In July of 2001, when Opeth toured the US for the first time, I was lucky enough to see them. Doubly lucky, actually, because I saw them twice: once at their debut performance at the Milwaukee Metalfest and the second time at the Hard Rock Café in Chicago, where we had arranged to meet up with them before the show. They had heard that it was going to be a video guitar lesson/interview, but I don't think they realized exactly what that meant (few do). So when we showed up with video cameras and asked, 'Where should we setup?' It was a bit of a surprise. There was no place quiet enough at the venue, so I eventually convinced the band that we should just go to our office, which was less than a mile away.I recall meeting Peter (Lindgren) first and asking him if he would like to get Mikael (Akerfeldt) and Martin (Lopez) to come along as well. He agreed and went to find them. I listened to him conversing with them, in Swedish of course, trying to explain what we were proposing to do. The only word I heard repeatedly was 'spiele' which was accompanied each time by a little air guitar. I'm guessing that meant 'to play.' Then Martin or Mike would reply, 'Spiele?' Peter would nod and soon we had the three of them, Michael, Martin, and Peter along with two guitars (Martin used a cheap bass from our office) and we were ready to go. I hailed a cab and we were off.
We arrived at the office minutes later and unloaded. I can only imagine what the doorman was thinking as 6 long hairs in T-shirts walked in carrying guitars and headed to the 21st floor of our building, which was filled primarily with lawyers in suits, toupees, and shiny shoes.
When we were setting up the amps, and I was adjusting the distortion and trying to coax some mediocre tone from the little practice amps that we were using for the shoot, Michael said, 'I think we should do it clean. It will be easier for people to hear and understand what we're playing.' How many metal bands do you know that have the confidence in their music, which is normally heard distorted, to play it on the clean channel for a video? That statement spoke volumes to me. The video lesson that followed was in my humble opinion, one of the best we ever shot, and now you finally get to see it.
For those of you who have never heard of Opeth, they are a four-piece from Sweden that play progressive rock/metal. Most people think Dream Theater when they hear the term progressive metal, but I assure you, they sound nothing like Dream Theater. I guess a layman's recipe for Opeth could be to take a base of Metallica and Iron Maiden and sprinkle in some '70s era prog-rock like Trick of the Tale era Genesis, or maybe Rush, and then add in equal parts of growling and singing, and you would start to get the taste of Opeth. But really, their sound is all their own. If you're into heavy music, you owe it to yourself to check out this band.
For those of you who have been enlightened, I recently had another opportunity to speak with one of Opeth's guitarists, Peter Lindgren, about their new album Deliverance, and about the state of metal today. Check it out, and then watch the videos!
Guitar.com: I listened to the new album a little bit and I'm very excited about it. It seems a little heavier than Blackwater Park.
Peter Lindgren: It is. You know we really tried to avoid doing a Blackwater Park Part II. It would have been really easy just to do a simple follow-up, but we really wanted to do something different. That's why. You know that we were recording two albums?
Guitar.com: Yeah, I had heard rumors on the Internet that it was gonna be one album that was really heavy, and then the other was gonna be mainly acoustic. Is that true?
Lindgren: That's basically true, you know, that album you've got in your hands now, it is heavier than Blackwater Park, for example. But the other album is really mellow; kind of '70s kind of production, sounds like it was recorded in 1971 almost.
Guitar.com: So did you record them in different studios and everything?
Lindgren: No, we actually recorded at the same time, we recorded both at the same time, and we just changed the production. When we recorded the drums for Deliverance, for example, we just took the kit down and put it up again, changed the microphones a lot so it would sound different. And when we recorded that, then we went on to the guitars and so on, and did that throughout the whole record session. So we sort of recorded two albums in the same amount of time used to record one, which is a nightmare.
Guitar.com: Did you record one on a digital medium and the other one on analog, or are they both digital?
Lindgren: They were recorded exactly the same way, but we mixed down the individual recordings, the recording procedures, but there was no intention that was really to the production in any sense. We recorded the drums on analog tapes, but we probably wouldn't do it again because it caused us problems. The drum production was done on analog tapes, and then the rest more or less is digital. It's just that the sound, even though the clean guitars and vocals on the mellow album were recorded digitally, Steven Wilson is mixing it and he's mixing it in a different way than Andy Sneap, who [mixed] Deliverance.
Guitar.com: Do you have a title for the second part yet?
Lindgren: Yeah, we do, it's called Damnation.
Guitar.com: That's a little different; I'd expect the heavier album to be called Damnation.
Lindgren: Yeah, I know. That's on purpose of course. But it's a good thing, because I think you know if we had called the heavy one Damnation and this mellow one Deliverance it would have been a bit obvious. We just chose to swap them around.
Guitar.com: That's cool. Do you have any moments that you're particularly fond of on the new album? Is there one song that's your favorite?
Lindgren: It usually differs a bit whenever I listen to it. At the moment I think 'Master's Apprentice' is my favorite song. At first it was probably 'Deliverance', but it changes. One song that really came out better than I expected was 'By the Pain I See in Others', the last song. We were a bit worried about that song because we experimented so much with this circus kind of riff in the middle of the song and we didn't exactly know what to do with it but I think it came out really good in the end. Usually we just write the basics before we enter the studio and then we experiment a lot, so it's always like we don't know what's gonna come out in the end when we record things. When I get back home after recording, I'm as excited as any Opeth fan when I get the new album because I don't know exactly what's on there.
Guitar.com: I really like 'Deliverance', that's one of my favorite tracks, and it seems as though you've incorporated some of the more modern styles into that song. Specifically, at the end, that very syncopated, sort-of off-time riff was that a conscious effort, or is that something that just came out? The palm-muted, chunky stuff like that is very popular right now, especially with Meshuggah and other bands like that. Was that something you were going for?
Lindgren: No, not really, we wanted to do a heavy album but Mike wrote that riff and he was just playing around with it. He had this drum machine and was just playing around and he came up with this drum thing, and then he started playing to it and just tried to do something to it. But you know, the palm-muting thing, it's not all over the album or anything, and we don't ever have plans to try to do like copies of something else. We didn't want to do a palm-muted album or anything. It's just that that's a good riff so we thought we should put it on the album. The idea was to have it as a fade-out actually and that's why it's so long, so we just recorded three minutes of it in order to be able to fade it out. But while listening to it we got sort of hypnotized almost because it just sort of repeats itself and you get confused when you hear it almost and hypnotized. So we thought, why not keep it as it is? And it's really long, you get hypnotized almost when you hear it.
Guitar.com: It's a really great riff. I really like the guitar behind it too, that's playing the octave, sort of strumming.
Lindgren: Yeah, we usually put names on our riffs and bits and pieces, and that one is called 'Skeleton'. And the guitar breaks before everything breaks out, that's where we tried to f&%k up the sound a bit so it would sound almost bad, but it reminds me of a skeleton or something so we just named it 'Skeleton'.
Guitar.com: That's very cool, I noticed the one track, 'For Absent Friends', that's a very powerful and moving song, and probably my second favorite. It's amazing to me how you guys can write heavy music that's also beautiful. I know that sounds a little bizarre, but that piece is so strong, you could almost just play that on the radio, but at the same time it's got a really dark feel to it that makes it Opeth, and nobody else plays like that.
Lindgren: Aw, thank you.
[Author's Note: Something that struck me when we filmed the video, and again when I did this interview, was/is how humble and personable they were/are. Talking to them is as easy as talking to a friend you've had for years. They make you feel welcome and as though they're as excited to be talking to a fan as you are to be talking to one of the greatest bands on the planet. They truly deserve their success on every level.]
Guitar.com: How do you guys, specifically with the clean pieces, go about coming up with the textures? There are so many different layers of guitar in there; it creates such a complex sound.
