Opeth "Damnation"

Damnation is the seventh full-length studio album by heavy metal band Opeth. It was released on 22 April 2003, five months after Deliverance, which was recorded at the same time. Damnation was produced by Steven Wilson. Mikael Åkerfeldt dedicated both albums to his grandmother, who died in a car accident during the time the albums were being recorded.

The album was a radical departure from Opeth's typical death metal sound, and the first Opeth album to use all clean vocals, clean guitars, and prominent mellotron, as well as being inspired by 1970s progressive rock, which typically features no heavy riffs or extended fast tempos. Despite the change in style from Opeth's previous albums, Damnation was critically acclaimed and boosted their popularity, leading to the release of Lamentations on DVD in late 2003.

All music written by Mikael Åkerfeldt.

Opeth's first progressive rock album, which lacks the death metal overdubs and extreme metal influences.

This album was supposed to be released together with "Deliverance", but Music For Nations decided to delay "Damnation" for a couple of months.

First pressing came in a digipak.

The vocal melody in the chorus of "To Rid the Disease" is borrowed from a track recorded by Mikael Åkerfeldt's side-project Sörskogen, "Mordet i Grottan".

Recording information:

Recorded during the 22nd of July and the 4th of September in Nacksving studios and Studio Fredman, Gothenburg, SWE. Engineer by Opeth and Steven Wilson. Mixed and mastered by Steven Wilson.


Additional vocals, lead guitars and keyboards recorded between the 7th and the 10th of October at Nomansland, Hemel Hempstead, UK.