Opeth Announce First Album In Five Years 'The Last Will & Testament' With First Single §1
Monday, 05 August 2024
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Terhi Ylimäinen
Opeth have laid out plans for their 14th studio album.
The Swedish prog-metallers will release 'The Last Will & Testament' on October 11 via Moderbolaget/Reigning Phoenix Music, following up 2019's 'In Cauda Venenum'.
To coincide with the announcement, the band have shared the record's first single, §1 (pronounced "paragraph one"), which finds the group returning to their extreme metal roots, with frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt's applying his guttural, growling vocals for the first time since their 2008 album 'Watershed'. Åkerfeldt's youngest daughter, Mirjam Åkerfeldt also contributes vocals to the track. In a statement, Mikael wrote:
"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 favour 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 ok too!"
Written by Åkerfeldt, assisted by Klara Rönnqvist Fors, the album was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman, who also handled engineering alongside Joe Jones, and Opeth. Boman, Åkerfeldt, and the rest of the group mixed the record at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm, with strings arranged by Åkerfeldt and Dave Stewart, who conducted the arrangements at Angel Studios in London
Jethro Tull legend Ian Anderson also narrates and plays flute on multiple tracks, with Europe singer Joey Tempest enlisted for backing vocals on §1.
On the creation of the record, the concept of which centres around the story of a wealthy, conservative family in the post-World War I era, Åkerfeldt explained:
"This is the first record with Walt on drums. Seeing and hearing him record his bits was otherworldly and what went through my head was something like: How can a human being play this stuff? The older cats (myself, Mendez, Fred, and Jocke) did our bits in due time. We did them well (I like to think) and the alcohol concentration in our blood was mostly quite low as the red light was on. We’re professionals, you see!
"Rockfield Studios treated us well and we love that place! Stefan Boman recorded and mixed it all (CAPTURED it on TAPE… kind of…). Miles Showell did the master at Abbey Road Studios and then we (myself and Stefan) took him for a curry in Covent Garden. Travis Smith has done this odd-masterpiece-artwork that put 'clothes' on the music. All in all, we hope we’ve put together a nice little morsel of information for you to nibble on when it’s raining out. Thank you for your time. Thank you for reading. Thank you for listening. Thank you for giving us a respectable past. I’ll thank you for our future in the actual future, OK?"
Head below to check out the LP's cover art by artist Travis Smith, his 11th for the band, which this time saw him creating an eerie photograph that's similar to Stanley Kubrick's infamous Overlook Hotel photograph from The Shining.
News of the release follows hot on the heels of Opeth's performance at Wacken Open Air in Germany over the weekend. The band now have their sights on headlining the UK's Bloodstock Festival this Friday (August 9), where they'll play a special fan-picked set.
They'll then embark on a previously scheduled North American tour in October, before a new run of European dates in February 2025. Tickets for the latter shows go on general sale at 10am local time on August 9.
'The Last Will & Testament' tracklist:
1. §1
2. §2
3. §3
4. §4
5. §5
6. §6
7. §7
8. A Story Never Told
Opeth Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Fri October 11 2024 - MILWAUKEE Wisconsin - Rave - Eagles Club (USA)
Sat October 12 2024 - CLEVELAND Ohio - Agora Theater (USA)
Mon October 14 2024 - TORONTO Ontario - Queen Elizabeth Theatre Toronto (Canada)
Tue October 15 2024 - MONTREAL Quebec - Olympia Theater (LOlympia) (Canada)
Wed October 16 2024 - WORCESTER Massachusetts - Palladium Worcester (USA)
Fri October 18 2024 - BROOKLYN New York - Kings Theatre Brooklyn (USA)
Sat October 19 2024 - PITTSBURGH Pennsylvania - Stage AE (USA)
Sun October 20 2024 - WASHINGTON, DC District of Columbia - Warner Theatre Washington D.C. (USA)
Tue October 22 2024 - ATLANTA Georgia - Tabernacle Atlanta (USA)
Wed October 23 2024 - NEW ORLEANS Louisiana - Fillmore New Orleans (USA)
Thu October 24 2024 - AUSTIN Texas - Emos Austin (USA)
Fri October 25 2024 - DALLAS Texas - Majestic Theatre Dallas (USA)
Sun October 27 2024 - DENVER Colorado - Mission Ballroom (USA)
Tue October 29 2024 - PHOENIX Arizona - Van Buren (USA)
Wed October 30 2024 - LOS ANGELES California - YouTube Theater (USA)
Thu October 31 2024 - SAN FRANCISCO California - Warfield (USA)
Sun February 09 2025 - HELSINKI Ice Hall (Finland) [NEW]
Tue February 11 2025 - STOCKHOLM Cirkus (Sweden) [NEW]
Fri February 14 2025 - COPENHAGEN Dr Koncerthuset (Denmark) [NEW]
Sat February 15 2025 - HAMBURG Docks (Germany) [NEW]
Mon February 17 2025 - COLOGNE Palladium (Germany) [NEW]
Tue February 18 2025 - BERLIN Tempodrom (Germany) [NEW]
Wed February 19 2025 - MUNICH Muffathalle (Germany) [NEW]
Fri February 21 2025 - PARIS Olympia (France) [NEW]
Sat February 22 2025 - AMSTERDAM AFAS Live (Netherlands) [NEW]
Sun February 23 2025 - BRUSSELLS Ancienne Belgique (Belgium) [NEW]
Joining Anderson, Europe's Joey Tempest lends a backing vocal hand on "§2”, while , is the disembodied voice in "§1".
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