Lindgren: It's different. Sometimes you know if it's a good riff, it could be all done as soon as you write it but there's also sometimes when we experiment a lot. I mean the basics are always written, like I said, but we could think that, 'We have the basics, now we should do something on top', for example, maybe a lead or something. And then we just plug the guitar in and try to find a good sound, and just see what comes out, you know? It's a good way to work because in the studio, you always have a great sound compared to when you're home, in your home-studio kind of thing where it doesn't sound really good, so you don't know if it's really good or if it's good but not great. So most of the times we write the basics at home, then we add something on top, which is done in the studio with just experimental things almost, and in that way we just catch the moment. But we always strive for the same thing in the band, we like the same kind of music, all of us, and we always like the deflective sound.
Guitar.com: How long did you spend recording this album?
Lindgren: We recorded two albums at the same time. We recorded Damnation and Deliverance through out the whole recording. The recording for both albums was seven weeks, and then we mixed Deliverance for ten days, and Damnation, the mellow album, is not mixed yet so that's probably gonna be ten more days. Mixing and recording would be ten weeks I think. But that's for two albums. On average it's like five weeks per album, which is shorter than whatever we've done in a couple albums now.
Guitar.com: So, Blackwater Park for example, was longer than five weeks?
Lindgren: Blackwater Park was seven weeks including mixing, and I think that My Arms Your Hearse was about five and a half weeks, including mixing.
Guitar.com: So it's not too far off?
Lindgren: No, the thing was the recording in itself was longer than previously, it's just that we decided we should do two albums. And when I look back at it, I'm glad that we did it, and I really am satisfied with what we've done, you know? Both albums sound totally great to me; it's just that [since we were] recording two albums at the same time it turned out that we had to work twice as hard as we usually do so we're never going to record two albums at the same time again.
Guitar.com: Blackwater Park definitely sounds different from all of the other Opeth albums, if just in production quality it's a little more 'poppy', whereas this one sounds a little more like classic Opeth. I noticed on this album you went back to producing it yourselves, whereas the last one was done with the guy from Porcupine Tree, is that correct?
Lindgren: Yeah, the thing is he was co-producing the vocals? here's the story, it's a bit of a long story. Steven Wilson was co-producing both vocals and lead guitars on Blackwater Park, as well as doing that on this album. The thing is that on Blackwater Park we recorded and mixed in a studio called Studio Fredman, which is the same studio as all the Gothenburg bands record in. So we did the mixing and everything there. This time, we started in another studio, so we sort of almost did everything on our own. And then we recorded a couple weeks in Fredman, and then we mixed it with Andy Sneap in Nottingham. So all in all, Fredrik Nordström, who is in charge of Fredman, doesn't have anything to do with this album except that we borrowed his studio for three weeks. This is probably what makes it sound heavier than before, and Andy Sneap's mixing qualities are just a bit different than Fredrik Nordström's. So it's got a rougher production and it's heavier. I sort of like the Blackwater Park production but the 'poppiness', if you will, that has nothing much to do with Steven Wilson I think. He was just producing the vocals, but he didn't have much to do with the overall sound, we mixed it with Fredrik Nordström. I think it's Fredrik Nordström's mixing that comes through in Blackwater Park, and it's Andy Sneap's mixing that comes through in Deliverance. I think I like this more, it's a bit rougher and heavier.
Guitar.com: Who writes more of the heavy stuff, you or Mike?
Lindgren: I know that when we started writing music together, he came from the death metal part of metal and I came from thrash metal so I was more into the palm-muting thing, if you will. So I think he was the one who wrote the death metal kind of riffs. There was a time when I wrote more heavy stuff, but now it's like it switches off back and forth. But really he's writing most of the material nowadays in total anyway. Both of us really like the heavy stuff. People ask us, 'Are you going to abandon the death metal vocals? Are you going to abandon the clean parts?' or whatever but I think both of us really like both parts of our music; both the screaming death metal thing and the progressive '70s kind of moody style, almost singer-songwriter stuff. I think none of us is heavier in the approach of songwriting than the other, but I could say that he writes most of the material and the heavy stuff is his thing and that's why I love the clean and soft parts I think.
Guitar.com: Do you feel like the line-up is pretty solid now? I know it's been the same for the last couple of albums. Is everybody getting along well, does everything seem to be going OK?
Lindgren: Yes, we have a great band. It feels like a band. We have a great feeling between ourselves. We're really good friends and everything. I think when we recorded Orchid and Morningrise, in those years we had a solid three-piece. It was Me, Mikael, and the drummer. It was the bass player that was a bit he wasn't in the band, as a band member almost, he started as a session-musician. We had a good band-feeling at the time but this time with these four, we have a good band-feeling between the four and the whole band is much more in harmony. We've been touring and people tell us that we seem to get so well along, you know, we never fight or anything, we're just like four brothers that go well along. And I think that shines through in the music and I also say that when we're on tour you know, if you like the people you play with, I think you perform better. There are always occasions, say like Van Halen or whatever, if people don't get along, you can feel that there's like a tension in the air maybe. But I think we get really well along, and I think that in the same way you can feel that when you see us live, for example.
Guitar.com: I remember when I saw you guys for the first time at Metalfest in Milwaukee, I remember just being so impressed with how easily I could tell you guys were having a great time on stage. And there are so many bands that get up in front of people and try to put on an image like they're really mad or angry or whatever, and you guys were just having a great time. And like you said, it really comes across.
Lindgren: Another thing about that is that we don't have much of an image, you know? We don't have to do something before we get up on stage, all we do is tell the other guys, 'Good luck'. And then you're onstage. We're the same people onstage as we are outside the stage. That helps, and I also think it helps that Milwaukee was a special gig because it was the first American gig and the reception was fantastic, we didn't expect it. We were sort of surprised in a positive way. I didn't expect so many people to show up at the gig, none of us did. But it's the same even if we're playing the 22nd gig on the tour, you know? I think it's just about enjoying yourselves. There's no point for us trying to look angry, because we're just ourselves on stage. And it helps so much if you like the rest of the guys, and if the audience is good, that's all there is to it.
Guitar.com: What are you listening to nowadays, what do you have in your CD player at home?
Lindgren: I listen to Damnation of course, because I got a rough mix of it, its not mixed yet. There's this one album that's out in the U.S., it's not going to be released in Europe until next year. It's the new Porcupine Tree album, In Absentia one of the best albums I've ever heard I think. Steven Wilson always surprises you with how good he is. You think when you meet him that he's a genius, and then he puts out the new album and it's even better than you ever could have expected. I got the new 16 Horsepower album.
Guitar.com: I love that CD, Folklore, right? That's a great disc. I have all their albums.
Lindgren: Yeah, someone recommended them to me a couple of years ago. He just saw them live and he was just blown away by their performance on stage and he said to me, 'You have to listen to this band' and I was like, 's&%t?' and I really want to see them live, I haven't had the opportunity yet. They're one of my favorite bands, people don't know about them, but I think they're one of the best bands around. There's another band I really like, who just put out a new album this week which I haven't heard'I saw it on the Internet and there was one song that I downloaded which didn't sound so good. But the first three albums by this band they're called The Black Heart Procession, an American band. They're really sort of lo-fi almost. They've got a lot of nerve in their music. That's what I listen to at the moment, of new bands. But I always go back to my old records, what I listened to during the '80s and '70s.
Guitar.com: You mentioned you were from a thrash background, what are some of your thrash influences?
Lindgren: Metallica, of course. I have the same base of music as the rest of the guys in the band, especially Mike, we grew up in the same kind of music like Iron Maiden and stuff but we both turned onto the heavier kind of music, but whereas he turned onto death metal first, I turned onto Metallica and those kinds of bands. And then I discovered death metal later on, but that was Entombed and Morbid Angel, those kinds of bands. I went through my thrash metal collection, it's just a part of time, a period of my life where I listened to thrash metal but when I look back at it, most of it is really bad, you know? There's some really good bands, like Metallica, Testament but there's so many bad bands, and I didn't understand that at the time. I just loved the palm-muting riffing, all that, but mostly it's crap.
