Your own Opeth chronology

[MetalManCPA]

2001 - introduced to Opeth: I tuned into the Comcast cable metal station one day and it was in the middle of playing the song Bleak. So I caught the last half of the song, and then spent the next week scouring the internet to learn what I could about Opeth.

2001 - I find the Opeth website, enter a "What Opeth means to me" contest, and win an autographed Blackwater Park CD the day after I purchased the CD.

2001 - I get tickets to my 1st Opeth show (with Nevermore), but due to my daughters illness I am unable to attend the show

2001 through 2003 - I swear that for two years, more than 50% of what I listen to on CD is Opeth. I keep a Blackwater Park CD in my car and play it over and over.

2002 through 2006 - I purchase all of the Opeth catalog on CD's and the Lamentations DVD, and I see Opeth 5 times live

Present day - Opeth is still my favorite band. I have probably 10 or so Opeth songs that are constantly played - Ghost of Perdition, Deliverance, The Drapery Falls, Closure, The Funeral Portrait....and more. Each time I listen to other various Opeth tracks I seem to get mesmerized all over again. I never get tired of an Opeth song, and never feel I have overplayed anything.

 

[Ermz]

Early 2002: Got given a copy of Revolver magazine. Scanned through, fairly uninterested by everything... I stumbled upon a picture of some guys looking like they were out of the 70s. Turns out it was one of the promo shots for BWP. I immediately became interested just by the image alone.

Early 2002: I checked out some of the songs on the then-in P2P thing 'Audiogalaxy'. I'm not swayed off my feet or anything, but the tracks I got really start growing on me (I believe the tracks could've been The Drapery Falls, Blackwater Park and Moonlapse Vertigo).

Mid 2002: I stumble upon the official site, which leads me to this forum. The 'Moonlapse' account is created.

2003-2004: Lots of stuff happened in the time that passed, including the departure of a lot of the regulars on the forum, as well as moving of the Off-topic forum to its own domain called 'seriously off topic'. I caught my first Opeth gig at 'The Corner Hotel' here in Melbourne. Footage was taken by Anna which I was (recently) to discover ended up on the Ghost Reveries documentary. Friends and I are featured for a split second. The day was generally great. To this day probably the best gig I have ever been to, with some great interaction with the band. Quite enjoyed the conversation with Lopez afterward.

2004-2005: I can't quite remember when it was, but Jeanreno began a poll asking who should become moderator, as the forum by then had become quite unruly. I got the most votes for whatever reason. MetalAges gave me mod powers and thus began my more involved period with the forum. By this time I'm still loving Opeth. Still Life is my fave album, I'm hating Deliverance with a passion (which gets me into trouble with the powers that be later) and things are generally good.

Late 2006: After seeing Opeth both nights when they played at 'The Forum Theatre' I'm content. I met a lot of great people from this forum, including Pethical, who actually went around through the crowd asking everyone, one by one, 'are you moonlapse?'. Respect to that man.

Late 2006: I get increasingly fed up with the forum community as my attempts to control things backfire. I see no reason to continue so I tell Anna that I'm leaving. At around this time I stop listening to Opeth as much as I used to. Opeth were my most frequently played band, but now I'll be lucky to spin any of their tracks once a month. The interest just left and as I got more into my work as producer, I sought out other artists to fill the void.

Present Day: I still come back here whenever I'm bored, but Opeth still rarely get any spins from me. I still acknowledge them as the great band that they are, but since I can recite virtually their entire discography from memory, there's really no need to listen to it anymore.

 

[Koi]

here's mine: sometime long ago.. opeth changed my musical view, eventhough i have overlistened to every opeth album after morningrise they will always be the band that woke me up to real music. I listen to the albums maybe once a year, but i could'nt be more excited about every new opeth release...they will always be one of my favourite bands.

 

[antipunx13]

2003 - I see a white CD with an interesting looking "O" at the top in my friend's CD case. I ask him about it and he said he wasn't particularly interested in it and told me it wasn't really a metal CD. I borrow it from him anyways and am impressed by the first Opeth song I have ever heard: Windowpane.

2003-2004 - I spend the next year buying the rest of the Opeth discography. Not particularly impressed by Orchid at first, but it eventually grows on me. Opeth opens my eyes to the whole prog genre as I also begin to buy old 70's bands' albums.

2005 - Buy Ghost Reveries....awesome.

