A Beginninger's Introduction to Opeth

Back in 1990 in Stockholm, Sweden a band was formed by vocalist David Isberg. Although the bank performed Swedish death metal, they also added other influences and acoustic instrumentation to their sound. However, the band broke up when David Isberg invited guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt to join without the whole band either knowing about it or agreeing to it. In the end, all the original band members left and only Mikael Akerfeldt and David Isberg remained.The band's name comes from a book written by South African author, Wilbur Smith, called Sunbird. The name of a fictional city featured in the book, Opeth, is the source of the band's name. They released their debut album in 1995, called Orchid. Opeth's albums often included the influence of folk music, jazz and blues rock, and became known, in part, for the fact that their songs were usually long. They went on their first world tour six years later, in 2001, when they released Blackwater Park. To date they have released nine studio albums in total, as well as two live albums, two box sets, and two DVDs.