Opeth singer/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt has explained why the band returned to making progressive death metal.
The Swedish prog metal sextet’s new single, §1 (pronounced “paragraph one”), contains the first growled vocals they’ve used since 2008 album Watershed.
In an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer, Åkerfeldt has revealed why the band have re-embraced their extreme metal roots.
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He explains that the dark concept of new album The Last Will & Testament, which is about a family feuding in the aftermath of its patriarch’s death, influenced the decision.
Other members of the band and recent tours also made an impact.
When asked by journalist Rich Hobson what “brought the band back” to death metal, Åkerfeldt answers, “Honestly? The material itself did, in a way.
“With this record in particular, we knew it would work well as part of the big concept idea, illustrating particular things and giving this character a voice.”
Åkerfeldt then names longtime bassist Martín Méndez and new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen as champions of the new direction.
“Méndez is my horse whisperer – maybe hoarse whisperer! – in a way. He’d be like, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we did something really heavy on the next album?’, and I’m like, ‘Hm…’
“Waltteri coming into the band was another factor,” the singer/guitarist continues.
“He’s much younger than us and he’s got the capacity to really play that stuff.
“He really loves it, constantly talking about death metal and stuff.
“Part of me wanted him as our new drummer to be playing on that kind of record, too. So that was in the back of my mind.”
Lastly, Åkerfeldt attributes the change to the band’s recent 30th-anniversary tour, where they played one song from each of their studio albums, voted on by the fans.
“Going back to some of that really early stuff, I was like, ‘My voice sounds good!’ So I wanted to go give it a go.”
Åkerfeldt admits that there were growing pains with reintegrating death metal, but that the heaviness was ultimately satisfying and fit the themes of The Last Will & Testament.
“It was a bit of a stretch in the beginning, to be honest!” he says.
“At first I wasn’t sure it was really worth it, like I was maybe faking it, in a way. I wrote half a song, thought, ‘This isn’t working,’ worked on something I felt did work and that ended up also being a heavy song.
“Then, when I went back to what I’d first started with, it was like, ‘Oh, I love this!’”
Opeth will headline Bloodstock Open Air festival in Derbyshire next Friday (August 9), playing a fan-voted setlist.
The band will release The Last Will & Testament via Moderbolaget and Reigning Phoenix Music on October 11.
They’ll then tour North America in October and play across Europe in February 2025. See the full list of dates and get tickets via the Opeth website.