2006 - I finally join this forum after reading it for awhile. I still rarely post but my activity has increased recently.

also in 2006 - I attend my first Opeth concert. The support bands aren't too great (Dark Tranquility and DevilDriver), but I enjoy it nonetheless.

 

[metalhead416]

sadly for me it didnt start ill 2004 or so...

I get asked by Mancuz (a member here) to do vocals for TBYFW....never heard teh song nor teh band.....I cehck them out.....fall in lvoe with teh band.....hahaha....thats it.....and ever since loved 'em....

Saw them live at a famous local venue..STubbs BBQ....and tehn in SA TX....at white rabiit...killer show.....and jsut been a major fan ever since...!!!!!.....PEAC EOUT

 

[hellforge]

Nice thread.

2000 - Receive a CD-R from a friend that has "To Bid You Farewell". Like it a lot, but do not show it because I am in one of those "metal" phases.

2001 - My brother (who lives in Australia) sends me Blackwater Park CD; I listen to it and get instantly blown away, specially by The Drapery Falls.

2001 to 2003 - Try really hard to get more stuff from Opeth, but remain unsuccessful because you don't really get "real" CDs in Pakistan, and the pirated stuff is usually britney spears and the likes. Cannot download anything as well, because of primordial 0.01 kbps Dial-up internet.

2004 - Advent of broadband internet in Pakistan, and I download all the albums that are present at the time.

2005 - Opeth is my favourite band, and on my trip to England in May I buy Morningrise, Orchid, Still Life and Lamentations DVD.

2005 - 2007 - Opeth remains one of my favourite bands, and I show their music to all my friends, making quite a few of them die-hard fans. Habitually draw the "Opeth" logo on notebooks/blackboards; talk and rave about it all the time, so that people who don't even know what metal is know there is a band called "Opeth".

Now - Can't wait for the DVD and the new album.

 

[metalhead416]

Nice thread.

2000 - Receive a CD-R from a friend that has "To Bid You Farewell". Like it a lot, but do not show it because I am in one of those "metal" phases.

2001 - My brother (who lives in Australia) sends me Blackwater Park CD; I listen to it and get instantly blown away, specially by The Drapery Falls.

2001 to 2003 - Try really hard to get more stuff from Opeth, but remain unsuccessful because you don't really get "real" CDs in Pakistan, and the pirated stuff is usually britney spears and the likes. Cannot download anything as well, because of primordial 0.01 kbps Dial-up internet.

2004 - Advent of broadband internet in Pakistan, and I download all the albums that are present at the time.

2005 - Opeth is my favourite band, and on my trip to England in May I buy Morningrise, Orchid, Still Life and Lamentations DVD.

2005 - 2007 - Opeth remains one of my favourite bands, and I show their music to all my friends, making quite a few of them die-hard fans. Habitually draw the "Opeth" logo on notebooks/blackboards; talk and rave about it all the time, so that people who don't even know what metal is know there is a band called "Opeth".

Now - Can't wait for the DVD and the new album.

dude Im also Pakistani...!!!!..my name is Wasim ....whats ure name bro....I was born and raised in Qatar...so only went to Pakistan for vacation adn waht not...but yeah man...i hear lahore has killer death metal scene......nice meeting you...!!!....PEAC EOUT

P.S. check out my band...and add us if u want... www.myspace.com/modelmeobsolete .....PEAC EOUT

 

[hellforge]

dude Im also Pakistani...!!!!..my name is Wasim ....whats ure name bro....I was born and raised in Qatar...so only went to Pakistan for vacation adn waht not...but yeah man...i hear lahore has killer death metal scene......nice meeting you...!!!....PEAC EOUT

P.S. check out my band...and add us if u want... www.myspace.com/modelmeobsolete .....PEAC EOUT

haha always suspected you were a Pakistani. I'm Usman. But i think you heard it wrong - the local death metal scene is very laughable. The sufi rock bands slay though.

 

[BurningSky]

I still acknowledge them as the great band that they are, but since I can recite virtually their entire discography from memory, there's really no need to listen to it anymore.

That's a topic that deserves some of its own discussion. I wonder how many people have listened to Opeth so much that they cant really even listen to them anymore. It hasn't happened to me yet, but I certainly go through phases. I don't listen to them nearly as much as I used to, but I guess that sort of thing happens with favorite bands for everyone.

 

[Lothlorien]

Present Day: I still come back here whenever I'm bored, but Opeth still rarely get any spins from me. I still acknowledge them as the great band that they are, but since I can recite virtually their entire discography from memory, there's really no need to listen to it anymore.

