"Nobody really cared for OPETH until we did Blackwater Park"

[Jim LotFP]

There's approximately ten thousand of us "nobodies" who should be raising our hands right now going, "What?"

There's many dozens of quality bands, now and then, that would love that number of "nobodies" caring about them.

 

[Powers]

Elaborate, young man.

 

[NFU]

ten thousand? three thousand people were at my high school the year i graduated. 10,000 people in a world of billions is absolutely nothing. so essentially hes right, although being slightly unfair to those like you who want to feel special for a few minutes. opeth was big for me before blackwater park came out...but i dont care about his generalization...hes right if you compare the numbers.

 

[Jim LotFP]

10,000 people in a world of billions is absolutely nothing. so essentially hes right

A million people in a world of over six billion is essentially nothing, and Opeth hasn't sold a million records, yet I'm sure this place would be confused if Mikael complained that "Nobody likes us right now."

hes right if you compare the numbers.

Maybe. Maybe not. Can't say without the numbers for the last few albums. Anybody got those numbers?

 

[Powers]

I'd hazard a guess roadrunner has those numbers.

 

[Lee_B]

If he's talking about the mainstream rock press then he's right. Candlelight was a small label at the time and it was a real stuggle to get any of the releases even reviewed, let alone get features for the bands, etc. Magazines like Kerrang and Metal Hammer just weren't interested.

It's the same story for most bands on smaller labels. It's only when they get signed to a bigger company (in Opeth's case MFN) that 80% of the press seem to want to know. Sad but true.

 

[opeth_353]

Yeh.. i don't see what Jim's problem is here - its' true.. so many people wouldn't have even been able to hear them until BWP because mot people don't care enough to go in search of good bands.

Hardly anyone did care until BWP was released, and i'm sure it's the album that most of the people on this forum heard first and is the album that got them into Opeth, so what is the complaint?

 

[Stimuli]

I remember reading that during the tour for still life they still were doing some shows for only like 45 people...

 

[Kenneth R.]

I agree with Mr. Åkerfeldt. sure the early albums are great, but as for general awareness about the band, he is totally right.

 

[JoeVice]

jim, i'm sure that if he would have known that you were a fan, he would have mentioned you.

 

[prowlergrig]

actually he did know, since jim has been taking opeth interviews since mayh (i think)..

stimuli, i don't think there was a still life tour ... except for the milwaukee 2000 show, were other shows played?

 

[Jim LotFP]

Yeh.. i don't see what Jim's problem is here - its' true.. so many people wouldn't have even been able to hear them until BWP because mot people don't care enough to go in search of good bands.

The complaint is that Opeth's sales were not negligible, and they were selling a lot more than most bands, before Blackwater Park and Music For Nations. They were not a garage band. They had albums out and did shows internationally.

Yes, they have achieved a greater magnitude of popularity, but they were not nobodies in the scene they came up in. And when the current metal bubble bursts and Roadrunner is onto their next fad (how many bands on Roadrunner have ever re-signed with the label, let alone completed their contract), who is going to be buying Opeth albums? The same "nobodies" that were in the 90s.

What's funny about it is Mikael didn't even want to be on Music For Nations at the time, and if he got his wish, they'd still be liked by "nobody", I guess.

 

[Vegetaman]

I didn't find out about Opeth until after Deliverance came out... But their older material is great.

 

[MetalManCPA]

I still don't think people really care about Opeth, except those of us who listen to music outside the box. Based upon raw numbers in comparison to all music, Opeth will someday retire with "nobody" caring about them. It's sad given how great they truly are, but without money and the ability to grease somebody's palm in the industry to make it big, most musicians wallow in the dark (so to speak).

More on point to this thread, BWP took Opeth to the next level which I feel there is no denying. Ghost Reveries has taken them even higher, yet Opeth is still underground and widely unknown.

 

[Vegetaman]

They still have a true core of fans that enjoy the hell out of their music, though.

 

[soundave]

It's hard for me to understand why Mikael's hyperbolic statement was the aspect of that interview that troubled you most.

 

[MetalManCPA]

They still have a true core of fans that enjoy the hell out of their music, though.

I think most bands have a core, but it's the size of that core that distinguishes bands from being big time players versus everybody else. The sad thing is, Opeth is not big time, and is lost in the sea of everybody else.

Remember, though, comments like mine above are based on record sales, dollars earned, and global popularity. Crap - Brittany Spears runs circles around Opeth in popularity and earnings and sales, all for the wrong reason. People are fickle and clueless.

 

[Mikael Åkerfeldt]

Come on Jim, you got more sense than that...
It's not like I'm calling the people who bought our first 4 records "nobodies", like you make it seem. Hey, I never expected to get a deal at all period. But before BWP we didn't get tours, between 1990 (start) and 2001 (BWP) we did ONE tour, and that's it. Lee fixed us that tour. We also did 2 shows with Morbid Angel in the UK, a few Swedish shows, one German show...and then Milwaukee metalfest.

You're making it sound like I can't be bothered to be happy about our success until we hit a million sales. Hell yeah, I was happy then, and I'm happy now, but it's a fact that we didn't sell in comparison to most other bands, we didn't tour a lot in comparison to other bands, we didn't do anything "a lot" in comparison. Nobody called us up for gigs, Lee fixed us pretty much everything. Hammy and Peaceville didn't do shit as far as touring goes, and yes, true, I didn't want to sign to MFN cause I loved Hammy and I like personal relations with our labels etc...but in retrospect that deal with MFN was the best thing that could happen.

We all know that sales and quality don't go hand in hand but no-sales and quality don't go hand in hand either.

Mike

 

[MetalManCPA]

Come on Jim, you got more sense than that...
It's not like I'm calling the people who bought our first 4 records "nobodies", like you make it seem. Hey, I never expected to get a deal at all period. But before BWP we didn't get tours, between 1990 (start) and 2001 (BWP) we did ONE tour, and that's it. Lee fixed us that tour. We also did 2 shows with Morbid Angel in the UK, a few Swedish shows, one German show...and then Milwaukee metalfest.

You're making it sound like I can't be bothered to be happy about our success until we hit a million sales. Hell yeah, I was happy then, and I'm happy now, but it's a fact that we didn't sell in comparison to most other bands, we didn't tour a lot in comparison to other bands, we didn't do anything "a lot" in comparison. Nobody called us up for gigs, Lee fixed us pretty much everything. Hammy and Peaceville didn't do shit as far as touring goes, and yes, true, I didn't want to sign to MFN cause I loved Hammy and I like personal relations with our labels etc...but in retrospect that deal with MFN was the best thing that could happen.

We all know that sales and quality don't go hand in hand but no-sales and quality don't go hand in hand either.

Mike

Hey Mike,

As long as you and the band are content with yourselves in what you are accomplishing as a band, that's all that matters. We all want the pot of gold, but it doesn't happen to everybody for a myriad of reasons. BWP was my 1st entry into Opeth, all because they played Bleak on cable metal radio. I'd been listening to metal since 1970 (Led Zeppelin), and that was the first I had ever heard of Opeth.

 

[Mr. Josey Wales]

pwned