Heritage

• Out of print on vinyl in the U.S. since original release
• Would be pressed on multi color vinyl and mastered from the original source material
• Would feature deluxe packaging and be individually numbered to a one time pressing

Biography

Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band, formed in 1989 by vocalist David Isberg. The band name was derived from the word “opet,” taken from the Wilbur Smith novel, The Sunbird. The group has been through many personnel changes, including the replacement of every single original member; notably Isberg himself in 1992. The band incorporates progressive, folk, blues, classical, and jazz influences into its lengthy songs, as well as strong influences from death metal. Opeth is also know for the heavy use of mellotron in their music. The band rarely made live appearances supporting their first four albums, but since conducting their first world tour after the 2001 release of Blackwater Park, have led several major world tours. In 1990, Isberg asked former Eruption band member Mikael Åkerfeldt to join Opeth as a bassist, replacing Martin Persson. When Åkerfeldt showed up to practice on the day after Isberg invited him, it became clear that Isberg had not told the band members, including the band's current bassist, that Åkerfeldt would be joining the band. An ensuing argument led to all members but Isberg and Åkerfeldt leaving to form a new project. Opeth’s European label, Music For Nations, closed in 2005 and they negotiated a deal with Roadrunner Records. Åkerfeldt said the primary reason for signing with Roadrunner was the label's wide distribution, ensuring the album would be available at larger-chain retailers. When news leaked that the band was signed to Roadrunner, who predominantly worked with trend-oriented rock and metal, some fans accused the band of selling out. In September 2010, Mikael Åkerfeldt stated that he was writing for a new Opeth album, “Heritage.” The band announced on their website that they would start recording their tenth album on 31 January 2011, at the Atlantis/Metronome studios in Stockholm, once again with Jens Bogren (engineering) and Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree as co-producer. Shortly after mixing was complete on the new album in April 2011, Opeth announced that Per Wiberg was relieved of his duties in the band. Opeth's tenth album, Heritage, was released on 14 September 2011, to generally favorable reviews. The album sold 19,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 chart. Heritage debuted at number four in the band's native country of Sweden. Heritage became the second Opeth album to not feature any death growls and had a much more progressive style than previous albums from the band, something that Åkerfeldt had been wanting to do for some time. Opeth supported Heritage with a tour that would last for over 200 tour dates. The tour was the band's first with new keyboardist, Joakim Svalberg, who played on the opening track of the album. During the tour, Opeth played with bands such as Katatonia, Pain of Salvation, Mastodon, Ghost and Anathema all over the world in countries such as the United States, Europe, Turkey, India, Japan, Greece, Israel, Latin America and Sweden. Opeth has released 13 studio albums, four live DVDs, four live albums (three that are in conjunction with DVDs), and two boxsets. The band released its debut album Orchid in 1995. Although their eighth studio album, Ghost Reveries, was quite popular in the United States, Opeth did not experience major American commercial success until the 2008 release of their ninth studio album, Watershed, which peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200, and topped the Finnish albums chart in its first week of release. As of November 2009, the band has sold over 1.5 million copies of their albums and DVDs worldwide, including 300,000 collective SoundScans of their albums Blackwater Park, Damnation, and Deliverance in the United States.