What a sad story. I know I'll never quit listening to Opeth, no matter how many years pass, but it's just sad that you have no spark for them anymore.

 

[Sheckles14]

I don't really know the dates, but here goes:

A few years ago my friend showed me a few songs on Lamentations. I thought it was ok. I borrowed a Progressive Metal compilation from my local library with Demon of the Fall on it. I liked the song, and borrowed the only other CD my library had, Morningrise. I liked some parts, but the production turned me off initially. I downloaded a few songs, and they just kind of sat on my pc not being listened to. Then out of nowhere I decided to listen to them( probably because my then-favorite band, Iced Earth, had released the Glorious Burden which sucked). Later I saw Opeth Live at Gigantour, and I really started to like them. That was about a year ago, and Opeth is still my favorite band.

 

[Shemsu'Hor]

WTF? Your library has metal!? I wish my library was cool like that...

What a sad story. I know I'll never quit listening to Opeth, no matter how many years pass, but it's just sad that you have no spark for them anymore.

Same goes for me, each time I listen to a song it's just as kickass as any other time I listen to it

 

[Sheckles14]

WTF? Your library has metal!? I wish my library was cool like that...

We have a limited selection. It's mostly mainstream stuff. The only CD by Opeth they had was Morningrise.

 

[Pethical]

2001 - hear an edit of 'the drapery falls' in a metal hammer compilation cd. was impressed, but not blown away

2001 - read a guitar world article on them, with an included poster which just made me go wow, i immediately went back and checked them out again

2001-3 opeth become my favourite band, getting everything in the catalogue up until that point and spinning them repeatedly. Become known as the local opeth fanboy and a walking billboard for them.

2003 - first opeth tour in Australia. i am too young to get into the venue, but go to the signing beforehand, where i bring everything i have with me - (all albums, posters, magazines etc.) and i hold up the line for about 20 minutes. the one item per person policy massively failed that day. i'm suprised i didn't get kicked out. i remarked to peter that opeth and led zeppelin are the two greatest bands in history. he remarks in his heavy accent "das a pretty gud combinayshon" and laughs. Had a good chat with all members and got photos too. was fantastic.

2004 - opeth return and by this time I am just old enough to get into the venue. It was a magical evening, most of my favourite tracks were played and this was the night that the infamous "we like to headbang" scream was born. (those with the sydney bootleg would know what i'm talking about).

2004 - begin to get into the forum. Lurch for a while and even create an account, but end up forgetting the username and password and never use it.

2005 - eventually try and sign up for the forum again, and get into it heavily.

2006 - fly down to melbourne and then back up to sydney for 3 opeth shows in 3 days. Melbourne night two is in the running for my favourite gig of all time. Pure bliss. Outisde the venue about 20 of us wait in the freezing cold and rain until about 2am when opeth come out of the venue. We swarm them before they get into their car, and get photos, have them sign stuff and have a good chat. I remember pointing out moonlapse to mikael and mikael commenting "it is an honour to meet you." the look on ermin's face will forever go down in history. There was something special about that night, and I am not sure whether it will ever be topped.

2007 - peter and lopez now officially gone. My faith still exists in Mikael, but the 'classic lineup' is no more. Opeth remain my favourite band, but, as moonlapse said, my obsession leaves a void for other genres to fill as time goes by.

 

[biggsy]

early 2004 - my dads best mates son shows me drapery falls and i laugh at the vocals. i give him shit for listening to terrible music.

2004 - my cousin from brisbane sends me a mix cd with some metal on it (heaviest music id heard before was audioslave and system). listen to a number of artists (dark tranquillity, machine head, katatonia and some others) and find the last track is opeth. the only song on there by them was harvest and i fell in love with it. sent away to my cousin for abit more material and got damnation and deliverance in return.listen to damnation heaps and finally get into the death vocals.

2005 - find forum, sign up, post like nuts. i <3 opeth.

1st half of 2006 - opeth spinning every single day at least twice. favourite band ever and i barely listen to anything else.

2006/07 - recommendations from members of the forum and the mtp thread at erksylvania get me into a wide variety of music. opeth takes its place on the backburner, but still remains my favourite band.

 

[Albatros]

2000 (summer) - From what I can remember to bid you farewell was the first one a friend introduced me to Opeth. I liked them a lot.

