Discovering Metal Heritage with Martín Méndez of Opeth

     I recently got a chance to sit down with Martín Méndez, bassist of one of the premier progressive death metal bands in the world, Sweden’s own Opeth. I caught up with Martín on a tour stop of the band’s co-headlining Heritage Hunter Tour with Mastodon. Opeth has been grinding in the metal game for over 20 years. Godfathers of Sweden’s revival of thrash and death metal in the early 90’s, Opeth have long been a gem of the genre, fusing classic death metal with elements of progressive rock and thrash. 2001’s Blackwater Park is widely regarded as one of the best death/progressive metal albums of all time, and their last studio album, 2008’s Watershed, hit #23 on the Billboard Top 200.

     Opeth are back with a revamped sound on their 10th studio album, Heritage. This record finds the band incorporating a more classic hard rock sound into their music, in the vein of Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, and Motörhead. Martín and I talked about the album, and the band’s sound. He said they aren’t so much straying away from death metal, as they are simply adding depth to the band’s trademark style.Opeth is wrapping up their Heritage Hunter Tour, and will be hitting the festival circuit this spring and summer. CRANK IT UP!