There aren't many bands out there, especially in the
headbanger-blustered pits of metal, that have courted
more musical controversy than Opeth. With the release
of their 2011 album Heritage, they abandoned the death
metal-driven prog leanings that proved wildly successful,
and reoriented their sound to appeal to more experimental
ears. In collaboration with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree
fame, Opeth risked enraging loyal fans who liked their
growls intact. These Swedish prog-players peppered their
pre-Heritage pieces with folk/blues/jazz inspired riffage and
paired their Satan-pleasing growls with achingly eloquent
ballads. But the decisive shift into plaintive, pastoral, almost
mystical soundcraft was a hard pill to swallow for those
that would swear by the devil-raising drum solo that closed
Deliverance.
Primarily fuelled by the creative fumes of vocalist-guitarist
Mikael Akerfeldt, Opeth has always exhibited a rare grace
in their melodic filings. Always adept at eliciting the guttural
roar, Akerfeldt has also charmed listeners by offering
nothing less than enchantment with clean vocals. This vocal
changeling made almost schizophrenic shifts from tremor-
inducing bellows to luminous melodies that would enchant a
siren in the sea.
When crafting sounds in the death/progressive metal
tradition, Akerfeldt and his cohorts knit stories into a
tapestry of unexpected sounds. Often, a gentle yet precise
piano wanders into the midst of battle-worthy chaos. A
seductive acoustic intro that speaks of wistful memories and
feather-whisper introspection leads into barrelling death
metal. Quiet humming saunters into a massive onslaught of
dissonant harmony - all while meandering around disarmingly
upbeat vocal harmonies. You wouldn’t expect it, but a
touch of funk will appear to lead the gothic-and-giddy
carnivalesque into Stevie Wonder-style polyphony.
With the recently released In Cauda Venenum, the prog-
men have ventured into orchestral exuberance. In line
with Akerfeldt’s definition of metal “"aggression, rawness,
honesty, rebellious…", it is as metal as one gets. Shredded
with vaulting gothic ominosity that wouldn’t seem out of
place in a Gregorian-style mass (in a particularly progressive
church, of course), it is soaked through with a mix of obscure,
early-70s breathy prog modalities.
It is impossible not to be particularly charmed by the urgency
and melodic conviction of Dignity. The Garroter is plush
with an irreverent brand of jazz, yet manages to remain
sombre and suspenseful. The album is rife with the surprising
camaraderie of otherwise contrary elements - the dreamy
patches of Lovelorn Crime resides in perfect unity with the
dragon-taming awe of Next of Kin.
Now heading back to India to headline NH7 Weekender’s
Pune chapter, the band has set plenty of fire and brimstone
(the good kind) amidst fans who will, no doubt, expect to
surrender their souls to pieces from Ghost Reveries and Pale
Communion alike. While we can’t reveal much about what
these ever-morphing prog-titans will dole out to delight
their audience, we did get to steal some time from guitarist
Fredrik Akesson so that he could nudge The Score Magazine
with a dash of pre-gig intrigue.
With every new album and more songs in your oeuvre, how
do you choose what to include in your setlist with every tour?
Well, we try to pick songs we haven’t performed on
recent tours. Initially we wanted to play songs from
every album but that is impossible time-wise since
we have 13 studio records out now. Of course we want
to play at least 3 or 4 songs from the latest album. So
it’s definitely difficult but also exciting to play new
songs and some we haven’t performed in a while.
What has been the most significant shift in your
music, stylistically, conceptually or otherwise
- since you became part of Opeth?
We have done 4 albums now without the growl vocals and
that shift happened after the Watershed album. It took
me a while to get used to that shift but now it feels like a
natural step for Opeth. Mikael felt he took that style to
its peak and the band needed to do something different
but still keep the Opeth vibe which I think we succeeded
with. Still, we like to perform the older songs live since
that style is the foundation of Opeth and the mix of the
old and new songs creates good dynamics in the set list.
Do you get involved in the lyrical side of composition?
The lyrics in Opeth has always been written by
Mikael Åkerfeldt. I personally don’t have any
ambition to contribute with any lyrics to Opeth.
Opeth is known for introducing an extremely tasteful
strain of metal - a genre hardly ever associated with
the kind of delicate nuance you bring to it. Could you
tell us about this graceful, eloquent brand of metal?
Wow that was nicely said of you haha..Opeth is influenced
by a lot of different styles of music.The Swedish folk
tones for instance has been there from the first album
Orchid and influences from 70s prog bands like King
Crimson,Camel,Pink Floyd Jethro Tull, etc. The list goes
on and on. Also influences from metal and hard rock
and death metal, of course. We try to be unpredictable
for the listeners without losing a red thread.
Why the decision to release music in both Swedish
and English? Are you planning to play the
Swedish versions anywhere except Sweden?
Mikael came up with the idea. At first he wanted to do only
the Swedish version but after a while we decided to do both.
That decision was taken by the band and not our label.
The album demo was only recorded in Swedish and we got
used to and liked that version. I remember listening to the
first song “All things will end” that was played to me at the
demo stage. Surprisingly enough, I thought it sounded quite
natural. The translation to the English version came about
in the studio and luckily it went smoother than we assumed
it would be. Lots of the lyrics could be directly translated.
Are there certain songs you think work better in Swedish?
In that case, do you think non-Swedish speakers would
be missing out on something with the English version?
Maybe..”Lovelorn crime” is one song that for which I like
the Swedish version better, especially the chorus. But I like
the variation of both versions. The phrasing of the vocals is
different because of the different languages so maybe that’s
interesting for the people who are really interested in Opeth.
The
Score Magazine
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