AFTER BEING AROUND for nearly 20 years, Opeth can still claim to have never heard a statement like this: "Uh, guys, mmmmmm yeaaaah, I don't know if that funky chromatic keyboard solo in the middle of the otherwise death-a-licious 'Lotus Eater' tune really fits."
"Never said anything like that," laughed Mikael Akerfeldt, the main man behind the Opeth mind meld of prog-rock, folk music and Swedish death metal. "We never even had a record label executive tell us, 'Guys, we don't hear a single.' ... I think record label people, as personal lovers of music, they're as jaded with the metal scene as many other fans are. They're likely to get excited by a funky part in the middle of 10-minute death-metal song. ... When Roadrunner heard ['The Lotus Eater'] they said, "That's really cool." But the label never advised us. ... Besides, we've been around for almost 20 years now, so why should we take advice now?"
Opeth shouldn't, which is why they're able to create labyrinthine songs such as "The Lotus Eater" from 2008's all-over-the-map headtrip "Watershed." It's a stunningly diverse album, almost to the point of distraction, but give it enough spins and the CD's intense and immense artistry becomes the focus of your ears' attention, not its restless changes. Akerfeldt spoke to Express about the influence of Dream Theater on Opeth, concept records, whether a "Metalocalypse" character is based on him and the suicide of an ex-girlfriend who inspired three of the bleaker tracks on "Watershed."
» EXPRESS: Last time you played D.C. you were opening for Dream Theater. Were they ever an influence on Opeth?
» AKERFELDT: We started with death metal and moved on to a hybrid of everything else; there were never as into extreme music, so we come from completely different backgrounds. But they were very influential to me in the early days of this band. Basically, I was looking for a new and contemporary band playing something more intricate, and in the early days there weren't many of those bands around. I was mostly listening to older bands like Yes and Genesis and King Crimson and those types of bands, and once I discovered Dream Theater it was a bit of a revelation for me because they were mixing metal with influences from the '70s. So, it's fair to say they were a pretty big influence in the early days.
» EXPRESS: I've heard you say "Watershed" isn't a concept record, but had I never heard you say that, I would be convinced it is one.
» AKERFELDT: It has the flow of a concept record — and in a way it's not a concept record but in another way it is. They lyrics are about my own experiences this time around and how I've changed since I became a dad. It just changed me completely, like I got a new set of eyes. But it's not a fictional story like a generic concept record; it's not about a character. Before you become a dad, you never figure how it's going to change you, but it does; it's the same with everyone I talk to who has kids. This new chamber of emotions opens up that you didn't really know existed before — and all of the sudden you're sitting in front of the television crying because of the things going on in the world. [Laughs]
» EXPRESS: Some of the songs that mention children are quite dark. Is this you expressing fear for them?
» AKERFELDT: In a way they are, but some of those songs you're referring to — like "Hessian Peel" [and] "Hex Omega" — they were inspired by a [former] girlfriend who committed suicide while I was in the studio. ... She had a son who was the same age as my oldest daughter, so it was a pretty big source of inspiration to me to write about that; I ended up writing three songs.
» EXPRESS: Does her family know you wrote these songs about her?
» AKERFELDT: I never really talked about it, to be honest. I haven't mentioned it at all in interviews. We weren't in touch anymore. We were together for a couple of months, and I always kept track of what she was doing and that she became a mother. But when we were together, she always had really deep problems. I think she was on Lithium and she was very depressed; she was always like that. I always heard what was happening with her because my mother and her mother were friends — they worked at the same place. ... And there was never any good news, but when I heard she had her kid I was really happy about that and hoping that she'd pull together, if not for herself then for her kid. Next thing you know she was dead. She was a very complex person.
» EXPRESS: How much of "Watershed" was written while you were in the studio?
» AKERFELDT: We've done a few albums [2002's "Deliverance" and "Damnation"] where we basically just went into the studio with nothing and wrote everything in the studio. But it got to the point where it was a little bit too much work for me, and I became mentally and physically ill doing it that way. ... Those two albums almost killed off the band, to be honest, but luckily we had a few cool songs come out of it. ... I thought it was a very cool idea before we started on [two records at once], but afterward I was like, "Never again." ... So, for the last two albums [including 2005's "Ghost Reveries"], I did most of the writing in my house. ... Strangely enough, my idea for the next album is to do a Mastodon-type of project. A totally blown-out-of-proportion triple-album [laughs]. I dunno why. An epic album.
» EXPRESS: But you haven't started writing it yet?
» AKERFELDT: I'm one of those guys who can't really write on the road, and we've been on tour for a year now and we'll be touring until early next year and then we'll go on a break and I'll start writing. But I'm feeling the itch to write now. ... If I get an idea, I'll record it onto my cell phone, but generally I don't have the inspiration on tour. It's a completely uncreative way of life.
» EXPRESS: Finally, have you seen "Metalocalypse" yet and can you confirm that the character Toki Wartooth is based on you?
» AKERFELDT: I've seen it. I don't think he looks anything like me, but that's what a lot of bands are telling me. I didn't know the cartoon or the band or anything, then all the sudden I get this MySpace message from somebody called Toki Wartooth, and it looked like an official type of thing. But he was writing in a very weird language, like a cross between English and a Germanic language, but all switched around. And I kept thinking, "What the fuck's wrong with this guy?" I kept asking, "Who is this?" And he kept saying, "It's Toki! It's Toki!" So, I never knew who it was e-mailing me; he just pretended to be this character all the time. Eventually I asked him, "I hear you're me, basically." And that guy said, "Yes." I can't say for sure, but that's what the guy told me. I've seen it now; I got the DVD from a fan. But I don't think he looks like me; his mustache doesn't look like mine. ... I thought it was quite funny, though I haven't watched the whole thing. But if the guy is based on me, I'm quite honored.
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