Guitar.com: It's interesting to me how a scene stagnates as it fills with imitation bands. Much of the new extreme metal sound is similar to In Flames and Soilwork, and I think At the Gates started it when they put out Slaughter of the Soul. The release of that album ushered in a new sound, and then a bunch of bands started expanding on that. In Flames and Soilwork have sort of honed that into their sound, but I'm really surprised at how their sound, at least the production, on their last two albums has become very 'nu-metal'.
Lindgren: Yeah, I know! I heard the new album and I've heard all about the nu-metal influence and everything, with Slipknot and everything. It wasn't as much nu-metal as I had expected. The thing with In Flames and those kinds of bands like Soilwork, Dark Tranquility they're all from the same town, Gothenburg, and they know each other so well, they've all been in the same bands, they switched members in the early years, and I think they listen a lot to each other and sort of influence each other. Whereas for example, I think we don't sound like them. I know them now because we've been recording in Gothenburg but I don't listen to other death metal bands that are rivals, you know? Because I'm not really interested, I'm not up-to-date in what's going on in the death metal scene. It's just that, you hear bands when you tour with them and so on, and I think, not many bands are really good. It's not that I think we're so much better than everybody else, which maybe sometimes I do, it's just that most bands, and I'm not just speaking of In Flames or anything, but most bands in the death metal scene seem to get stuck in the same thing that they've been doing for several years. When they try to do new stuff, they just look to their closest neighbor or whatever. They look at charts, and with charts it's just about nu- metal, nu-metal. It's pretty obvious that most bands, when they get stuck they try to find a new way and it's like 'What's going on right now?' They can't do much or anything because they haven't done it in their early years, but I think it's dangerous when you start to look at other kinds of music to try to find out what you should have [figured out] yourself, you know?
Guitar.com: I think that's a great piece of advice to musicians who are trying to make it. Along that same line, what advice would you give to musicians who are trying to make it as a band? Has anybody given you any advice that has helped you make it and succeed, or like when things weren't going so well that kept you coming back to it?
Lindgren: The thing that I really think of is like a cliché almost. I think you should try to always listen to different kinds of music, but I think you should also try to make something on your own out of it. I mean, there's nothing wrong with being influenced by stuff, we're influenced by all these bands, different bands, but the thing is, try to step out of what you think that people are gonna like. Try to just do whatever you feel is really good, even though people might not understand it in the beginning or whatever, even if people think it's crap, you shouldn't pay attention to that. You should just continue doing what you like, because if you like what you're doing, I think it turns out good. Rather than just trying to copy something that you like, yet you know that it's been done before but you try to do it anyway there's no point, because it's been done before. Everybody is an individual and I think everybody's got something that's really unique. So just try to do what you really like, no matter if people say to you that it's crap or whatever, just continue doing it, cause it's gonna be good at some point cause it's what you really like doing. So I would say just be yourself just like a cliché, isn't it?
Guitar.com: It's so surprising to me how frequently overlooked that is, and that's one of the main criteria that I look for in music that I listen to: originality. That's why, if I had to pick one band to call my favorite, I would probably choose Opeth. No one sounds like Opeth, at all.
Lindgren: Like 16 Horsepower, they're totally unique and there are no bands that sound like them, and especially they haven't tried to sound like someone else. They sound like they want to sound, and they probably are influenced by loads of bands or whatever, but they did something unique out of that. And I think that shines through so easily in music, if you try to copy stuff or if you try to do it your own way, you can see that I think.
Guitar.com: I agree completely. Have you had any embarrassing moments onstage, or any horror stories from the road? Anything that's particularly amusing or something that you can look back on and say, 'Oh man we lost our guitars, we had to borrow some?' Anything like that?
Lindgren: We did this U.S. tour last year (2001) and we played Topeka, Kansas, and just 42 people came. We figured that there were too few people so we couldn't go up and headbang, you know? We just couldn't, so we sort of went up onstage and said 'Hello' to the people, 'We're just gonna do this show now'. So we just were standing there, sort of almost rehearsing and there was like a communication, even more than we usually communicate with the audience. This was like us and them, because there were as many people in the crowd as there was on stage almost. And that was in all consideration, because we didn't know what to do onstage so we did nothing, you know? But I think, we told the audience that there's so few people out but we're gonna play for you anyway but we have to do it in some other way. So we just were standing there, and I think they enjoyed it because we communicated with them all the time. There was another point during the European tour, Mike lost his voice, he caught a cold. When he was supposed to sing the clean vocals, his voice sounded like a witch, and that ruined everything and was really embarrassing onstage. The next day was Hamburg, and his voice was worse, but we said, 'We're gonna do the show we'd put up signs in the door? 'We're gonna do the show, Mike is not gonna sing. We're gonna have guest vocals'. We were doing this tour with Katatonia and Novembre the Italian band, we made the two guys from Katatonia join us and they each did a song on their own for us, and the two guys from Novembre, the drummer and the vocalist, each of them sang a song for us, as well, you know? So we did the songs with guest vocalists, and three of the songs were instrumental. That was probably the most strange gig we've ever played. Mike was just standing on the left hand side of the stage like I do cause he didn't have to sing, and Anders of Katatonia was screaming death vocals, that was really, really different. I think nobody left when they read the sign in the door, and it's almost like a classic gig now, you can read about it on the Internet.
Guitar.com: That sounds like an amazing show.
Lindgren: Yeah I wouldn't want to do it again because I had to host the show. But it was really fun when I look back at it, that?s probably the most awkward gig we've ever done.
Guitar.com: Sounds like a classic moment. Thanks a lot for your time, Peter.
Lindgren: Thank you.
Showing posts with label 2002. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2002. Show all posts
Saturday, 14 December 2002
Thursday, 12 December 2002
Peter Lindgren - Interview by Keith McDonald (12 Dec 2002)
Death metal pioneers Opeth have returned with a more aggressive, brutal offering of epic proportions, Deliverance, via Koch Records. Their second release, and sixth overall, through the Koch/Music For Nations venture, finds the Swedish thrashers expanding their horizons musically. After the more commercially acceptable Blackwater Park, Opeth return to their death metal roots. The band has made a name for themselves since emerging from the metal scene in Stockholm in 1990. I had the opportunity to speak with Peter Lindgren while he was in New York City, who filled me in on the band and it’s newest metal offering.
Do you find it harder for European metal acts like yourself to break in North America where fans are so fickle?
We’re not sure what’s going on in N. America because it’s so far away. N. America is bigger than all of Europe. It’s probably harder, I guess.
How would you compare European metal bands to that of N. American bands? Is there much of a difference?
Music-wise there is a difference. In the U.S. it’s more of people having one direction, wider perspective and range. A different approach than in Europe, I think. Nu-metal is really big in the U.S. while in Europe it’s one of several things to do (metal-wise).
Speaking of the two scenes, how would you compare the two?
I think for us we have a good fanbase in N. America. It’s a bit separated in Europe, good in some countries and not so good in certain countries. I think for us we have an equal fanbase. I think we’ve been just breaking ground in N. America where as in Europe it’s been building up for some time.
How would you describe your music?
Considering we have screaming vocals, I would say it’s pretty extreme. It’s like heavy metal but it’s still progressive, diverse and dynamic. You can call it several types of genres, I think. I’d say it’s really diverse, extreme metal.
I think a lot of people feel that death metal is all the same with fast beats and screaming vocals. What would you say to this stereotype?
Death metal, it’s a genre. But still it could be more. We’re not just a death metal band - we’re more than that. I think if you’re into death metal it’s more than screaming vocals and double kick drums. If you’re really into extreme metal than death metal is extreme.
After listening to the new album I noticed that even though the material is fast and extreme, it does have tastes of some type of commercialism, especially with the guitars. Was that the idea or something that came naturally?
I think this material is heavier than Blackwater Park but I think there are commercial aspects or parts. I haven’t done it from a commercial point of view, it’s just we like the music and like to incorporate certain genres into our music. I would say Deliverance is a non-commercial album and more aggressive.
