The triumphant victory ride through metal land just does not seem to end for the mighty Opeth. Ever since their international breakthrough in 2001 via the brilliant ‘Blackwater Park’ album, the star of these Swedish progmetal giants has been on the rise, culminating in their latest creative highlight earlier this year, ‘Watershed’. When the band visits our country at the end of November for a sold out show and when the opportunity arises to talk with bassist Martin Mendez, who is in the band longest apart from main man Akerfeldt, yours truly does not have to think long what to do. Filled with enthusiasm and a long list of questions (much too long for the allotted twenty minutes), I take place across a Mendez who has just woken up and who is far from sharp and talkative. With some effort I manage to distil the interview below from the sleepy brain of the bassist.
How is the tour going so far? What was the best show? For you personally, what makes a show a good show?
Good! We have had some good shows in the UK. And the London show was especially good. We played Shepherd Bush, the same venue that we recorded our first DVD Lamentations, so it was nice to see all those people again. And it was there that we used the big projection screens for the first time as well. Unfortunately we will not have them up tonight, since the stage is too small.
Ok, that’s too bad! So for you personally, what constitutes a good show?
I guess the most important thing is that we play well. I mean, we don’t do much onstage besides playing, so obviously that has to go well. We have never been the kind of band that goes running all over the stage. That requires a totally different vibe from what we are offering on stage, I think.
And how does it feel to have a legendary band like Cynic warming up the crowds for you guys? Have you seen them perform? How did you like it?
Yeah, that’s great! They are really cool guys. And all of us have of course been fans for a long time, so that’s cool. Every night I see bits and pieces of their show, but unfortunately not much.
For the people who have seen Opeth dozens of times already, are there any set list surprises on this tour? How many of the new tracks are you playing? Which of the new tracks do you enjoy performing live most?
Well, we are playing more or less the same songs, since we did not have much time to prepare for this tour. We have rehearsed enough material for two hours, but mostly we play for just an hour and a half. So we have to make some choices, as always. We are playing two songs off of the latest album ‘Watershed’: ‘The Lotus Eater’ and ‘Heir Apparent’.
Earlier this year you also toured with Dream Theater, how was that? Did you feel overwhelmed at any time by their skills? And did you pick up some new tricks from John Myung?
Yeah, that tour was a lot of fun. The Dream Theater guys were really cool guys, we did not meet that much, but they were alright. But no, we were not scared at all, hehe, it is a totally different style of music that they play, so that’s ok. With respect to Myung, it was really hard to get in touch with him. I just met him once during the entire tour, the rest of the time he was on his own or playing behind stage, I don’t know. So there was actually not that much contact, but they were really cool guys nevertheless.
I noticed that for the biggest part of 2008, no actually for the biggest part of probably each year, you guys are on the road, touring all over the place. What kind of strain does that put on your life? Is it harder for you now that you have become a family man this year?
Well you know, of course it is difficult. It is a really strange kind of life, but at the same time this is what we want to do. So we really want to enjoy the moment while it lasts. I knew that becoming a father would make it a bit harder, obviously I’m missing my son a lot, but at the end of the day it is worth it I guess. And at the end of the tours my family can usually join us, you know.
At the moment you are apart form Mikael the member who has been part of Opeth longest. Since the ‘My Arms Your Hearse’ album. Obviously the sound of the band has progressed and evolved quite a bit since then. How has your bass playing sound and style grown since then?
Well I guess it has obviously grown better; I have been learning a lot playing with Mikael all those years. It is hard to give an example of anything specific that I have learnt. I just feel that my skills have been improving over the years, but I do not know exactly what, where how and why.
Do you ever wonder how on earth Opeth managed to achieve the status it has, despite the experimental non-standard music that you play?
I don’t know, I guess it is just good music that we produce! People were probably getting tired of hearing the same kind of three-minute songs all of the time, so they start searching for something different. Which we have to offer for them.
Earlier this year you guys of course released your ninth studio album ‘Watershed’. Almost half a year later, how do you look back on the album? How do you feel about the material now?
Well, I don’t listen to it as much as I did before, but I am still very happy with the album. I think it is one of our best, by far. Everyone in the band is playing at the best level they have ever been playing, the compositions are better, the sound is better. Everything together is better!
You have done two videos for ‘Watershed’: ‘Burden’ and ‘Porcelain Heart’, which are two tracks that probably are the least metal. Why these two tracks? What do you think of the videos?
Yeah, they are the least metal tracks, but they are also the shortest songs. So that is the main reason. And we had to go out and edit any song we would do anyway, so these songs would have to be edited the least. If we were to take a long song, it was going to be a disaster. Of course there are still fans who are a bit angry because we edited the songs, but for us it is the only way to do it. If We want our video to be played, we have to do it like this. No one is going to play a ten minute video on television, so there would then be no point in doing it at all, actually.
And how important do you actually think that the medium of a video clip is for a band like Opeth?
It is not the most important aspect of the band at all. It is of course a good way to reach out to new people, but we have never been the video-type band.
For the biggest part of your career, you have played together with Martin Lopez. It’s been two and a half years since his departure. How do you look back on the period in Opeth without him? How is he doing by the way?
Well, in the first place, everybody is of course very happy with Axe (Martin Axenrot, the new drummer, RG). He is a different, but awesome drummer who is as good as Lopez was, I think. His drumming style is simply very different from Lopez’s. At the moment Lopez is actually doing really good, his health is a lot better.
According to you, how has the Opeth sound gained from the addition of Axenrot?
I think it is very difficult to explain it, but on the ‘Watershed’ album Axenrot has really shown that he is capable of playing a lot of different styles, and that’s just great. And his blast beats are, of course, a new element within the sound of the band which we did not have before.
In a few words, what is the best thing about playing together with Axenrot?
He is just really, really tight, but he still has a lot of groove while being tight, so that is excellent. People think he is a robot, so that probably says enough.
And about playing with Per Wiberg, Fredrik Akesson and finally Mikael Akerfeldt?
Per just really knows how to play keyboards in a metal band, you know. He is a really good musician and it really is an honour to play with him. Plus I really like the extra touch to Opeth’s sound that his playing has been giving ever since he was added. I think the older songs, from the albums before he was with us, now sound really better live. As for Fredrik, he is one of the best guitar players I have ever seen. He has good technique and can play really, really fast but at the same time he does it with good taste as well. There is still a lot of feeling in it as well, so he simply is the best! And Mikael, it has now been eleven years that I have been playing with him and it really is such an honour to play with such a great composer and guitarist. I am just happy to be playing with al of these guys, you know!
I saw that he sometimes teases you on stage with the fact that you cut your hair. I would like to end this interview with you giving the chance to say something nasty about him for a change.
Nah, I don’t really care about him doing that. And that’s also not the reason that I am growing my hair again, hehe. I just had to cut it back then, because I was tired of it and it had gotten really dirty from all the touring.
Ok, I see the RoadRunner lady giving me my signal, so thanks a lot for your time and to end this interview. Do you perhaps have any last words for our readers?
I would just like to thank everyone for their support. And especially the Dutch crowds, of course, because this was the first show in the tour that sold out! Thanks again and see you soon!
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