It took sixteen years, sixteen (too) long years for Opeth to reintroduce saturated vocals on one of their albums. During this long parenthesis, which included four albums, Mikael Akerfeld and his band dug the furrow of original progressive rock. This fourteenth album fuses the best of both eras, combining substance with a fascinating concept based around the reading of a testament - told by Ian Anderson - and form with heavier music and the return of growls... Let's hope this superb album, which should delight fans of both periods of the Swedes' career, doesn't signal their last will and testament...
‘The Last Will And Testament’ is very cinematic, with tracks that are generally shorter than usual. Did composing the soundtrack for the ‘Clark’ series influence the composition of this album in any way?
Mikael Åkerfeldt: Not really. It just gave me a different way of working: now I work a lot faster in developing ideas and it allows me to play video games as well... On the other hand, I had to rework the lyrics to give them more depth.
When I write music, I generally write quite quickly and I have an idea of what I want to do. But it's hard to stick to that idea. I usually have an idea that comes to me that I want to try out. I work on it to try and polish it for a while and then, some time later, I realise that it's still crap and in the end, I don't keep it (Smiles). I choose something here, I reject something there. I love and hate music at the same time. This ambivalence leads me down a kind of creative path and then, after a while, I realise that a few songs have been written. In the best of cases, these songs are good enough to impress the band and good enough for the people who decide in the industry.
And also good enough for you?
Mikael : I love this record, I have to say (Smiles)! Maybe I'm even proud of it? There are some familiar ingredients in it. Our music comes from the same source, so I guess it's not really a surprise if it's going to sound like Opeth.
But do you ever find yourself faced with a blank page?
Mikael : Of course! But you persevere and keep writing. For me, a good idea doesn't have to be complex or elaborate. I like to have what I call stupid riffs alongside a very elaborate and experimental piece. I like both aspects of music. For some reason I like really complicated stuff, but not only that.
‘The Last Will And Testament' is a concept album, a real one, based on a powerful and, sadly, fairly universal story: the reading of a will to heirs and the family stories it reveals. How did you come up with this highly original idea, which evokes both Kubrick's ‘The Shining’ (for the cover) and Tennessee Williams' “Pussy on a Hot Roof” for the story?
Mikael: I usually start with the music, but in this case I had the idea, I ended up thinking about the story and I wrote a few notes. I also had to sequence the songs. I wanted the sequencing to be done in a way that was correct and normal for the music. I like the smooth flow of the records, so I tried to start with the musical flow. But once I had the lyrics to these songs, I couldn't change them, because they have to be in chronological order. So it was a bit more work than usual, but I'd say it was also more interesting and fun. And my girlfriend helped me a lot. She came up with the idea for the twist at the end of the story...
What exactly is the story?
Mikael : It begins with the arrival of three brothers and sisters at the family manor. Their father, a stern, conservative, paranoid, evil and noble old man, has died, and they are going to divide his will between his three children. There are two twins, a man and a woman in their twenties, and a young girl with polio. The lyrics are like the reading of the will. That's why the songs don't have titles, just a paragraph one... two... up to seven.
Throughout the reading of the will, the children discover many things about themselves, their father's secrets and their connection to the family. The twins discover that their father is not theirs and are excluded from the will. In the end, his only true blood child is his sickly daughter, but she is the fruit of a love affair he had with the manor's servant. He lied to his wife, telling her that the maid was having an affair and that they should look after his poor child as if she were his own daughter. With his wife also dead, the daughter inherits everything. The will ends and the last song ‘A Story Never Told’ comes on, explaining that the daughter is now living in the manor. But then a letter arrives. It's from her mother - the maid - who explains that she lied to her father and that she's the fruit of another love affair after all. The conclusion is that the patriarch was sterile!
You said that you were also influenced by the series Succession, which is certainly one of the most cynical, nihilistic and pessimistic series on the family. Overall, what is your personal vision of the family in the face of money?
Mikael : Let me reassure you, that's not the case in my family, but I do fear that I'll end up being one of the central characters, the most venal (Laughs)!
In fact, I started to get interested in this subject on the last album. There's a song called ‘Universal Truth’ which also deals with this kind of subject, like the fact that blood isn't always thicker than water, that money can lead family members into chaos. So I started to get interested in this subject and the family as a whole, how family members can clash over inheritance. It stayed with me and I thought it might be an interesting and dark subject for an album whose music could illustrate it in a positive way. And indeed, afterwards, I watched this series ‘Succession’ which I love...
Generally speaking, it's very interesting and it helps me to have some sort of theme when I have to write lyrics, because otherwise I sometimes find myself writing things that I don't even know what they mean (Smiles).
Why did you choose to set the story in the 1920s, just after the First World War?
Mikael: Actually, that wasn't the initial idea, but the idea came mainly from the fact that I find photo shoots boring. And the fact that we were able to set the story in the 1920s meant that we could pose in period outfits: it was really fun!
This album marks the long-awaited return of growls. But here's where you really come into your own: the saturated vocals fit in perfectly with the story. Was this premeditated or did the saturated vocals impose themselves on you while you were writing the album?
Mikael : I know we're expected to do this. Opeth's music has always been demanding and anyone who doesn't like our music won't be any more attracted to this album. On the other hand, there had to be a reason to include these extreme vocals again...