That leads me to my next question. What is the major difference between Blackwater Park and Deliverance?
Blackwater Park, production and songwriting-wise, was easier to get into, more like a hit record from our point of view. This Deliverance album is heavier and more aggressive and darker, music-wise and production-wise.
How much creative control did you have on this album, and how did it help?
We booked the studio and had to do everything ourselves. The only thing we didn’t do was put the microphones on the equipment. This is the album where we has the most input, but that wasn’t our intention. We didn’t mean to or want to do it on our own. We had to trust ourselves. It’s not a good thing because it’s a risk we had to take. It could have turned out bad at the end of the day.
Do you think that death metal has a ceiling as to how high it can go, and a band can only sell a certain amount of records? Or could a band from your genre break like Metallica did?
If you asked me five years ago I would have said no. Metallica is a good example. Nobody thought they would break as they did. But death metal has been around for so many years. People have trouble with the screaming vocals and I think that’s the main problem besides the heaviness. If you look at nu-metal it’s breaking everywhere because they don’t scream.
You are songs are of epic proportions. You pretty much guarantee yourselves little or no airplay from radio. Was that the idea?
I think we made the decision when we started the band. We chose the artistic freedom to do what we want. Long songs are what we are paying for now. If we wrote pop songs we’d sell five times as many records. This is all about being in a band that we enjoy doing music we really love. I think we’ve lost something commercially but we’ve also gained something on the other side.
With the Internet, are there more outlets for death metal?
A couple of years ago there were no college radio stations that played our music. It’s getting bigger. It’s expanding all over the States.
How has the Music For Nations label change from Candlelight affected the band? I see you’ve gained some momentum since leaving. Do you agree?
Candlelight was an underground label that was good for us to start with. They really took care of us, but they were limited. Once Music For Nations took over, things started happening. It was good for us to change at that time. We had been around for awhile and have a fanbase already. Has we been still on Candlelight we wouldn’t be here today, still be in Sweden playing small clubs. I think Music For Nations is the perfect label for us.
Would you ever consider moving to a major label the way Cradle of Filth did?
I don’t know. We still have our contract with Music For Nations. Unless somebody comes in and buys out the contract. I can’t see it happening unless we sell a shit-load of records.
What are the tour plans and will you hits S. America?
The tour plans are being drawn. We’re gonna do a world tour that will include S. America for the first time. Not sure when, portably next year. We’ve been offered shows from every country in S. America including Equador and Bolivia. I can’t promise anything because I’m not sure.
Do you find it harder for European metal acts like yourself to break in North America where fans are so fickle?
We’re not sure what’s going on in N. America because it’s so far away. N. America is bigger than all of Europe. It’s probably harder, I guess.
How would you compare European metal bands to that of N. American bands? Is there much of a difference?
Music-wise there is a difference. In the U.S. it’s more of people having one direction, wider perspective and range. A different approach than in Europe, I think. Nu-metal is really big in the U.S. while in Europe it’s one of several things to do (metal-wise).
Speaking of the two scenes, how would you compare the two?
I think for us we have a good fanbase in N. America. It’s a bit separated in Europe, good in some countries and not so good in certain countries. I think for us we have an equal fanbase. I think we’ve been just breaking ground in N. America where as in Europe it’s been building up for some time.
How would you describe your music?
Considering we have screaming vocals, I would say it’s pretty extreme. It’s like heavy metal but it’s still progressive, diverse and dynamic. You can call it several types of genres, I think. I’d say it’s really diverse, extreme metal.
I think a lot of people feel that death metal is all the same with fast beats and screaming vocals. What would you say to this stereotype?
Death metal, it’s a genre. But still it could be more. We’re not just a death metal band - we’re more than that. I think if you’re into death metal it’s more than screaming vocals and double kick drums. If you’re really into extreme metal than death metal is extreme.
After listening to the new album I noticed that even though the material is fast and extreme, it does have tastes of some type of commercialism, especially with the guitars. Was that the idea or something that came naturally?
I think this material is heavier than Blackwater Park but I think there are commercial aspects or parts. I haven’t done it from a commercial point of view, it’s just we like the music and like to incorporate certain genres into our music. I would say Deliverance is a non-commercial album and more aggressive.
That leads me to my next question. What is the major difference between Blackwater Park and Deliverance?
Blackwater Park, production and songwriting-wise, was easier to get into, more like a hit record from our point of view. This Deliverance album is heavier and more aggressive and darker, music-wise and production-wise.
How much creative control did you have on this album, and how did it help?
We booked the studio and had to do everything ourselves. The only thing we didn’t do was put the microphones on the equipment. This is the album where we has the most input, but that wasn’t our intention. We didn’t mean to or want to do it on our own. We had to trust ourselves. It’s not a good thing because it’s a risk we had to take. It could have turned out bad at the end of the day.
Do you think that death metal has a ceiling as to how high it can go, and a band can only sell a certain amount of records? Or could a band from your genre break like Metallica did?
If you asked me five years ago I would have said no. Metallica is a good example. Nobody thought they would break as they did. But death metal has been around for so many years. People have trouble with the screaming vocals and I think that’s the main problem besides the heaviness. If you look at nu-metal it’s breaking everywhere because they don’t scream.
You are songs are of epic proportions. You pretty much guarantee yourselves little or no airplay from radio. Was that the idea?
I think we made the decision when we started the band. We chose the artistic freedom to do what we want. Long songs are what we are paying for now. If we wrote pop songs we’d sell five times as many records. This is all about being in a band that we enjoy doing music we really love. I think we’ve lost something commercially but we’ve also gained something on the other side.
With the Internet, are there more outlets for death metal?
A couple of years ago there were no college radio stations that played our music. It’s getting bigger. It’s expanding all over the States.
How has the Music For Nations label change from Candlelight affected the band? I see you’ve gained some momentum since leaving. Do you agree?
Candlelight was an underground label that was good for us to start with. They really took care of us, but they were limited. Once Music For Nations took over, things started happening. It was good for us to change at that time. We had been around for awhile and have a fanbase already. Has we been still on Candlelight we wouldn’t be here today, still be in Sweden playing small clubs. I think Music For Nations is the perfect label for us.
Would you ever consider moving to a major label the way Cradle of Filth did?
I don’t know. We still have our contract with Music For Nations. Unless somebody comes in and buys out the contract. I can’t see it happening unless we sell a shit-load of records.
What are the tour plans and will you hits S. America?
The tour plans are being drawn. We’re gonna do a world tour that will include S. America for the first time. Not sure when, portably next year. We’ve been offered shows from every country in S. America including Equador and Bolivia. I can’t promise anything because I’m not sure.
Monday, 2 December 2002
Mikael Åkerfeldt - Spanish interview by Staff (02 Dec 2002)
No quiero irme por las ramas soltando un rollo sociológico pero a comienzos del siglo XXI, con todos los avances tecnológicos conseguidos por el hombre y metidos de lleno en éso que tan pomposamente llaman la sociedad de la información y el conocimiento, me resulta increíble e impresentable ver la cantidad de talento malgastado. Es evidente que no todos valemos para cualquier cosa pero me parece repulsivo observar cómo la mediocridad se ha acabado imponiendo. Yo hablo de lo que sé y, por ejemplo, los medios de comunicación, la universidad o el deporte, están repletos de personajes que, si bien merecen un respeto, no creo que hayan reunido la capacidad necesaria para llegar hasta donde lo han hecho.
Sinceramente, esto no es un ejercicio de crítica nihilista ni nada por el estilo, sólo es una visión bastante realista, creo, del estado de la sociedad. La ética perdida, el talento oculto,... que pasara en la Edad Media tiene sentido pero ahora... Esta rollo viene a colación ya que cada vez que encuentras a gente especial, idónea para expresarse en el campo donde más destaca, sus actos te parecen una bendición. Cierto es que algunos por dejadez o desidia se quedaron a medio camino (en fútbol el caso más flagrante es el del salvadoreño "Mágico" González, ex-jugador del Cádiz) mas aquellos que llegan nos hacen disfrutar.
