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By BRENDAN CRABB

THERE was a time whereby it would’ve been inconceivable that a band of Opeth’s ilk would register one million-plus albums sold, multiple No.1 records, Swedish Grammy wins and numerous multiple world tours. However, the Swedish prog-metal titans have cultivated a loyal fan-base, largely through sheer consistency of output.

But it’s not been without the occasional contentious issue, such as front-man Mikael Åkerfeldt’s move away from harsh vocals on recent releases. The group will be releasing their 14th studio album, The Last Will & Testament on November 22 via Reigning Phoenix Music/Moderbolaget.

The Last Will & Testament is a concept album set in the post-World War I era, detailing the story of a wealthy, conservative patriarch whose last will and testament reveals shocking family secrets. And the positive news for those who have been campaigning on social media for years is the growling vocals do appear on the record. Meanwhile, visual artist Travis Smith also returns to the fold, crafting his 11th cover for Opeth.

Hot Metal spoke to guitarist Fredrik Åkesson about growled vocals, the new album’s guest appearances from Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson and Europe’s Joey Tempest, working with new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, and his collaborations with Ghost.

Note – this interview was conducted prior to the announcement of the band’s 2025 Australian tour. “For us, Australia is super important,” Åkesson enthuses. “It’s been amazing playing there. We have a strong following in Australia.”

Hot Metal: When the topic of Opeth has been raised among metal fans in recent years, there has been plenty of focus on the lack of growled vocals on any new release. There’s been so much emphasis on it from some folks that it’s almost taken on a life of its own. Does that frustrate the band members, given there’s so many other intriguing elements of the band’s music to discuss?
Frederik Åkesson: “I know for Mikael it’s a bit frustrating, because it’s, ‘Is that all we are?’ (laughs). For me personally I can understand it, because we haven’t had that element within the band for a long time. It has a good effect on this new album, and it also suits this new album. That’s the main purpose of it. If it wouldn’t have suited the new album, it wouldn’t have been there.  can understand, it’s a big part of the Opeth sound, and Mikael’s really good at doing the screaming vocals. I’m quite happy that we used that element again, because the first album I played on was (2008’s) Watershed. And then we did four more proggy albums, which I really love. But this time around it felt like a natural move for the band to bring it back. It wasn’t for the reason of being more popular, it just suited this album. We wanted to do something more aggressive this time around.”

HM: So, the concept is solely Mikael’s creation?
FA: “It is Mike’s creation. He brought up the concept idea at an early stage, and the storyline and everything developed during the writing process.”

HM: Musically it’s readily identifiable as an Opeth album, but I feel it’s also very much an Opeth-esque concept too. Meanwhile, the harsh vocals seem to be utilised as a voice for different characters, to aid and emphasise parts of the story.
FA: “Yeah, you are absolutely right. The album, it’s a concept album, and also it’s one of the voices of the patriarch. The growling and the clean voice, is also the voice of the patriarch, screaming from the other side… Joey Tempest is on the album, and Ian Anderson is also part of the patriarch’s voices.”

HM: Ian Anderson seems like a logical inclusion on an Opeth album, but Joey Tempest? Not so much. How did that happen?
FA: “Regarding Ian, it happened because his son is his manager, and he approached Mikael because he was asked to play on (2011’s) Heritage, like a flute solo. And this time around he was only asked to do narrations, but it happened that he actually, on his own, asked, ‘Do you guys need any flute?’ What do you answer to that? It’s a no-brainer; ‘Yes, we do need some flute’, even though we didn’t really plan to have a flute solo. The opportunity to have Ian on the album came during the writing process. Mikael approached the rest of us in the band and said, ‘We might get Ian on the album’. I think that really contributed an extra depth to this story, this concept, to have him more or less playing the role of this father, his voice, his narrations. Joey Tempest, he was at Mikael’s house having lunch. He came to see a few of our shows. I was raised in the same suburb as the Europe guys. We all listened to them when we were kids… Me and John (Norum), the guitar player, we’ve been playing over the years. We wrote some songs together and been jamming out and drinking a lot of beers together (laughs). Joey was at Mike’s house, having lunch. Mike said, ‘Do you want to go down to the studio and try something?’ He said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it’. At the time he didn’t have the lyrics written, so Joey did those later on. If you look at it on paper, as you mentioned, it’s a bit, ‘Wow, I didn’t see that happening’. But when you listen to it, I think it’s a pretty unique result. It’s a unique combination of people but I’m really happy with the results, of combining all of those voices.”