2001 - Had no money to bye cds so I listen to their music on the net to start with. Finally bought still life and then the game started

2002 - I saw them live (I think it was their second gig touring for deliverance) One of the greatest days of my life. Unbelievable concert!
On opeth.com you can read:
On the 6th the band also did their first ever Greek gig at the Rodon in Athens. Again, the venue was close to sold out, and the band who were alone on the bill has expressed a newfound devotion for the Greek fans and are citing this gig as one of their top 3 performances ever

2003 till now - Saw them another 2 times, spoke with peter and I thing they are my favourite band! And considering that I do not listen to Metal, this is special.

Great thread.

 

[Albatros]

Forgot!!!
Late 2006 - I join this forum. Its not that I don't like it, but considering that its Opeths forum and the people here are opeth fans I had more expectations! But still the coolest thing about it, is that the great one posts here!!!

 

[whenharlequinsfall]

late 2003 - Read about them in a metal magazine, but heard they were death metal and wasnt into death vocals at all. later on this year i was sitting in class talking to this guy who was a fucking great guitarist, i asked him what he'd been listening too and he said Opeth - Demon of the Fall, so i went home, checked it out, and was blown away, after downloading a few more tracks " the drapery falls" and " Face of Melinda" i then went out and brought all the albums.

2004 - I saw opeth play at the corner hotel in melbourne, a very small venue which allowed me to get very close to the band, i caught mikes pick, met the band after the show, got an all access part, signed t-shirt. had a smoke with Lopez (i dont even smoke but as if i was going to say no!!)


2006 - See opeth play the forum in melbourne, once again met the guys and got photos, it was the best gig i have ever been too, the venue, the sound, everything was awesome. i was very disappointed i couldn't go to the second show but i was very short of cash at the time

2006-now - i still eagerly await the new record, as well as the live cd and dvd, and cant wait till they come to melbourne again. im gonna be doing a Tom and following them around the country!

 

[MetalManCPA]

Late 2006: I get increasingly fed up with the forum community as my attempts to control things backfire. I see no reason to continue so I tell Anna that I'm leaving. At around this time I stop listening to Opeth as much as I used to. Opeth were my most frequently played band, but now I'll be lucky to spin any of their tracks once a month. The interest just left and as I got more into my work as producer, I sought out other artists to fill the void.

Present Day: I still come back here whenever I'm bored, but Opeth still rarely get any spins from me. I still acknowledge them as the great band that they are, but since I can recite virtually their entire discography from memory, there's really no need to listen to it anymore.

We've both travelled the long and winding forum road. At the start, the forum was strong and healthy and full of great reading/writing. We've passed through Satori's incredibly long and detailed explanations of religion and life, and we survived the Janet period. We have had a cast of characters that would blow any soap opera away. We saw a spin-off forum arise. We saw the general wear and tear of time. Now, the original forum is just a shell of itself, and the spin-off forum has threads close to one month old on the first page.

I used to play keyboards - started at 5 years old, went to Berkeley College of Music for a year and a half. I tried to learn guitar. I have a harmonica with me. Yet for years I've had no desire to create music. I rarely play any instrument, and I don't prodcue music. I can see where creating music gives you more desire to seek alternatives, meaning listening to a lot of different music. For me, Opeth has not lost it's grip on me. I probably listen to 10+ Opeth tracks a week, many times a lot more.

As for the forum, the lack of activity and stimulation that used to be here is long gone. That makes it more difficult for this forum to hold my interest. In truth, I'm a member of several forums, and I see this trend in most forums that have been around for a while.

 

[Ermz]

Yes, every forum goes through numerous phases. You always have old time members remarking on 'the golden days', but in reality the forum is only what people make of it. Even looking far back, communities still have their cracks in the wall. Whether or not the level of quality discussion overshadows the negatives is usually what makes or breaks an online community. I'm quite amazed to have hung around for over 5 years, and I'm sure your 6 years is no mean feat either. Everyone did a lot of growing and changing over that time. Most of the community decided it had no interest in this place, hence why barely any are around anymore.

@Tom: Yes there was something magical about that night. Melbourne 2 more than Melbourne 1... I don't know why. Could have been to do with the guys pulling out some serious classics. I still can't believe I saw Moonlapse Vertigo live. It sounded fantastic too. And yes you're right, the comment Mike made afterward will probably live on in the memory for a long time. I'm just regretful that I didn't work out something beforehand for us all to have had more time to hang out with the band.