Opeth's influence on your life

Lothlorien

Towards the Great Sky
Jan 28, 2006
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I can assume that this thread has been done at some point in time but I thought it would be cool to discuss how Opeth influences you in your everyday life.

I am very into graphic design/art, and when I'm drawing or creating designs I listen to Opeth. My artwork most of the time is a visual of what I feel from an Opeth song.

Before I listened to Opeth years back I played guitar and drums but had very little desire. Now for the past 5 or so years I have been influenced by Opeth's music and now I write all my own music and my own one man band.

Opeth has opened up so many new doors for me musically and personally, without trying to sound like an asskisser they will always be my favorite band because they have influenced me so much. I hope some of you share your stories as well.
 
While Dream Theater influenced me to look out for virtuosity, Opeth influenced me to look out for the unexpected... Also Peter Lindgren has had a profound effect on my guitar playing as I have been trying to emulate his style of arpeggiated soloing into my playing.

KFK
 
About 5 years ago or so, I had nothing. I was on dialup trying to play counter-strike and TFC while listening to punk, nuff said. I only owned about 3 CDs. I guess you could say I wasn't really into music that much.

One night I was sitting on a mIRC chatroom with a cool TFC clan I was with, they were pretty l33t and kicked much arse. One of their leaders said for people to listen to the clans internet radio, so I turned it on and they asked what I wanted to hear... I said "metal" probably because I had an iron maiden song stuck in my head at the time, or Rush which isn't even metal so meh let's just leave that plot twist open cause I don't know why I said metal.

So the guy puts on The Moor, and you know how the song goes. I was like "It was good until the screaming started!" and I turned it off, but that night I put the whole album Still Life into Napster (HAHA!!! How long ago when Napster was free and uhh legal!) So I listened to the whole thing, fell in love, burnt it to CD-R, eventually bought the discography over a couple year span. Loved it all. But let's go back a bit.

If not for Opeth, I would NEVER have started playing instruments seriously, I wouldn't be so good at guitar and bass and be taking piano lessons now. I wouldn't own 183 total CDs and overall, I would not have had the life I have now at all. Everything I have now has branched from discovering metal. So I think it is safe to say I wouldn't exist without Opeth.

The End
 
I probably wouldn't be nearly as into metal as I am now.

Opeth was one of the bands that I listened to in those crucial days when I was exploring the basics of the genre, and I liked them the most.
 
Opeth has been a very strong influence on me as both a guitarist and a music writer.

For a good many years, Opeth covered my progress from novice to intermediate guitarist, just because their songs are so diverse. They are probably also the sole reason I took up fingerpicking and am able to play classical guitar to a degree.
 
heh well for me it's totally the opposite... for me Opeth was a gate OUT OF death (black never fascinated me) and INTO more progressive areas
 
I used to not listen to music at all, i liked metallica, maiden the usual and wouldnt play it much..My friend sent me The Moor and from then on it clicked, bought all Opeths albums and havent looked back since. I now like all different kinds of progressive/innotive music.
 
Kenneth R. said:
Opeth was my gateway to death and black metal.
.

And... of course... Opeth influenced my life! Just like Opeth songs, my life fluctuates! Now I seem to be happy one moment and raging the next! For example, I was walking down a street and I saw an old woman who needed help crossing the street, so I went to her and I helped her across. Then, maybe a minute later, I got furious. I saw another woman who needed help crossing the street and I shot her. True story. Opeth rocks. MAN IM PISSED.
 
I started playing guitar and was playing for about 5 months! I had heared of Opeth from a friend and they were great but nothign more!

Then i saw them play for the first time, And oohh god! Changed my life and everything!

They are my main musical influenece, i love their music, it helps me so much in so many ways!

And the strange thing was that i was told tehy are boring on stage and do nothing! Fucking bollacks! They are so involved in teh crowd and have so much presnece on stage! They affected me in so many ways!

For this i love you Opeth!! MWah!!
 
just kidding im still a virgin. seriuosly i play the drums and stopped playing for a while a then i heard opeth on sirius radio and instantly fell in love. i started playing drums again trying to reach martin's level. i practice everyday now because of opeth and truely love doing it.
 
For me they have allowed me to mix all of my progressive guitar playing with my death vocals. That's the only influence that is immediately apparent. Other than that, there are probably subtle differences I don't even notice about me that Opeth is responsible for.

- It ain't much
 
When questions like this come up, I realize I become repetetive with past posts (especially for those who have been here as long as I have).

This isn't a competition, but I believe Opeth means more to me than a majority of people here. This comment is based in 2001 when I happened upon Opeth (hearing Bleak on the cable television metal music channel). Our family was dealing with major issues with our daughter, something that had begun in 2000. I have always been an aavid music listener, but as my life was obscured by dark clouds, with Opeth I found an outlet. I could listen to Opeth and be wisked away from all of the problems, finding myself in some happier fantasy place. When the music would end, I'd step back into reality, but I could with a temporary sigh of relief. Opeth honestly got me through the toughest time in my life.

Now, I just flat out find Opeth the best musicians, period. I listen to a lot of music, but when Opeth comes on, my listening almost always becomes serious. It's hard to listen to Opeth in the background, something I can do with most other bands. My mind can't help but concentrate on Opeth. So I guess with that said, currently Opeth influences me by being a distraction from everyday life, but a distraction I look forward to.