So, how'd you react to your first listening experience with Opeth?

[MetalOperaChick]

Honestly i think i creamed myself. Just kidding.

Mikael's voice is simply Metal-gasmic. His growls are SPOT on and then it's incredible that he can actually sing SO well after all that growling which tells me...he KNOWS what the f*ck he's doing. Orchid really just....ah. Really just blew me away

 

[DEMIgOD]

its been quite a long time since iv listened to Opeth. after reading this thread makes me miss em.

 

[Arjen W.]

The first song I heard was The Leper Affinity, thought it sucked, I hadn't listened to death growls before. Some time later I kept playing Deliverance again and again because I thought the outro kicked ass. Slowly I got used to the death vocals, and fell in love with Opeth. They opened the road to extreme metal for me.

 

[Kir-ir-Bannog]

bought still life from amazon as was looking for something a little different.
on first listen i thought it was interesting but not great or anything. I liked the folky "diddly-dee" riff at the beginning of the moor. the more i listened to it the more i liked about it and the more i would hear within each song.

 

[beast from the east]

Slowly I got used to the death vocals, and fell in love with Opeth. They opened the road to extreme metal for me.

That's EXACTLY how it happened with me. I probably wouldn't be listening to most extreme metal bands today if it weren't for Opeth. Now, harsh vocals are actually my preferred style, and they are hella fun to do yourself. I love growling along with Mikael. I can't do it all that great, but it's still a lot of fun!!!

 

[Distrusted]

First song i heard was Deliverance, back in 2004. I didn't like it all then. The song was just to long for my taste. But then, one day, i decided i should try to listen it through, and since then...well, i think you can figure that out

 

[OpethNZ]

i got given bwp on a mix tape (yeah it was that long ago) from a friend in 2001 just after it came out, didnt think much of the death growls at first but it grew on me, over a span of time got their back catalogue then got deliverance when it came out etc etc

 

[XPainKillerX]

The first Opeth song I ever heard was Bleak, and at first I thought it was a little strange, but it definately grew on me and I thought it was one of the greatest songs I've ever heard.

Then I got Blackwater Park and I was blown away. But not at first. The first 2 or 3 times I listened to the album, for some reason I would always fall asleep through it. Perhaps it was because at that time I wasn't used to lengthy progressive music, because I was going through my 2-3 minute metal blast stage, Napalm Death, early Lamb of God and such.

Then, The Drapery Falls: the song that has blown me away more than any other song I've ever heard in my life. The first few times I listened to it, I got intense chills. And from then on I was sold, and became obsessed with Opeth.

Now I have all of their albums except for Still Life. And I am actually considering getting a tatoo of the Opeth O on my back.

 

[Magnet]

To be honest, the first time I heard it I hated it!!! I thought "wait... is this a grave digger?!?" but after listening to it some more I started to like it. I have Ghost Reveries and Deliverance (I think that's their best, but I haven't heard much of the others) Being a fan of Dimmu Borgir, the vocals didn't bother me much at first. It was more the way they presented their music... it sounded to muddy! But after like 3 listens I understood everything that was happening.

 

[Melkor66]

First time I listened to Opeth was around a year ago when I was really getting into metal and I bought BWP and at first, I would have to say that I wasn't really into that type of metal at that time but I came back to the album a couple of months later and was totally blown out of the water by everything on the album: the musicianship, lyrics and the overall sound converted me on the spot and I now have every opeth album apart from MAYH, MR and Orchid which when I get some more money I hopefully will be purchasing.

 

[Chronic Back Neck Pain]

First song I heard was Hope Leaves on a sampler CD - I new nothing about the band, but liked the song. Got hold of a copy of Deliverance about 2 years later, put the thing on, and thought I must be listening to a different band. Was never really into Death Metal, but persisted to the title track, which after a couple of plays I decided was probably the best thing I'd heard in 10 years......

 

[Rude Boy Stig]

A friend of a friend mentioned "slow metal" and "Opeth" on a Sabaton concert I went to less than a year ago, so I thought I should check them out. I added them to my Pandora radio-station and Bleak played. Wow, I was swept away by the wonderful riff. I heard a couple of other songs, for instance The Grand Conjuration and Ghost of Perdition before I downloaded their latest albums. Quite shortly thereafter, I bought them. Now, Opeth is a large part of my everyday life.

 

[Nakrophile]

I can't remember what the first song I heard was. Whatever it was though, despite not being that much into the vocals (as I was still in my obligatory heavy power phase), it was enough to get me to go and buy Still Life.