HM: On an international scale, Europe are probably Sweden’s third most successful musical act after ABBA and Roxette. Is it a little surreal to have someone with that mainstream stamp of approval, with that much of a profile and legacy, wanting to appear on an extreme metal album?
FA: “Yeah, maybe if you look at it that way. But it’s also part of our Swedish DNA; ABBA, Europe. Joey doesn’t do many guest appearances, so we’re just honoured to have him on the album. The fact that he’s showing interest for the band is pretty cool. He’s come to see our shows, and he mentioned us in some interviews. He’s a generation older than us, and when we grew up, we saw him in rock magazines or whatever, and it was like, ‘Yeah, we want to play more heavier shit perhaps’ (laughs). But he’s still an icon in a way.”

HM: This is the first album featuring Waltteri on drums. How has he slotted into the Opeth ranks?
FA: 
He’s been great. We did three tours with him before working on the album, and he just nailed every beat. He has the ability of being an extreme metal drummer, he can play the kick-drums really fast and very even. The tempo is very even and everything, because we don’t use click tracks or anything like that. And also, importantly, we get along really well with him. He’s 30, and we’re old fucks (laughs). But he’s definitely like a vitamin injection for the band. And even though he’s from Finland and they’re all grumpy and miserable, most of them (laughs), he’s a very positive person actually. He told me that he’s from a little village up north, which is categorised as one of the most depressing… The mood of everyone in that village is the most depressing in the entire (country of) Finland. But he’s not (like that), so that’s good.”

HM: I suppose no matter how difficult or tiresome life on the road may seem at times, he probably thinks, ‘Well, this is better than being back at home in that village’.
FA:
(Laughs) “Perhaps. But regarding his playing, he also has the right qualities to play the proggier stuff. He has a great feel for it, which I believe is kinda unique. Most extreme metal drummers are just focused on that thing, which is cool. But he also has the other elements that’s required to be the drummer in Opeth. He’s really tasteful, and treats all the songs with big respect, and learns everything thoroughly. He’s super important for the longevity of Opeth, definitely. And he’s proven to be the right guy; he’s a perfect fit for the band.”

HM: Good to hear. Shifting topics, you guested on Ghost’s Impera album a couple of years ago.
FA:
“I also played on the covers EP, Phantomime, the one with the Iron Maiden, Genesis and Tina Turner tracks.”

HM: How does collaborating with Ghost main-man Tobias Forge compare to working with Mikael?
FA: “That’s a good question. I mean, it’s different. With Opeth, I have more freedom, like with the new album I did all my solos on my own, and they’re my own little compositions within the songs. With Ghost, it was Tobias and a producer having slightly different ideas, and I was the guy in the middle trying to make their ideas… Trying to create something out of their ideas. I didn’t get played the songs before, I had to come up with everything in the studio. But it was fun, it was different, it was like being in a Def Leppard/Mutt Lange production (laughs) As a musician, it was a different scenario for me, but I just had to put my ego aside and just listen to what they wanted. When I did the Phantomime EP, I had more freedom with the solos.
But one thing that is similar with Tobias and Mikael is that they’re both perfectionists.”

HM: Any famous last words?
FA: “I hope you enjoy the new album, and we hope to see you in Australia, where we can have a couple of beers and have fun.”

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