Opeth
Einführung in The Last Will & Testament
More than three decades into their career, Opeth have trained their admirers to expect the unexpected. But even by their own standards, the Swedish progressive titans have conjured something extraordinary this time around. The band’s 14th studio exploration, The Last Will & Testament, is the darkest and heaviest record they have made in decades, it is also the most fearlessly progressive. A concept album recounting the reading of one recently deceased man’s will to an audience of his surviving family members, it brims with haunting melodrama, shocking revelations and some of the wildest and most unpredictable music that songwriter/frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt has ever written.
Gedanken des Frontmanns zur Familie und Erbe
“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.”
Setting, Thriller-Atmosphäre und der 1920er-Jahre-Kontext
The follow-up to 2019’s widely acclaimed In Cauda Venenum; The Last Will & Testament is set in the shadowy, sepia-stained 1920s. It slowly reveals its secrets like some classic thriller from the distant, cobwebbed past, with each successive song shining more light on the stated machinations of our dead (but definitely not harmless) protagonist. The emotional chaos of the story is perfectly matched by Opeth’s vivid but claustrophobic soundtrack, which artfully winds its way towards a crestfallen but sumptuous finale. Masters of their own idiosyncratic musical domain, Opeth have never sounded more unique.
Künstlerische Freiheit und dunkle, schwere Tonlagen
“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 behaviour. It felt like the music for this concept should be on the heavier side of things. It’s a pretty heavy topic.”
Rückkehr der Death-Metal-Vocals
Proud adherents to a progressive ethos, Opeth have never repeated themselves, and The Last Will & Testament is every bit as revelatory and adventurous as its 13 predecessors. But one thing is undeniable: Mikael Akerfeldt’s peerless death metal growls are back, for the first time since Watershed in 2008.
Ausdruck und mutige Entscheidungen
“I like to be unfashionable, in a way,” grins 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 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.”
Gäste des Albums: Ian Anderson
The Last Will & Testament is destined to be a milestone in Opeth’s illustrious recorded history. The band’s first out-and-out concept record, it features guest cameos from Jethro Tull legend Ian Anderson and Joey Tempest, frontman with Swedish rock gods Europe. Only one of the album’s eight songs has a title: closing ballad A Story Never Told. The rest are simply labelled as numbered chapters in this slowly unfolding saga of deceit, recrimination and betrayal. Enigmatic, unsettling and immersive, The Last Will & Testament is a turbulent, prog metal tale like no other.
Ian Andersons Beitrag und Flötenpassagen
“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!’”
Joey Tempest und Europe: Eine weitere Legende
Another legend of the rock world to grace the new Opeth album with his presence and talent is Joey Tempest, singer with Europe.
Joey Tempest: Zusammenarbeit am Track
“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.”
Neuer Schlagzeuger und Studioarbeit
Making his recorded debut alongside Opeth’s long-established line-up of Mikael Åkerfeldt, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson, bassist Martin Mendez and keyboard maestro Joakim Svalberg on The Last Will & Testament is new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who joined the band in 2022. Åkerfeldt is eager to commend his new comrade’s immense drumming abilities, while observing that recording drums for the new album was a virtually stress-free process.
Waltaris Väyrynen: Drumming und Studioarbeit
“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.”
Abschlussgedanken
After three decades of dazzling the world, Opeth have made their most daring creative leap yet. The Last Will & Testament is a progressive and dramatic triumph, and yet more proof that expecting the unexpected is the only way forward for fans of Sweden’s finest.
Abschließende Worte des Frontmanns
“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?”
Dieser Kalender enthält 11 Termine
Füge diesen Kalender als iCal-Datei zu Deinem Smartphone oder Deiner Kalender-Applikation hinzu und verpasse nie wieder einen Termin.
