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Perhaps in the past I saw myself more as a metal musician, now I just see myself as a musician and I'm interested in all sorts of music. In my band I don't want to have limits. We just put everything in there that we think sounds good. I'm older now and I don't want to write music just to shock people now. -Mikael Åkerfeldt |
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Photo by Olle Carlsson
Unlike a lot of bands, in any field, Opeth isn't trying to be or sound like anyone or play to a specific sensibility. They are creating the music of Opeth, and while touched by many influences their intrinsic demand for originality surfaces in all aspects of their music, a feeling that remains even with the earliest efforts.
 Mikael Åkerfeldt by Olle Carlsson |
"We've come to realize with some of the very early songs that playing them now they don't feel old. Listening to the first couple of albums isn't something I really enjoy, based on where I am today, but playing those songs live they have aged pretty well. We can still play them without laughing at ourselves," offers Åkerfeldt. "We bring the past with us because we know there are people that only want to hear songs from the early albums. Depending on time constraints, we try to cover something from every album if we can, with the focus being the latest album."
One aspect of Opeth that immediately stands out in the metal world is their use of keyboards, less for colorful shading and more as an additional bludgeon in their assault. Per Wiberg is a wicked, original keyboardist whose found a way to keep his instrument from being cheesy or intrusive in a genre that rarely knows what to do with keys. Wiberg has also collaborated with the Clutch guys in side project The Bakerton Group.
"I wasn't really a fan of keyboards when I was young, to be honest. So, that's something that came with me getting into prog-rock," says Åkerfeldt. "When we did the Damnation album [2003] I pretty much fell in love with the sounds of the Mellotron, something we used a lot. We use the keyboard as a real instrument, whereas other metal bands will have keyboards just to create atmosphere if they have some space. We only use the old type of sounds like the Mellotron, the piano, the electric piano. Per would refuse to do those kind of soundscape sounds. He's a player; he comes from a rock/blues background. So, he's definitely not one of those keyboardists that will have a nice, spacey sound all through the song."
Another infusion of fresh blood occurred in 2007 when Fredrik Åkesson replaced longtime lead guitarist Peter Lindgren. Simply put, Åkesson is an archetypal rock guitar hero tempered by near-jazz-like control and focus. There's few wasted notes or empty, showy fretwork. What he plays counts, and he's enlivened the entire Opeth catalog on their current ongoing world tour.
 Opeth by Olle Carlsson |
"We complete each other as guitar players in many ways," says Åkerfeldt. "He's a much more technical guitar player than I am. He's basically a shredder, while I'm more of a slow type of player. I can't play fast nearly as well as him, so it's great to have him to lean on. With Peter in the band – and I loved playing with Peter – there wasn't any space for him because he couldn't offer anything I couldn't do. From a musical point of view, with Fredrik we're a much better band; there's more we can do because we have Fredrik in the band. Before when I wrote a song and wanted a shredding, blazing guitar solo in this part or another, well, he can do that where before I was constrained by how fast I could play. It's really great to have him in the band."
Åkerfeldt has been a professional musician for close to 20 years now, yet there's the sense in his music that he never grows bored with his craft, that there's always more to do, different avenues to explore. However, he's human like the rest of us despite the impression his work may give.
"After an album I always feel like, 'That's the last one.' On tour I sometimes feel like a zombie; there's no creativity in me at all. I couldn't come up with anything if I started writing now [on the road]. But, it's worked for 20 years now that after each tour I trust creativity will return. I can't really say where it's gonna go though. The best help for me is to listen to music, which I do all the time. I discover new bands or really 'new' old bands, since I listen to a lot of old stuff. I hear something and it can trigger an idea. It can be just a riff and that's all I need."
Opeth is on tour now and play Friday night in Omaha, NE and Saturday night in Boulder, CO. Complete tour dates available here.
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