Mikael Akerfeldt, probablemente, no sería un buen jugador de hockey hielo; tampoco un gran orador; ni tan siquiera, quizá, un pertinaz cajero de banco. Sin embargo, es un excelente músico. Ha nacido para ello y, afortunadamente, todos podemos gozar de su talento en Opeth. Poco se puede añadir a lo dicho en estas páginas, directa o indirectamente, sobre ellos porque no me gustaría olvidar la importancia del guitarrista, Peter Lindgren, y esa sección rítmica charrúa compuesta por los "Martines", Méndez y López.
"Deliverance" es su sexto trabajo, nueva obra maestra. seis canciones en algo más de una hora que te dejan con la angustiosa sensación de necesitar una nueva dosis de sus composiciones, se te hace corto, quieres más. Esta vez la espera será más llevadera ya que en marzo se editará "Damnation", el anunciado álbum acústico, prueba definitiva para los suecos. Si logran otra joya alcanzarán el Monte Olimpo aunque, a estas alturas, pocos dudan de su versatilidad.
Mikael Akerfeldt es un tipo educado, correcto, de hablar pausado, en fin, muy sueco. No obstante, sus respuestas denotan cierto grado de timidez, prefiere expresarse con su música más que con la palabra. Aún así, pienso que esta entrevista es muy interesante y nos ayuda a conocer algo más de la personalidad de un genio (al menos, ésa es mi opinión).
CPT: Mikael, para empezar me gustaría que nos comentaras cuándo surgió la idea de componer dos discos.
MIKAEL AKERFELDT: Todo comienza tras la edición de "Blackwater Park". Al ser nuestro trabajo más exitoso, muchos pensaban que nos volveríamos más comerciales, algo que no me interesa para nada. Por contra, queríamos hacer algo especial. Fue un amigo el que nos sugirió la idea y, de hecho, me ayudó un montón porque no sabía exactamente qué dirección tomar. Por una parte, me apetecía componer algo heavy y extremo pero, por otra, sentía la necesidad de escribir canciones para guitarra acústica, melódicas. Así que el sacar estos dos discos ha supuesto una especie de alivio para mí.
¿Habéis grabado los dos al mismo tiempo?
Sí. Lo hicimos a la vez aunque separándolo en partes diferentes.
He leído en algunas entrevistas cómo expresabas tu satisfacción con la participación en la producción de "Blackwater Park" del cantante y guitarrista de Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson.
Totalmente. Para estos dos nuevos álbumes, él también ha colaborado con nosotros en la producción. Después, la mezcla final está hecha por Andy Sneap. Steven estuvo con nosotros 12 días y produjo las voces melódicas, algunos solos de guitarra y una parte de los teclados que aparecen en el disco acústico. Andy se ocupó más de la mezcla del álbum mas heavy.
¿Cómo es el proceso de creación de un tema de Opeth? ¿Te gusta trabajar una idea hasta conseguir una estructura perfecta para tus canciones?
No soy la persona indicada para decir si mis canciones tienen una estructura perfecta. (N. de R: Yo lo digo. Sí la tienen) Simplemente trabajo a partir de mis gustos personales. Ahora tengo un pequeño estudio en mi casa en el que puedo registrar las ideas que surgen. Esto me ha ayudado mucho para que haya cosas que no se me olviden. Un tema siempre comienza a partir de un trabajo de guitarra. Casi todos los días la cojo y empiezo a tocar. Hay veces que salen cosas y otras no. Cuando aparece algo que creo que es bueno, lo grabo y empiezo a experimentar con ello. Así junto gran cantidad de demos con grabaciones separadas.
La última parte del proceso es unir todas las piezas e intentar conseguir una cohesión en las mismas para alcanzar el objetivo de componer una canción. Anteriormente tenía que trasladarme a casa de algún amigo que tuviera un pequeño estudio. Por ello, elaborar este disco ha sido más fácil y cómodo.
Son casi cinco años con la misma formación. A pesar de que tú compones casi todo el material, ¿qué importancia tiene para ti haber conseguido la estabilidad?
Es esencial lograr ese sentimiento de unión en el grupo. Trabajas mejor si conoces a tus compañeros. Aunque yo compongo música y letras, es vital tener a gente alrededor que sea capaz de reflejar mis ideas en las canciones. Considero que el conocer a alguien en el plano personal ayuda mucho a aumentar el nivel musical porque sé exactamente qué puedo esperar de cada miembro, cuáles son sus habilidades, qué pueden aportar al conjunto. Además, encontrar a la gente adecuada no es sencillo, más en una banda como Opeth porque no ganamos mucho dinero y es un gran sacrificio dedicarse de pleno a la música. Hay gente que cree que tenemos mucha dinero, pero ser músico nunca suele proporcionarte aquello que esperabas cuando eras joven y tenías muchas proyectos e ilusiones. Es la gran mentira de la música.
Hablando del resto de la banda, el hecho de que haya dos uruguayos en el grupo, ¿influye en el conjunto?. No sé, quizá en establecer un contraste entre el carácter sudamericano y el escandinavo.
No lo sé, considero que en el plano musical no tenemos ninguna influencia de sus raíces. Sin embargo, su contribución más importante es que ellos viven en un barrio en Estocolmo donde hay mucha inmigración. La mayoría de sus amigos son gente que no son suecos, sobre todo gente venida de países árabes y, sinceramente, pienso que sí, que hay un ligero componente arábigo en su forma de tocar. Escucha "Bleak", el tema de "Blackwater Park", y te darás cuenta de ello. Martín López nos trajo en aquel momento una cinta de un famoso cantante árabe. Pues bien, le encanta la percusión que tienen sus canciones y, sin duda, le ha influido bastante.
Es difícil describir "Deliverance" en el contexto de vuestra trayectoria. Pienso que es otro paso más en una sucesión de obras maestras pero quizá tú puedas ayudarme a descubrir algún experimento nuevo que hayáis probado en el disco, si es que lo hay.
No sé, en cuestión de experimentación, "Damnation" se lleva la palma porque es algo que jamás habíamos hecho antes. "Deliverance" es también nuestro nuevo disco pero es más un trabajo clásico en la línea habitual de Opeth. Creo que hemos conseguido un sonido propio y el camino a seguir es trabajar bajo esos patrones. Puede que hayas cosas más extremas, otras más melódicas, pero la tónica general es similar. "Damnation" sí marca un nuevo estilo para Opeth. Sé que habrá gente a la que le impactará, para bien y para mal.
En la última canción del disco, al principio de la misma, cantas de una forma agresiva, alejada de tu estilo clásico gutural. ¿Veremos en el futuro esta "tercera vía" o simplemente la usas en este tema en particular?
Pienso que es más esto último porque la canción salió muy loca, muy extrema. El tema tenía un aura muy maligna y decidimos experimentar un poco con ella para conseguir una atmósfera fantasmal.
Vuestras letras suelen ser muy personales. ¿Cuáles son los principales temas de los que hablas en "Deliverance"?
La verdad es que escribí las letras muy rápido y poco tiempo antes de entrar a grabar. No sabía de qué hablar por lo que cogí situaciones sencillas que me hubieran pasado y, a partir de las mismas, comenzar a crear historias. Por ejemplo, el primer tema, "Wreath", habla de una serie de pesadillas que tenía cuando era pequeño. Es curioso porque no me acuerdo de demasiadas cosas de cuando era niño pero sí de estas pesadillas que me atormentaban en aquellos días. "Deliverance" está inspirada en un amigo que era demasiado maníaco. También hay otras, como "Master's Apprentices", que es tan personal que no la puedo explicar.
Al ser "Deliverance" y "Damnation" dos álbumes tan dispares, ¿cómo os planteáis la futura gira?
