Reflecting on Opeth’s Bleak
I started listening to Opeth after my friend Connor recommended their Damnation album to me (I was around 16). Connor knew I was a massive fan of Pink Floyd and set me an Opeth track titled “In My Time of Need.” The track, and the entirety of Opeth’s Damnation album, soon became a favorite of mine and a regular listen on my iPod Shuffle. I soon branched out to listen to Opeth’s entire catalog, and found out they played primarily Progressive Metal tracks, and their heavy stuff (specifically their growling) was outside of what I could listen to at the time. My friend Connor was huge into metal, he hoped Opeth could be a band that got me into the overall genre and soon, he’d get his wish.
One track of Opeth’s was called “Bleak” on their Blackwater Park album. It began with a visceral guitar riff and deep, guttural growls from lead singer Mikael Akerfeldt, I remember thinking that track felt like the opening notes of a nightmare. I left it on my iPod, as I wanted to give the genre a true chance after knowing how much Connor loved it, but “Bleak” usually got skipped the instant it came on shuffle.
(Photo added during Bleak’s publishing cycle): Opeth playing live. Photo credit to dr_zoidberg
This changed one day preparing for a debate tournament in my junior year in high school. Connor was trying on new suits as I was sitting in the waiting room. As I was waiting, I was sketching out ideas on how I could potentially finish my book about bullying. As a rule, I don’t start writing new writing projects unless I know how I want to start and end the books — and I was tripped up on how I wanted to end my book. It was at this time “Bleak” came on shuffle, and for the first time, I didn’t skip it.
By the end of the track, I knew how I wanted to finish my book.
Bleak does begin with visceral riffs and intense vocals, it has a dissonant harmony and a riff that almost sounds inspired from the Egyptian Saidi. Opeth has several tracks inspired from Southwest Asian and Eastern African genres of music, and they seamlessly blend those influences into the metal genre. While the first part of the track embraces extreme metal as much as any Opeth track, the song transitions into an acoustic, jazzy and blues inspired section that sounds straight from a 1970’s Deep Purple record. This sets the stage for the tracks crescendo back into an intense, cathartic conclusion that impacted me at a level that not only did it give me an idea about how to end my book, it gave me the name for my book.
Bleak’s Southwest Asian and Northeast African influences are perhaps best heard in Israel musician’s Yossi Sassi’s cover of the track, which features Yossi covering the track on the Bouzoukitara.
Opeth’s track features Martin Lopez at the drums, someone who incorporated the Afro-Cuban bembe into an album that’s considered one of the greatest metal albums of all time, and Steven Wilson (an incredible musician and producer of the album) on vocals, and the talent of the musicians in Opeth shine from start to finish.
“Bleak” is just one example of Opeth’s mastery to incorporate a vast array of influences into intricate tracks that span through multiple genres. It’s become a hobby of mine to find musicians who have the chance to listen to Opeth for the first time. In this video, drummer Andrew Rooney watches a performance of Opeth’s from Red Rocks (one I was lucky enough to attend in person).
I listened to Opeth’s albums My Arms, Your Hearse, Blackwater Park, Damnation, and Heritage throughout the 10 years I worked on the novel Bleak. Opeth has routinely inspired me as a writer, a creative, and brought me hope in dark times in my life. Their work inspired my most ambitious creative project of my life — and I truly believe they can have a similar impact on so many folks around the world.