Opeth Interview

Opeth is currently in the studio working on their next album. In the meantime, Opeth is releasing The Roundhouse Tapes, a 2 CD live collection that was recorded on November 6, 2006 at the Camden Roundhouse in London. A DVD release of the show is slated for early 2008. Opeth has had some lineup changes in the past couple years, and frontman Mikael Akerfeldt fills us in on those, the new live album, and the progress on their next studio effort.

Chad Bowar: You’ve had some lineup changes since the last album. What led to guitarist Peter Lindgren’s departure, and how did you find his replacement Fredrik Akesson?
Mikael Akerfeldt: We became friends with Fredrik a few years ago. I knew he was a great guitar player. He is quite well known in Sweden. I knew his past bands. At the time I got to know him he was in Tiamat. He then moved on to Arch Enemy. He was the only guy I asked when Peter left. He was just out of Arch Enemy and free. He had been wanting to get into Opeth for a long time, and this was the perfect opportunity because Peter was getting jaded with the whole thing, especially touring. He has a wife back home and so many different interests, and he lost interest in the creative side of being a musician. He didn’t contribute much writing-wise. He has a lot of education in engineering and physics and has a masters in science. So he’s doing that now. I know he still loves music, but it was all for the better, both for him and the band. I don’t want to work with people that can’t commit on the same level as the rest of us. We are all basically a bunch of bums who love playing music. We don’t have anything else.

What’s the status of the next studio album?
Last night I finished the last piece of music for the record. I’m working on one additional song because I want to have additional material. I’m going to record one cover song that I know of, and maybe another one.

What musical approach are you taking on this album?
It’s much more complicated. For some reason the structures of the songs are complicated in structure and playing-wise. It doesn’t sound complicated, but it is, and I don’t know why that is. Every time I come home from rehearsal I just pass out on the couch because it takes so much playing these songs. I’ve been writing for quite a long time. It’s exactly where my head is at, musically. There is no confusion. This time I’m secure and confident in this album.

As you look back on Opeth’s catalog, is there any album you think is underrated?
No, I think we got overly hyped on each record. But even though it was well received, I think a record like Damnation should be perceived as much more of a unique record than what I saw. I think it is very odd for a death metal band to record an album like that. That we were able to do it I think deserves a little more recognition than what it got at the time. But it still got great reviews pretty much everywhere.

Read the complete Opeth Interview
Read The Roundhouse Tapes Review

(photo courtesy Peaceville Records)