Haremos dos giras diferenciadas. En Enero y Febrero tocaremos por Europa presentando "Deliverance" y otros temas clásicos de nuestro repertorio. Cuando se edite en Marzo "Damnation" lo que vamos a hacer es una serie de conciertos exclusivos, no muchos, en locales pequeños en los que tocaremos únicamente temas de este disco y versiones arregladas de canciones melódicas de previos trabajos como "Harvest" o "Credence".
Por cierto, ¿en qué línea estarán las nuevas composiciones? ¿Serán temas largos o quizá canciones más cortas como, por ejemplo, las que aparecen en bonus Cd de "Blackwater Park"?
No puedo comparar lo que podréis escuchar en Deliverance con nada melódico que hayamos realizado anteriormente. Es difícil de explicar pero te diré que suena como si hubiera sido producido y realizado en los 70.
Cada vez se tiene que hacer más complicado la elección de canciones para los directos.
Es un horror. Por ello, ya sólo tocamos como cabezas de cartel, salvo en grandes festivales. La idea es que todos nuestros discos estén representados en directo porque no renegamos de nada de lo que hemos hecho en el pasado, pero es tan complicado decir qué tema sí y cuál no.
La primera vez que vi a Opeth fue en Barcelona en 1996 y el año pasado tuve oportunidad de presenciar vuestros conciertos en el Eurorock belga y en Bilbao. Ambos fueron increíbles. ¿Cómo lográis crear esa química en directo, encima apoyada por un excepcional sonido?
No siempre ocurre. Hay días en los que desde la primera nota, todo transcurre a la perfección. Sin embargo, en otras ocasiones es horrible. Es muy difícil controlar todos los aspectos de un concierto. Unas veces el local no es el ideal, otras no consigues dar con el sonido correcto,... No obstante, considero que el resultado de un concierto guarda mucha relación con el calor del público. Si desde el escenario notas ese entusiasmo te vienes arriba, independientemente de que el sonido no sea perfecto. A pesar de esto, habrás comprobado que no somos el grupo típico que trata de enardecer a la audiencia hablando con ella y esas cosas que se hacen. Preferimos concentrarnos en tocar música que para éso paga la gente que viene a verte.
Me gustaría preguntarte ahora acerca de un par de curiosidades que tengo. ¿Piensas que alguna de las canciones que has compuesto en tu carrera es mala?
No te diría que hay alguna canción que es totalmente mala. Lo que sí hay son bastantes partes que no me gustan. Siempre hay algo que me atrae de cada tema pero, por ejemplo, creo que "Night And The Silent Water", que se incluía en "Morningrise", debería haber quedado mejor. No sé cuál más. Es lo que te digo, en la mayoría de las canciones puede que cambiara algún pasaje.
¿Y qué me dices de las versiones que habéis hecho?
¿Me lo dices por el "Remember Tomorrow" de Iron Maiden, eh?. Lo reconozco, es muy mala, lamentable incluso. (risas)
Cuando se habla con Mikael Akerfeldt es ya un tópico preguntarte por la influencia que tiene en tu música el rock progresivo de los 70. No lo haré pero sí me gustaría saber si alguna vez te has planteado editar un disco con versiones de tus clásicos favoritos.
No, no creo que lo hiciera. Lo he comentado en alguna ocasión pero el problema es que no sabría qué temas escoger. Además, considero que para Opeth no es importante el asunto de la versiones. No obstante, para satisfacer tu curiosidad te diré que hemos grabado, en estas sesiones, una versión del "Soldier Of Fortune" de Deep Purple.
Un par de cuestiones personales. ¿Cuándo empezaste a tocar la guitarra?
Cuando tenía 10 u 11 años, creo. Ahora tengo 28.
¿Y cuándo te diste cuenta de que querías ser músico o que valías para esto?
Pienso que a finales de los 80 cuando formé mi primera banda. Era como un sueño para cualquiera que escuchara heavy metal el convertirse en un tío conocido por tocar música. El tener mi primera guitarra, el comenzar a tocar en un grupo, fue como darme cuenta de que ésas eran señales del destino.
Después de una larga gira, cuando vuelves a tu casa en Estocolmo, ¿necesitas desconectar de la música durante un tiempo o, por contra, rápidamente te pones a componer material nuevo?
No, no, me tomo un descanso ya sea tras una gira o tras una grabación. Cuando llego a casi siempre digo: "Odio la música". Necesito divertirme un poco con cosas que me distraigan de mi ocupación principal.
No te conozco pero, aparentemente pareces una persona tímida, reservada, ¿me equivoco?
No sé, tampoco soy muy tímido. Es a ratos, aunque está claro que no soy la persona más sociable del mundo. No siempre es así, a veces siento la necesidad de ir de fiesta pero la mayoría del tiempo me quedo absorto en mis pensamientos. Me ahorro mis esfuerzos para contestar a todas las entrevistas que me hace la prensa por eso el tiempo libre prefiero mantener mi boca cerrada. (risas)
Como siempre comento con algunos grupos, tiene que ser muy aburrido promocionar un nuevo trabajo.
Desde luego, no es lo más divertido del mundo pero forma parte del trabajo. Si quieres que tu banda sea conocida es inevitable. Además, apreciamos el apoyo que nos ofrecen los medios de comunicación.
Creo que tú eres el que te encargas de las entrevistas, ¿no?
No, no. Intentamos compaginarnos. Los dos "Martines" también contestan muchas, sobre todo, las que sean en español, lógicamente. Por ejemplo, si tú hubieras tenido otra hora programada, seguro que te tocaba con alguno de ellos. También Peter se ocupa de alguna.
Estamos terminando pero antes me gustaría que me contaras cuándo saldrá el disco de Bloodbath.
No lo sé seguro. Supongo que si consultas la web de Century Media encontrarás alguna noticia. No me han llegado promocionales por lo que no sé qué pasará.
¿Qué ocurre cuándo cuatro músicos de ese talento (N de R: Jonas Renkse y Anders Nyström de Katatonia, Dan Swanö, ex-Edge Of Sanity, y el propio Mikael) se reunen en una habitación?
La verdad es que esto no sucede a menudo. No he estado involucrado en la composición del disco. Jonas escribió tres temas, Anders otros tantos y Dan cuatro. Yo estuve muy liado con Opeth por lo que sólo tuve tiempo de pegar cuatro gritos para el álbum de Bloodbath.
Gritos, por supuesto, pero con gusto y precisión. A la espera de ver el lado más salvaje de estos cuatro portentos en Bloodbath, disfrutaremos mil y una veces con "Deliverance" hasta la edición en marzo de "Damnation". ¿Qué nueva sorpresa positiva nos deparará este increíble grupo?. Se acaban los calificativos.
Sinceramente, esto no es un ejercicio de crítica nihilista ni nada por el estilo, sólo es una visión bastante realista, creo, del estado de la sociedad. La ética perdida, el talento oculto,... que pasara en la Edad Media tiene sentido pero ahora... Esta rollo viene a colación ya que cada vez que encuentras a gente especial, idónea para expresarse en el campo donde más destaca, sus actos te parecen una bendición. Cierto es que algunos por dejadez o desidia se quedaron a medio camino (en fútbol el caso más flagrante es el del salvadoreño "Mágico" González, ex-jugador del Cádiz) mas aquellos que llegan nos hacen disfrutar.
Mikael Akerfeldt, probablemente, no sería un buen jugador de hockey hielo; tampoco un gran orador; ni tan siquiera, quizá, un pertinaz cajero de banco. Sin embargo, es un excelente músico. Ha nacido para ello y, afortunadamente, todos podemos gozar de su talento en Opeth. Poco se puede añadir a lo dicho en estas páginas, directa o indirectamente, sobre ellos porque no me gustaría olvidar la importancia del guitarrista, Peter Lindgren, y esa sección rítmica charrúa compuesta por los "Martines", Méndez y López.
