Opeth's catalogue since its debut in 1995 has been pretty straight forward. It's not littered with obscure EPs and b-side tracks that never made any major release, and the band does not have a fan club that receives exclusive music outside of the general public. The only songs that you absolutely cannot find anywhere for sale individually (right now) are the acoustic versions of "Atonement" and "Demon Of The Fall," which were both on the 7" that came along with The Book Of Opeth in 2016.
All that being said, have you really dug into what's available in Opeth's discography? Did you manage to grab the two disc edition of Blackwater Park? Or any of the numerous deluxe editions of the band's albums, with bonus tracks hidden away on a separate DVD?
That's what we're here to talk about about today – the Opeth tracks you may have very well missed over the years. The tracks selected for this list are some of my personal favorites, and not every single bonus track from all Opeth's albums are represented here.
"Still Day Beneath The Sun" & "Patterns In The Ivy II"
I'm kicking this off with arguably one of the best, and most underrated and ignored Opeth releases of all time – Still Day Beneath The Sun. The two tracks that make up Still Day Beneath The Sun were originally released as a second disc of Blackwater Park in 2002, and were re-released in 2003 as a separate 7" titled Still Day Beneath The Sun to promote the upcoming acoustic Damnation album.
It's easy to see why the tracks were chosen, though even by Damnation's standards, they're incredibly stripped down.
"Soldier Of Fortune"
Ghost Reveries was initially released in 2005, though in 2006 Roadrunner Records repressed the CD version of the album with a bonus track. The track was a glorious cover of Deep Purple's 1974 hit "Soldier Of Fortune," which became the new closer of Ghost Reveries. Opeth sticks close to the original, though its somber mood feels right at home with the hazy amber glow of Ghost Reveries.
For the record, the accompanying DVD on the repress contained a documentary of the making of Ghost Reveries, a 5.1 mix of the album, and a director's cut of the video for "The Grand Conjuration."
"Would?" & "Mellotron Heart"
The Burden single was released digitally and as a CD in 2008. The CD version of the single contained just a radio edit of "Burden" from Watershed, though the digital version tacked on "Mellotron Heart" and a cover of Alice In Chains' 1992 track "Would?" The cover speakers for itself in terms of quality and proximity to the original piece, and "Mellotron Heart" is a cover of Opeth's own "Porcelain Heart" entirely on mellotrons.
Of course the latter is a little goofy, but it's still worth a listen.
"Bridge Of Sighs"
Speaking of Watershed, here's something off Watershed! The album's special edition in 2008 contained the bonus track "Derelict Herds" on its CD portion, and both a cover of Robin Trower's "Bridge of Sighs" and Marie Fredriksson's "Den ständiga resan" on the DVD portion.
All three songs are great, though "Bridge Of Sighs" just fits Opeth's style and Mikael Åkerfeldt's voice so incredibly well that it's hard to believe the band didn't write the track.
"The Throat Of Winter"
To promote the PS3 game God Of War III in 2010, a compilation titled God Of War: Blood & Metal was issues. The compilation featured original tracks from Dream Theater, Opeth, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Mutiny Within, and Taking Dawn, with Opeth's contribution being the incredibly disjointed "The Throat Of Winter."
If there was a true, undeniable harbinger of what was to come on Heritage, this was it. The song was later issued as a single on 7" vinyl in 2011.
"Face In The Snow"
Much like Watershed, some versions of Opeth's 2011 album Heritage also contained a bonus DVD. The DVD contained a 5.1 mix of Heritage, a documentary on the album, and two bonus tracks – "Pyre" and "Face In The Snow." The former is a bit of a slow builder that relies heavily on atmosphere, but "Face In The Snow" is entirely too good to ignore.
"Face In The Snow" is a throwback to Still Day Beneath The Sun and Damnation, though with that modern Opeth gloom attached to it.
"Circle Of Tyrants" & "Remember Tomorrow"
My Arms, Your Hearse came out in 1998, and the album was reissued in 2008 via The Candlelight Years box set. The album was given two bonus tracks, though both had previous been released. Opeth's cover of "Remember Tomorrow" by Iron Maiden was released in 1998 on the
A Call to Irons: A Tribute to Iron Maiden, Vol. 1 compilation, and the Celtic Frost "Circle Of Tyrants" cover was released in 1996 on the In Memory of Celtic Frost tribute album.
Both tracks made another appearance on the 2015 Candlelight digipak reissue of My Arms, Your Hearse as well.
"The Ward"
Hey, we're at present day Opeth! Some versions of 2016's Sorceress had a second disc, which held a few live tracks, and two studio tracks – "The Ward" and "Spring MCMLXXIV." While the latter stuck pretty closely to what Sorceress had done throughout its runtime, "The Ward" was a callback to Watershed and Heritage, with tons of vocals and even a tinge of progressive rock heaviness thrown in.
