You're arguing preference, though. I've been listening to Opeth for 15 years, and I've been listening to Tool just as long. I think Tool has much more depth and is better. That doesn't mean Opeth is bad, but hey, it's a preference.I never said someone couldn't like inferior music. There are people that actually buy modern pop artists, for example. That's awesome if they enjoy it, but that doesn't make the music actually good music. People will buy and like anything under the sun, but that doesn't mean it isn't terrible. You can like something that's terrible.
Comparing any modern metal band in the States to European, especially Swedish or Gothenburg, is just erroneous. What they do musically is so far superior that you can't compare them. Tool is the best you got in terms of mass appeal, and they're not even in the same dimension as Opeth. I would probably make the claim that Ghost of Perdition is the best metal song ever made. Literally, there's no band like them.
(PS: Thanks for AC/DC, I had forgotten.)
Neither are as good as the man, though:
