In 2011 death metal legends Opeth threw the proggiest curveball many thought possible when they dropped Heritage, a beautiful, lush LP with none of frontman Mikael Akerfeldt’s trademark death-metal vocals or musical arrangements.
Sure, Damnation didn’t have any growls either, but that had been accompanied by Deliverance, arguably the band’s most crushing delivery across their entire discography.
Thing’s didn’t stop from there, however, with the band’s next three records featuring completely clean singing, along with a vast array of musically mind-bending experimentation, most recently reaching it’s (arguable) zenith on last year’s wonderful In Cauda Venenum LP.
WATCH: The creepy video for Universal Truth, the band’s latest single
While the baying of fans for a return to the growl day’s accompanying every subsequent Opeth release and tour growing by the year, keyboardist Joakim Svalberg has conceded that he understands some of the frustration being felt – but also encouraged people to enjoy the oldies in the live arena.
Speaking with the Hop N’ Music blog, Svalberg noted that Akerfeldt”wanted to move on from that, but we’re playing those death numbers anyway live, and we all love that, absolutely; it’s just not on the albums anymore.
READ: Why the Opeth you once knew is dead
On the pleading of the fans to return to their deathly roots Svalberg said that”I can understand because that’s how it started and that’s how the band got famous to start.
“Sometimes people don’t like too much of a change from that direction. And I understand that, too.
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“It’s just that you have to progress and not stay the same, which is very difficult to say about this band because it has always not been just hard-edged. There have always been elements of other things that are not death metal.”
Svalberg concluded with the proclamation that “you have to do what feels right; otherwise, it’s not true. [If you do it] only to please certain people, then it’s not really true if you don’t feel like you want to do it.”
For a progressive band, the complaints of some fans have been notably close-minded – but it certainly didn’t stop fans from selling out their latest Aussie run, which took in some of the biggest theatres in the country.
If you really can’t handle ‘clean’ Opeth, the band’s bassist Martin Mendez has launched a new death metal project to sink your teeth into.
Watch – Opeth still deliver the heavy goods in a live setting
