Opeth is a Swedish “heavy metal” band that came to fruition around 1990. Why are the words “heavy metal” in quotes, you ask? Well, because the genre called heavy metal need not apply here. If there was a genre called “beautiful metal” Opeth would be the sole inhabitant.

Upon first listen, Opeth instantly turned me off. “What? Soft, musically competent metal? Pssh.” But…something kept me coming back. It is indescribable, but there is something addictive about Opeth’s music. It seems like Opeth loves their music, it feels like it is crafted from their heart rather than what their money-focused behemoth record company deems as “good.”

On the technical front, Opeth is like no other metal band. Their music switches back and forth from mellow, acoustic passages with clean singing, to the fast, distorted, double-bass drum assault with growling vocals that you typically associate with metal. To those not familiar with or closed minded toward metal, these passages are equally as beautiful and equally proficient musically as the aforementioned acoustic ones.

However, the magic of Opeth lies not in the “what” of their music, but the “how” of how they manage to blend it all into cohesive overtures. As you can imagine, nearly every song nears the 10 minute marker, but this never becomes a problem, as an Opeth song never feels padded in the slightest. Every song is complete, and lasts just as long as you feel it should. Opeth is the kind of band that will take you on musical journeys through the stratosphere, and they certainly aren’t one to cut it short.

This isn’t metal, friends…this is music; and what an epiphany it was to discover something other than my usual Slayer, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Lamb of God. I can almost say it was a relief, to explore a world other than the unstoppable brutality of typical metal, and to jump into musical odyssey. The members of Opeth are great musicians individually, and infuse jazz, folk and orchestral music into their songs. The end product is clean, contemplative, soothing and something you’ll simply enjoy listening to. The arrangements in the orchestral and woodwind pieces would put any orchestra to shame.

As a budding fan who has never seen the band live and only owns two of Opeth’s nine studio albums, (2008’s Watershed and 2001’s Blackwater Park), I do not claim to know every intricacy of this band. But I do know this: Opeth is genius, Opeth is beautiful, and I will certainly follow them closely in the future.