OPETH Shares New Single, Reveals ‘The Last Will An…

Swedish progressive metallers OPETH will release their new concept album, “The Last Will And Testament”, on October 11 via Reigning Phoenix Music. The LP’s first single, “§1”, can be streamed below.

“I have become quite interested in family, and the idea that blood is not always thicker than water,” OPETH leader Mikael Åkerfeldt explained. “I became interested in how family members can turn on each other. I saw an interview with this guy whose family had all turned against him, over the inheritance, so I wrote a song about that on the last record. The idea stuck with me, and then along came the TV show ‘Succession’, and I loved that series. That was in the back of my head too. It felt like an interesting topic that you could twist and turn a little bit.”

Regarding the inspiration for the music on “The Last Will And Testament”, Mikael said: “‘The Last Will And Testament’ is a concept record of sorts. A restless musical journey in a way mirroring my own relationship with music as a consumer of it. I pick up something here, dismiss something there. I worship and I hate music at the same time. This ambivalence leads me down some type of creative path of my own and then, all of a sudden, a collection of songs has been written. Best-case scenario, these songs are good enough to impress the band. Good enough for the ‘powers that be’ in terms of the industry. Good enough for ‘you’?!”

He added: “I love this record. I have to say it (write it). Maybe I’m proud, even? There are some familiar ingredients in there, I suppose. Most of our music has sprung from the same source, so I guess it’s not much of a shocker if it’s going to sound like ‘us’.

“I’m a bit in awe of what we did with ‘The Last Will And Testament’. It feels like a dream. There is some coherence and songwriting skills I hope, but what do I know? I tend to favor the strange over the obvious, but I feel like I’m in the minority, and that’s fine. So…fair warning! Don’t expect an instant rush (as per usual),but if you do get it (have you got it yet?) right away, that’s okay too!”

“The Last Will And Testament” track listing:

01. §1
02. §2
03. §3
04. §4
05. §5
06. §6
07. §7
08. A Story Never Told

* Special guests on “The Last Will And Testament”:

Ian Anderson (JETHRO TULL) – spoken word
Mirjam Åkerfeldt – spoken word

* All music and lyrics written by Mikael Åkerfeldt
* Lyrical concept by Mikael Åkerfeldt, dramatic consultation by Klara Rönnqvist Fors
* Produced by Mikael Åkerfeldt
* Co-produced by OPETH and Stefan Boman
* Engineered by Stefan Boman, Joe Jones and OPETH
* Mixing by Stefan Boman and Mikael Åkerfeldt and OPETH at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe, Stockholm, Sweden
* Mastering and vinyl lacquer cut by Miles Showell at Abbey Road studios, London, U.K.
* Strings conducted by Dave Stewart at Angel Studios, London, U.K.
* Strings arrangement by Mikael Åkerfeldt and Dave Stewart
* Drum technicalities by Kit Cunningham
* Artwork by Travis Smith with directions from Mikael Åkerfeldt

OPETH is:

Mikael Åkerfeldt – Vocals, guitars
Fredrik Åkessson – Guitars, backing vocals
Martin Mendez – Bass guitar
Waltteri Vayrynen – Drums and percussion
Joakim Svalberg – Keyboards, backing vocals

Last month, Åkerfeldt told Greece’s metal TV show “TV War” about his songwriting process: “When I write music, most of the time, in the best scenario for me, I have an idea of what I want to do. But usually it’s hard for me to stick to that idea, because I write music, it’s very stream of consciousness in a way. I just write… So I write fast. And I decide fast what’s good, what’s shit, what to keep and what to throw away and that kind of stuff. And in the end, it’s, like, ‘Hmm, [I have] no memory writing that song.’ So I don’t really know how it works. But usually I’m set off by an idea that I want to try out… I try everything and I try to, so to speak, polish turds, if you know what I mean. I might have an idea, like I hear something that’s good, but it’s really sounding bad to me. I still continue working with it for a little while and then, three weeks later, I [am], like, ‘It’s still shit. I’m gonna throw it away.’ But I have to exhaust every idea.”

Asked if he has met Ian Anderson in person, Mikael said: “Yeah, I met him in person. But I didn’t meet him in the studio… I did reach out to him 15 years ago or so for the ‘Heritage’ [2011] record. There was like a flute thing on that record and he didn’t reply then. So we got another flutist, a Swedish guy, which, it was a happy accident, actually, that Ian didn’t reply. We got this Swedish guy, a got guy called Björn J:son Lindh. He worked closely with ABBA. He was an arranger, a great pianist and a great flute player. And he has since passed, passed away. So our recording, ‘Heritage’, was his last recording. So I’m happy that we got to work with him. He was some type of genius, a proper idol for me. So I’m really happy Ian didn’t reply, actually, then.”

Asked if he has ever experienced the so-called “writer’s block”, Mikael said: “Pretty much all the time. But you persevere and you continue writing. For me, a great idea doesn’t have to be a complex idea or an elaborate idea. I like to have what I call stupid riffs next to a very elaborate, experimental piece. I like both aspects of music. For some reason, I like the really complicated shit, but not only.”

On the topic of using artificial intelligence (A.I.) during the songwriting process, Mikael said: “I don’t like it. Of course, I would say that. I haven’t tried [it]. I haven’t even sent one question to ChatGPT or whatever it’s called, or used A.I. for anything. I don’t really know how it works, to be honest. But I heard A.I.-constructed music. My girlfriend, she was working as a journalist and she was interviewing Swedish folk musicians who were playing A.I.-generated folk songs. And I was, like, ‘Oh my god. It sounds good. Sounds great.’ But for me, I don’t want to know about it, because that’s one of my favorite aspects of being in this band, is to write music. So a writer’s block, I welcome writer’s blocks. You go through those hard times, you come out at the end and you have something. It’s very rewarding. Besides, A.I., I mean, no matter how you fucking turn it, it’s cheating. It’s shit. It’s not music. It’s just someone picking, like a computer picking sounds. So a real musician would not be interested in A.I. Only if you’re interested in making money, and if you’re a complete idiot.”

Anderson, who will turn 77 in August, revealed his contribution to the upcoming OPETH LP in February while talking to Italy’s “Mystery Tour” radio show. Asked about his non-JETHRO TULL musical activities, Ian said: “Well, from time to time I play on other people’s records, if they’re interesting to me. I just did — last week I played on three or four tracks from a prog metal band called [OPETH]. [They’re] Swedish.”

OPETH will embark on a North American tour this fall. The trek, which will kick off on October 11 in Milwaukee, includes stops in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, Denver and more.

“In Cauda Venenum” was released in September 2019 via Moderbolaget / Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Recorded in 2018 at Stockholm’s Park Studios, the effort was made available in two versions, in both Swedish and English languages.

In May 2022, OPETH issued “In Cauda Venenum (Extended Edition)” via Atomic Fire Records. This release, available on digipak, contained the English and Swedish versions of “In Cauda Venenum”, with new illustrations by internationally renowned Travis Smith in the booklet. In addition, there was also a third CD including three previously unreleased bonus tracks, both in English and Swedish: “The Mob” / “Pöbeln”, “Width Of A Circle” / “Cirkelns Riktning” and “Freedom & Tyranny” / “Frihet & Tyranni”.

OPETH played its first concert with new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen (PARADISE LOST, BLOODBATH, BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT) in September 2022 at Helitehas in Tallinn, Estonia. Väyrynen replaced stand-in drummer Sami Karppinen who had been the temporary replacement for Martin “Axe” Axenrot since the fall of 2021.