There wasn't any room for this type of singing on the four previous albums, but on this latest album, in addition to Ian Anderson's narrative vocals, I felt that these voices really added something to the character and the story. What's more, I thought I sang well, especially during the last few concerts when we played old songs with a lot of growls... I felt confident, and it fitted in well with the theme of the story: so yes, it was the right time to reintroduce them.
I remember you telling me you didn't like your singing... Is that still the case?
Mikael : Actually, I've got a real problem with my voice: when I hear myself, it's as if I'm hearing my voice through an answering machine. I don't talk like that. I don't sound like that. But in the case of the singing voice, if I hear the tone of harmony, the harmony in my voice, I try to concentrate and develop a kind of blend where I distance my person from my voice. I always have this feeling that my clear voice doesn't sound right and when I listen to music, I don't hear it.
Do you think this partly explains the impression that your vocals sound different from album to album?
Mikael : Yes, and in the case of extreme vocals, I try to be as distinct as possible so that the lyrics can be understood.
Still on the subject of growls, have you put off making a comeback because of pressure?
Mikael: Over the last few years, people have been criticising us for not having any more extreme vocals. And now people are asking us why we're doing it. It's never going to work, but in the end, why not put it back in? The new album is a concept album that I think would benefit from this type of voice.
I felt confident. We did a few tours where we played a lot of the old songs, and that was fun to do. For me, growling is almost like rapping. Not that I'm a good rapper, but I find the whole rhythmic side interesting. I'm very demanding when it comes to growls. They have to be good, they have to be specific. I have particular tastes in that area. And also, of course, they have to contribute to the general idea of the music. This time, as it's a concept album, that's the case. I think that on the whole, it made the album better.
‘The Last Will And Testament’ is a demanding, almost oppressive album that requires many listens and which, once tamed, stands out as a colossal work in its progressive dimension. But it also risks being misunderstood by the less initiated because of its richness and complexity. Is this something that might upset you, or do you simply not care?
Mikael : To be honest, I'm a bit in awe of what we've achieved on ‘The Last Will And Testament’. It seems like a dream. I hope there's some coherence and compositional skill... I tend to prefer the strange to the obvious, but I feel like I'm in the minority, and that's fine. Nevertheless, I'll warn you: don't expect to fall in love with it straight away -as usual, I'd say (Smile)-, but if you do, that's just as well!
The Last Will And Testament’ is Opeth's heaviest album since “Heritage”, but apart from the intro to “§2”, the musical colour is a long way from death metal and remains firmly anchored in your work on the band's second period. In particular, there's the very cinematic aspect that was already present on ‘In Cauda Venenum’. How do you see Opeth's music evolving since ‘Heritage’?
Mikael : I don't know. It's a bit strange. It's not really different for us. But I'm doing screamed vocals again, which I haven't done for a long time. And there are a few guests. It's a concept album with a lot of ideas. It's a hectic record and even I don't really know the songs yet. But it's a good record!
You've often paid tribute to your favourite artists on Opeth albums. But on ‘The Last Will And Testament’, you go one step further by inviting Ian Anderson as a storyteller on ‘§1’, ‘§2’, ‘§4’, ‘§7’ and as a flautist on ‘§4’ and ‘§7’. Why did you choose him?
Mikael: I contacted him about 15 years ago to ask him to play the flute on the ‘Heritage’ album. He didn't reply at the time.
... But on this album, not only does he play the flute, he also speaks?
Mikael: Actually, I've always been a big fan of Ian Anderson's voice... I love his voice, especially as it perfectly matches the character he plays. And as the discussions with him progressed, he asked me if he should play the flute... At the time, I didn't really have any passages planned for this instrument, but it was the perfect opportunity. So I found some slower parts - particularly on ‘§4’ - that might be suitable. So I suggested this passage where he plays this superb flute solo...
The album contains some excellent guitar solos. Are your solos very written down or do you leave yourself room for improvisation in the studio?
Fredrik Åkesson: On ‘§6’, I improvised a solo, but I wanted each solo to be different. The most important thing is to try and find melodies in the solo. I like the possibility of linking melodies together to create a kind of rhythm. And on ‘§4’, we both decided that we were going to do a solo.
Mikael: On the other hand, I spent a lot of time on the last paragraph of the album: the idea was to try and make the solo as coherent as possible. It's close to an algorithm, but it's also important to develop it...
... It reminds me of Steven Wilson who told us that the most important thing in composing a song was knowing how to stop...
Mikael : Yes, but unlike me, Steven is constantly writing, whereas as I said at the beginning, I've learnt to be more concise in my songwriting for this album...
As well as Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, Joey Tempest from Europe is also invited. Does that mean you're dreaming of playing together?
Mikael: We've talked about it, but it's hard to know whether people would go for it or not. I'm not sure... And Europe would have to play after us, because I can't see us playing after ‘The Final Countdown’ (laughs).
And in the absence of Europe, what's your tour schedule?
Mikael: At the moment, we've got a tour of North America planned with our friends in Tribulation. Then we're going to be touring Europe with Grand Magus, who are also friends of ours, and they're due to be in Paris at the Olympia on 21 February...
See you then... Thanks!
Opeth: Thank you!
Thanks to Newf for his contribution...