"Deliverance" es su sexto trabajo, nueva obra maestra. seis canciones en algo más de una hora que te dejan con la angustiosa sensación de necesitar una nueva dosis de sus composiciones, se te hace corto, quieres más. Esta vez la espera será más llevadera ya que en marzo se editará "Damnation", el anunciado álbum acústico, prueba definitiva para los suecos. Si logran otra joya alcanzarán el Monte Olimpo aunque, a estas alturas, pocos dudan de su versatilidad.
Mikael Akerfeldt es un tipo educado, correcto, de hablar pausado, en fin, muy sueco. No obstante, sus respuestas denotan cierto grado de timidez, prefiere expresarse con su música más que con la palabra. Aún así, pienso que esta entrevista es muy interesante y nos ayuda a conocer algo más de la personalidad de un genio (al menos, ésa es mi opinión).
CPT: Mikael, para empezar me gustaría que nos comentaras cuándo surgió la idea de componer dos discos.
MIKAEL AKERFELDT: Todo comienza tras la edición de "Blackwater Park". Al ser nuestro trabajo más exitoso, muchos pensaban que nos volveríamos más comerciales, algo que no me interesa para nada. Por contra, queríamos hacer algo especial. Fue un amigo el que nos sugirió la idea y, de hecho, me ayudó un montón porque no sabía exactamente qué dirección tomar. Por una parte, me apetecía componer algo heavy y extremo pero, por otra, sentía la necesidad de escribir canciones para guitarra acústica, melódicas. Así que el sacar estos dos discos ha supuesto una especie de alivio para mí.
¿Habéis grabado los dos al mismo tiempo?
Sí. Lo hicimos a la vez aunque separándolo en partes diferentes.
He leído en algunas entrevistas cómo expresabas tu satisfacción con la participación en la producción de "Blackwater Park" del cantante y guitarrista de Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson.
Totalmente. Para estos dos nuevos álbumes, él también ha colaborado con nosotros en la producción. Después, la mezcla final está hecha por Andy Sneap. Steven estuvo con nosotros 12 días y produjo las voces melódicas, algunos solos de guitarra y una parte de los teclados que aparecen en el disco acústico. Andy se ocupó más de la mezcla del álbum mas heavy.
¿Cómo es el proceso de creación de un tema de Opeth? ¿Te gusta trabajar una idea hasta conseguir una estructura perfecta para tus canciones?
No soy la persona indicada para decir si mis canciones tienen una estructura perfecta. (N. de R: Yo lo digo. Sí la tienen) Simplemente trabajo a partir de mis gustos personales. Ahora tengo un pequeño estudio en mi casa en el que puedo registrar las ideas que surgen. Esto me ha ayudado mucho para que haya cosas que no se me olviden. Un tema siempre comienza a partir de un trabajo de guitarra. Casi todos los días la cojo y empiezo a tocar. Hay veces que salen cosas y otras no. Cuando aparece algo que creo que es bueno, lo grabo y empiezo a experimentar con ello. Así junto gran cantidad de demos con grabaciones separadas.
La última parte del proceso es unir todas las piezas e intentar conseguir una cohesión en las mismas para alcanzar el objetivo de componer una canción. Anteriormente tenía que trasladarme a casa de algún amigo que tuviera un pequeño estudio. Por ello, elaborar este disco ha sido más fácil y cómodo.
Son casi cinco años con la misma formación. A pesar de que tú compones casi todo el material, ¿qué importancia tiene para ti haber conseguido la estabilidad?
Es esencial lograr ese sentimiento de unión en el grupo. Trabajas mejor si conoces a tus compañeros. Aunque yo compongo música y letras, es vital tener a gente alrededor que sea capaz de reflejar mis ideas en las canciones. Considero que el conocer a alguien en el plano personal ayuda mucho a aumentar el nivel musical porque sé exactamente qué puedo esperar de cada miembro, cuáles son sus habilidades, qué pueden aportar al conjunto. Además, encontrar a la gente adecuada no es sencillo, más en una banda como Opeth porque no ganamos mucho dinero y es un gran sacrificio dedicarse de pleno a la música. Hay gente que cree que tenemos mucha dinero, pero ser músico nunca suele proporcionarte aquello que esperabas cuando eras joven y tenías muchas proyectos e ilusiones. Es la gran mentira de la música.
Hablando del resto de la banda, el hecho de que haya dos uruguayos en el grupo, ¿influye en el conjunto?. No sé, quizá en establecer un contraste entre el carácter sudamericano y el escandinavo.
No lo sé, considero que en el plano musical no tenemos ninguna influencia de sus raíces. Sin embargo, su contribución más importante es que ellos viven en un barrio en Estocolmo donde hay mucha inmigración. La mayoría de sus amigos son gente que no son suecos, sobre todo gente venida de países árabes y, sinceramente, pienso que sí, que hay un ligero componente arábigo en su forma de tocar. Escucha "Bleak", el tema de "Blackwater Park", y te darás cuenta de ello. Martín López nos trajo en aquel momento una cinta de un famoso cantante árabe. Pues bien, le encanta la percusión que tienen sus canciones y, sin duda, le ha influido bastante.
Es difícil describir "Deliverance" en el contexto de vuestra trayectoria. Pienso que es otro paso más en una sucesión de obras maestras pero quizá tú puedas ayudarme a descubrir algún experimento nuevo que hayáis probado en el disco, si es que lo hay.
No sé, en cuestión de experimentación, "Damnation" se lleva la palma porque es algo que jamás habíamos hecho antes. "Deliverance" es también nuestro nuevo disco pero es más un trabajo clásico en la línea habitual de Opeth. Creo que hemos conseguido un sonido propio y el camino a seguir es trabajar bajo esos patrones. Puede que hayas cosas más extremas, otras más melódicas, pero la tónica general es similar. "Damnation" sí marca un nuevo estilo para Opeth. Sé que habrá gente a la que le impactará, para bien y para mal.
En la última canción del disco, al principio de la misma, cantas de una forma agresiva, alejada de tu estilo clásico gutural. ¿Veremos en el futuro esta "tercera vía" o simplemente la usas en este tema en particular?
Pienso que es más esto último porque la canción salió muy loca, muy extrema. El tema tenía un aura muy maligna y decidimos experimentar un poco con ella para conseguir una atmósfera fantasmal.
Vuestras letras suelen ser muy personales. ¿Cuáles son los principales temas de los que hablas en "Deliverance"?
La verdad es que escribí las letras muy rápido y poco tiempo antes de entrar a grabar. No sabía de qué hablar por lo que cogí situaciones sencillas que me hubieran pasado y, a partir de las mismas, comenzar a crear historias. Por ejemplo, el primer tema, "Wreath", habla de una serie de pesadillas que tenía cuando era pequeño. Es curioso porque no me acuerdo de demasiadas cosas de cuando era niño pero sí de estas pesadillas que me atormentaban en aquellos días. "Deliverance" está inspirada en un amigo que era demasiado maníaco. También hay otras, como "Master's Apprentices", que es tan personal que no la puedo explicar.
Al ser "Deliverance" y "Damnation" dos álbumes tan dispares, ¿cómo os planteáis la futura gira?
Haremos dos giras diferenciadas. En Enero y Febrero tocaremos por Europa presentando "Deliverance" y otros temas clásicos de nuestro repertorio. Cuando se edite en Marzo "Damnation" lo que vamos a hacer es una serie de conciertos exclusivos, no muchos, en locales pequeños en los que tocaremos únicamente temas de este disco y versiones arregladas de canciones melódicas de previos trabajos como "Harvest" o "Credence".
Por cierto, ¿en qué línea estarán las nuevas composiciones? ¿Serán temas largos o quizá canciones más cortas como, por ejemplo, las que aparecen en bonus Cd de "Blackwater Park"?
No puedo comparar lo que podréis escuchar en Deliverance con nada melódico que hayamos realizado anteriormente. Es difícil de explicar pero te diré que suena como si hubiera sido producido y realizado en los 70.
Cada vez se tiene que hacer más complicado la elección de canciones para los directos.
