More than three decades into their career, Opeth have trained their admirers to expect the unexpected. But even by their own standards. The band’s 14th studio album, The Last Will & Testament, exceeds that level of achievement. Scheduled for release on October 11, the album features the darkest, heaviest music Opeth have made in decades. A concept album in which a deceased man’s will is read to his surviving family members, the album brims with haunting melodrama, shocking revelations and wild, unpredictable music courtesy of eclectic guitarist and vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt.
“I have become quite interested in family, and the idea that blood is not always thicker than water,” Åkerfeldt explains. “I became interested in how family members can turn on each other. I saw an interview with this guy whose family had all turned against him, over the inheritance, so I wrote a song about that on the last record. The idea stuck with me, and then along came the TV show ‘Succession,’ and I loved that series. That was in the back of my head too. It felt like an interesting topic that you could twist and turn a little bit.”
“You might dabble with the occult in your youth and write songs about Satan, but this felt like I could make a story about real evil”
The follow-up to 2019’s In Cauda Venenum; The Last Will & Testament is set in the shadowy, sepia-stained 1920s. Slowly, the story unfolds like a classic pump fiction crime thriller, and with each song the band reveals more about the sinister wishes revealed in the protagonist’s will. A vivid, claustrophobic soundtrack complements the emotional chaos of the narrative, and the musical arc twists and turns towards a shivering finale.
“I knew I could go a bit overboard and wild with the music, a bit heavier and a bit more metal, maybe, because I felt it would fit the concept, which is dark and kind of complex. You might dabble with the occult in your youth and write songs about Satan, but this felt like I could make a story about real evil, and about human behavior. It felt like the music for this concept should be on the heavier side of things. It’s a pretty heavy topic.”
Throughout their decades long career, have never repeated themselves, and The Last Will & Testament is no exception. However, one trait of old is back, and is likely to thrill old-school fans, for the first time since 2008’s Watershed, Åkerfeldt is growling death metal-style.
“I like to be unfashionable, in a way,” says Åkerfeldt. “So, when it comes to bringing that kind of death metal vocal back, I wanted it to happen when people had stopped caring… and I guess that’s now! Maybe it’s a bit surprising, but we did some anniversary type shows, and we played lots of old songs, and I just thought that my death metal voice sounded good. There’s also been a little push because of our new drummer, Walt. He’s a death metal guy. Mendez (Opeth’s bassist) has been a bit of a horse whisperer, too, saying ‘Maybe you should do something heavier this time…’ In the end I just thought, yeah, let’s give it a try.”
The Last Will & Testament offers more than feral roars. The band’s first full-on concept album features guest cameos from Jethro Tull legend Ian Anderson and Europe frontman Joey Tempest. Not only does Anderson provide flute fourishes, he plays the role of the protagonist in the story.
“With Ian, it’s about his voice and just how he is. I decided we should have spoken word, and if that was going to happen, the voice should be Ian’s. He’s like a distinguished gentleman. Everything he says has authority. So, it was just perfect. No one else would have been as good. I felt maybe it was a bit too cliched to ask him to play a flute solo too, but instead, he asked me, ‘Do you need a flute solo?’ and so obviously I said, ‘Yes! Yes, we do!’”
Another legend of the rock world to grace the new Opeth album with his presence and talent is Joey Tempest, singer with Europe.
“On the record, Joey does this call and response with Ian, which was another dream come true for me,” Åkerfeldt says. “I love Europe and I love Joey. We’ve become buddies over the years. So that was a big thing for me. He also knows Ian and had met him a few times. He’s a fan of Tull, so it was cool to have them on the same track. You don’t want to have guests that just for the glitter and glamour. You want someone that’s going to add something to the record, and those two guys were perfect.”
Making his recorded debut alongside Opeth’s long-established line-up (Åkerfeldt, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson, bassist Martin Mendez and keyboardist Joakim Svalberg) is new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who joined the band in 2022.
“I knew Walt was a great drummer, but I didn’t know how good he was. We’re not crappy musicians in this band. We can play. But we sat there at Rockfield Studios, and he just was doing these insane, technical songs in one take. We were almost recording it in real time! [Laughs] He’s amazing.”
After three decades of wildly eclectic music, Opeth have created a progressive, dramatic, and undeniably dark album that underscores the bands’ insistence on writing music that inspires and surprises listeners.
“It’s a restless record for me,” concludes Åkerfeldt. “It’s an explosion of ideas, which I like. It’s a bit shorter and snappier. But I definitely didn’t want to rehash anything. The only thing that has come back is some of those death metal screams, but the mindset is still much more forward looking. In typical Opeth fashion, it’s not a direct record that you understand and that you love or hate right away. It takes time and if you put that time into it, you might like it… or hate it! It feels like it was written on a whim. Which it was, in a way! I hear things on this album and think, where the fuck did that come from?”