Die Termine dieses Kalenders:
- Opeth: 5.8.2024, 20:00 - 5.8.2024, 23:00, Batschkapp Frankfurt am Main, Gwinnerstraße 5, 60388 Frankfurt am Main
Opeth Live in Frankfurt
Liebst Du es, live Musik zu erleben? Dann solltest Du Dir das anstehende Konzert von Opeth auf keinen Fall entgehen lassen! Die schwedische Progressive-Metal-Band, mehr
- Opeth: 6.8.2024, 20:00 - 6.8.2024, 23:00, FZW / Freizeitzentrum West, Neuer Graben 167, 44137 Dortmund
Opeth live in Dortmund
Du liebst Konzerte und bist ein Fan von Rock und Pop Musik? Dann solltest Du Dir das Konzert von Opeth am Dienstag, den 6. August 2024 um 20:00 Uhr im FZW in ... mehr
- Opeth - The Last Will And Testament - European Tour: 15.2.2025, 18:20 - 15.2.2025, 21:20, Docks Hamburg, Spielbudenplatz 19, 20359 Hamburg
Opeth – Ein Meisterwerk der Progressiven Metal-Szene
Das kommende Konzert der schwedischen Band Opeth wird am Samstag, den 15. Februar 2025, im Docks in Hamburg über die Bühne gehen und ... mehr
- Opeth - The Last Will And Testament - European Tour: 17.2.2025, 20:00 - 17.2.2025, 23:00, Palladium Köln, Schanzenstraße 40, 51063 Köln
Opeth – The Last Will And Testament – European Tour 2025
Ein unvergessliches Konzerterlebnis
Am Montag, den 17. Februar 2025, öffnet das Palladium in Köln seine Türen für ein ... mehr
- Opeth - The Last Will And Testament - European Tour: 18.2.2025, 20:00 - 18.2.2025, 23:00, Tempodrom Berlin, Möckernstraße 10, 10963 Berlin
Ein unvergessliches Event: Opeth im Tempodrom
Am Dienstag, den 18. Februar 2025, wird die schwedische Progressive-Metal-Band Opeth im Tempodrom in Berlin auftreten. Für alle ... mehr
- Opeth - The Last Will And Testament - European Tour: 19.2.2025, 20:00 - 19.2.2025, 23:00, Muffathalle | Club Ampere | Muffatwerk München, Zellstraße 4, 81667 München
Ein einzigartiges Konzerterlebnis mit Opeth
Am 19. Februar 2025 wird das Muffatwerk in München zum Schauplatz eines ganz besonderen musikalischen Events. Die schwedische ... mehr
- Opeth - The Last Will And Testament - European Tour: 29.9.2025, 20:00 - 29.9.2025, 23:00, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Johannes-Brahms-Platz, 20355 Hamburg
More than three decades into their career, Opeth have trained their admirers to expect the unexpected. But even by their own standards, the Swedish progressive titans have conjured something ... mehr
- Opeth - The Last Will And Testament - European Tour: 30.9.2025, 20:00 - 30.9.2025, 23:00, Rockhalcafe, Place du Rock, 4361 Esch an der Alzette
More than three decades into their career, Opeth have trained their admirers to expect the unexpected. But even by their own standards, the Swedish progressive titans have conjured something ... mehr
- Opeth - The Last Will And Testament - European Tour: 1.10.2025, 20:00 - 1.10.2025, 23:00, Congress Center Rosengarten Mannheim, Rosengartenplatz 2, 68161 Mannheim
Erlebe Opeth in voller Pracht
Die Vorfreude auf das nächste große Event in der Musikszene wächst mit jedem Tag. Am Mittwoch, den 1. Oktober 2025, öffnet der Rosengarten Mozartsaal in ... mehr
- Opeth - The Last Will And Testament - European Tour: 14.10.2025, 19:30 - 14.10.2025, 22:30, Alter Schlachthof Dresden, Gothaer Straße 11, 01097 Dresden
Ein unvergesslicher Abend mit Opeth in Dresden
Am Dienstag, den 14. Oktober 2025, wird der alte Schlachthof in Dresden zum Schauplatz eines außergewöhnlichen Konzerterlebnisses. Die ... mehr
- Opeth: 7.8.2026, 20:00 - 7.8.2026, 23:00, Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen, Blumenstraße, 45899 Gelsenkirchen
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