Yeah, I still love em. I'm a bit bored of them now because when ghost reveries came out I re-got into them and over played them a bit.
Live they're awesome, and their music is something different that I can appreciate most of the time. Just not in abundance.
The backlash is hard to explain... but it's got to have something to do with really intelligent people not wanting newbies to get totally infatuated with the band, so they don't blow up too big, and when Opeth are no longer on the increase, these intelligent people can all be like "Oh yeah, Opeth, they are good, jazzy and heavy, meaningful songs and clever writing overall..." and once again, Opeth will just be one of the most respected underground acts out there.