This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
So much speed metal is like a 50-yard dash — a full-throttle explosion toward the finish line.
Swedish quartet Opeth are like marathon runners — their intricate, multi-layered epics of death, demons and destruction carry on for up to 10 minutes, broken up by acoustic and even jazzy bits to give you a bit of a breather. Once they get their second wind, however, look out. Their hell-bent-for-leather metallurgy of harmonized guitars, dragon’s breath vocals and megaton rhythms will leave you gasping for air.
