5 Bands Who Drastically Changed Their Sound
2. Opeth
Opeth is a name that was near synonymous with the Progressive Death Metal genre. They didn't necessarily create the genre, but they built upon the foundations created by Death's guitarist Chuck Schuldiner and other Death Metal bands experimenting in the early 90s like Atheist and Cynic.
What made Opeth stand out from the crowd on their debut album Orchid was their use of not-so-typical instruments in the Death Metal genre, like piano and clean vocals. This mixture of vocals and instrumental experimentation became a large pillar of not just Opeth's sound but the emerging Progressive Death Metal scene.
Opeth would go on to release a slew of albums to moderate success, with a few being heralded as genre staples like Ghost Reveries and Blackwater Park.
2008 would mark the release of their last Progressive Death Metal album. Front man Mikael Akerfeldt revealed in an interview with MetalSucks.com that he ultimately felt the Death Metal scene wasn't doing anything new or innovative and he had decided to take Opeth in a new direction. That direction was to become what is essentially a 70s Progressive Rock tribute band for their 2011 release Heritage.