), Opeth also amazed how they could keep a 10 + minute song flow and keep me interested the whole time with no recycled melodies or riffs. I also loved the lyrics and the musician ship. Mikaels attitude and personality really got me into the band too, after i bought Blackwater Park I got lemantations and was thinking how cool it was after a full on death metal song he returns to a mellow calm voice going "thank you very much". I was the only person I knew who was heavily into Opeth, now I walk around and alot of people know and appreciate thier music which I think is awesome, i am really excited about watershed and the two songs I have heard so far (locust eater and porcelain heart) are fantastic songs.

 

[the opeth affinity]

My girlfriend read about them in my magazine (i somehow overlooked that particualr section) and she 'aquired' some BWP tracks and i am forever indepted to her for that.

 

[Vivören]

i wanna hear about what it was like to be a fan of them before that.

Kinda how it is to be a fan now, but with other albums. I know, it's crazy!