Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt has checked in from the studio, where he and the band have been recording their 12th album Sorceress.
The follow-up to 2014’s Pale Communion is set for release on September 30 via Nuclear Blast, with Opeth previously stating the album came together in a short space of time compared to their previous work.
Akerfeld says: “In the past I’ve waited with writing lyrics until the very last minute and then recorded vocals under insane amounts of stress, which I hate.
“I wrote mock lyrics in the past. I sung that and it sounded great – and once I replace those with the real lyrics, it doesn’t sound as good, which has always been a problem for me doing it that way.
“So for this record, I just wrote the lyrics I’m going to use on the record, come up with a melody, then record it. All the vocals are basically done before we go into the studio these days.”
He continues: “When we start recording using the demo as a template, everybody can play along to the whole record. It’s got the guitar, it’s got the keyboards and the vocals with the real lyrics. We improve each individual sound as we go along.”
Opeth begin a tour next month in support of the new album, which includes three landmark dates in New York, London and Sydney.
Sorceress can be pre-ordered on Opeth’s webstore.
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Opeth Sorceress tracklist
- Persephone
- Sorceress
- The Wilde Flowers
- Will O The Wisp
- Chrysalis
- Sorceress 2
- The Seventh Sojourn
- Strange Brew
- A Fleeting Glance
- Era
- Persephone (Slight Return)
Opeth tour dates
Sep 24: San Bernardino Ozzfest meets Knotfest, CA
Sep 29: Pittsburgh Stage AE, PA
Sep 30: Filmore Silver Spring, MD
Oct 01: New York Radio City Music Hall, NY
Oct 02: Boston House of Blues, MA
Oct 04 Montreal Metropolis, Canada
Oct 05: Toronto Massey Hall, Canada
Oct 07: Filmore Detroit, MI
Oct 08: East End Good Year Theater, OH
Oct 09: Chicago Riviera Theater, IL
Oct 10: Minneapolis First Ave, MN
Oct 12: Oklahoma City Diamond Ballrom, OK
Oct 13: Houston Warehouse Live, TX
Oct 14: Austin Emos, TX
Oct 15 Dallas Gas Monkey Live, TX
Oct 18: Las Vegas Brooklyn Bowl, NV
Oct 19: Tempe Marquee Theater, AZ
Oct 21: Sacramento Ace Of Spades, CA
Oct 22: San Francisco Warfirled, CA
Oct 24: Portland Roseland Theater, CA
Oct 25: Seattle Moore Theater, WA
Oct 26: Vancouver Orpheum, Canada
Nov 05: Stockholm Annexet, Sweden
Nov 06: Oslo Konserthus, Norway
Nov 07: Copenhagen DR Koncerthuset, Denmark
Nov 08: Hamburg Docks, Germany
Nov 10: Vienna Arena, Austria
Nov 11: Stuttgart LKA Longhorn, Germany
Nov 12: Munich Theaterfabrik, Germany
Nov 13: Zurich Volkshaus, Switzerland
Nov 14: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
Nov 16: Cologne E-Werk, Germany
Nov 18: Tilburg 013, Netherlands
Nov 19: London SSE Wembley Arena, UK
Nov 21: Paris Le Trianon, France
Nov 23: Luxembourg Den Atelier, Luxembourg
Nov 24: Berlin Astra Kulturhaus, Germany
Feb 06: Sydney Opera House, Australia