Es un horror. Por ello, ya sólo tocamos como cabezas de cartel, salvo en grandes festivales. La idea es que todos nuestros discos estén representados en directo porque no renegamos de nada de lo que hemos hecho en el pasado, pero es tan complicado decir qué tema sí y cuál no.
La primera vez que vi a Opeth fue en Barcelona en 1996 y el año pasado tuve oportunidad de presenciar vuestros conciertos en el Eurorock belga y en Bilbao. Ambos fueron increíbles. ¿Cómo lográis crear esa química en directo, encima apoyada por un excepcional sonido?
No siempre ocurre. Hay días en los que desde la primera nota, todo transcurre a la perfección. Sin embargo, en otras ocasiones es horrible. Es muy difícil controlar todos los aspectos de un concierto. Unas veces el local no es el ideal, otras no consigues dar con el sonido correcto,... No obstante, considero que el resultado de un concierto guarda mucha relación con el calor del público. Si desde el escenario notas ese entusiasmo te vienes arriba, independientemente de que el sonido no sea perfecto. A pesar de esto, habrás comprobado que no somos el grupo típico que trata de enardecer a la audiencia hablando con ella y esas cosas que se hacen. Preferimos concentrarnos en tocar música que para éso paga la gente que viene a verte.
Me gustaría preguntarte ahora acerca de un par de curiosidades que tengo. ¿Piensas que alguna de las canciones que has compuesto en tu carrera es mala?
No te diría que hay alguna canción que es totalmente mala. Lo que sí hay son bastantes partes que no me gustan. Siempre hay algo que me atrae de cada tema pero, por ejemplo, creo que "Night And The Silent Water", que se incluía en "Morningrise", debería haber quedado mejor. No sé cuál más. Es lo que te digo, en la mayoría de las canciones puede que cambiara algún pasaje.
¿Y qué me dices de las versiones que habéis hecho?
¿Me lo dices por el "Remember Tomorrow" de Iron Maiden, eh?. Lo reconozco, es muy mala, lamentable incluso. (risas)
Cuando se habla con Mikael Akerfeldt es ya un tópico preguntarte por la influencia que tiene en tu música el rock progresivo de los 70. No lo haré pero sí me gustaría saber si alguna vez te has planteado editar un disco con versiones de tus clásicos favoritos.
No, no creo que lo hiciera. Lo he comentado en alguna ocasión pero el problema es que no sabría qué temas escoger. Además, considero que para Opeth no es importante el asunto de la versiones. No obstante, para satisfacer tu curiosidad te diré que hemos grabado, en estas sesiones, una versión del "Soldier Of Fortune" de Deep Purple.
Un par de cuestiones personales. ¿Cuándo empezaste a tocar la guitarra?
Cuando tenía 10 u 11 años, creo. Ahora tengo 28.
¿Y cuándo te diste cuenta de que querías ser músico o que valías para esto?
Pienso que a finales de los 80 cuando formé mi primera banda. Era como un sueño para cualquiera que escuchara heavy metal el convertirse en un tío conocido por tocar música. El tener mi primera guitarra, el comenzar a tocar en un grupo, fue como darme cuenta de que ésas eran señales del destino.
Después de una larga gira, cuando vuelves a tu casa en Estocolmo, ¿necesitas desconectar de la música durante un tiempo o, por contra, rápidamente te pones a componer material nuevo?
No, no, me tomo un descanso ya sea tras una gira o tras una grabación. Cuando llego a casi siempre digo: "Odio la música". Necesito divertirme un poco con cosas que me distraigan de mi ocupación principal.
No te conozco pero, aparentemente pareces una persona tímida, reservada, ¿me equivoco?
No sé, tampoco soy muy tímido. Es a ratos, aunque está claro que no soy la persona más sociable del mundo. No siempre es así, a veces siento la necesidad de ir de fiesta pero la mayoría del tiempo me quedo absorto en mis pensamientos. Me ahorro mis esfuerzos para contestar a todas las entrevistas que me hace la prensa por eso el tiempo libre prefiero mantener mi boca cerrada. (risas)
Como siempre comento con algunos grupos, tiene que ser muy aburrido promocionar un nuevo trabajo.
Desde luego, no es lo más divertido del mundo pero forma parte del trabajo. Si quieres que tu banda sea conocida es inevitable. Además, apreciamos el apoyo que nos ofrecen los medios de comunicación.
Creo que tú eres el que te encargas de las entrevistas, ¿no?
No, no. Intentamos compaginarnos. Los dos "Martines" también contestan muchas, sobre todo, las que sean en español, lógicamente. Por ejemplo, si tú hubieras tenido otra hora programada, seguro que te tocaba con alguno de ellos. También Peter se ocupa de alguna.
Estamos terminando pero antes me gustaría que me contaras cuándo saldrá el disco de Bloodbath.
No lo sé seguro. Supongo que si consultas la web de Century Media encontrarás alguna noticia. No me han llegado promocionales por lo que no sé qué pasará.
¿Qué ocurre cuándo cuatro músicos de ese talento (N de R: Jonas Renkse y Anders Nyström de Katatonia, Dan Swanö, ex-Edge Of Sanity, y el propio Mikael) se reunen en una habitación?
La verdad es que esto no sucede a menudo. No he estado involucrado en la composición del disco. Jonas escribió tres temas, Anders otros tantos y Dan cuatro. Yo estuve muy liado con Opeth por lo que sólo tuve tiempo de pegar cuatro gritos para el álbum de Bloodbath.
Gritos, por supuesto, pero con gusto y precisión. A la espera de ver el lado más salvaje de estos cuatro portentos en Bloodbath, disfrutaremos mil y una veces con "Deliverance" hasta la edición en marzo de "Damnation". ¿Qué nueva sorpresa positiva nos deparará este increíble grupo?. Se acaban los calificativos.
Wednesday, 30 October 2002
Mikael Åkerfeldt - French interview by Julien Negro (30 Oct 2002)
Opeth vient de sortir Deliverance, un album sombre et death particulier que nous chroniquons dans nos pages. Nous avons voulu en savoir plus en interrogeant Mikael Akerfeldt, chanteur et compositeur du groupe, qui nous fait quelques révélations.
Progressia : Tout d'abord, un an après la sortie de Blackwater Park, pourrais-tu nous faire un petit bilan : quel a été l'accueil des fans, des critiques, comment s'est passé cette tournée de manière générale?
Mikael Akerfeldt : Tout s'est plutôt bien passé. Blackwater Park s'est beaucoup plus vendu que nos précédents albums et nous avons eu droit à un plus grand intérêt de la part de la presse spécialisée. C'était également la première fois que nous réalisions une véritable tournée. Nous avons changé de maison de disques (Music for Nations), et les critiques ont été beaucoup plus élogieuses que par le passé. Cet album est définitivement notre plus grand succès.
Il est vrai que je n'ai lu que de bons articles sur ce disque.
Depuis les débuts du groupe, nous avons toujours eu de très mauvaises critiques. Peut-être l'avons-nous mérité quelques fois (rires). Je suis très content de l'accueil de Blackwater Park, car je commençais à douter de nous (rires).
Etes-vous content du travail de Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) sur cet album?
Oh oui, vraiment! C'était la première fois que l'on travaillait avec lui, et j'avoue que Steven a toujours était mon idole. Collaborer avec lui s'est révélé génial dans tous les sens du terme ; il a fait un boulot magnifique. C'est pourquoi nous lui avons demandé de s'occuper de Deliverance et de Damnation.
Tu as sûrement du écouter In Absentia, son dernier album. Lorsque j'ai entendu " Blackest eyes " pour la première fois, j'ai tout de suite pensé à Opeth.
C'est vrai, j'y ai aussi pensé. Steve s'est mis à écouter beaucoup de metal ces derniers temps, et il est impressionné à chaque fois qu'il voit un groupe jouer. Il me fait penser à un enfant dans une confiserie (rires). Ce style l'influence beaucoup et je crois que le son de Porcupine Tree va aller dans ce sens.
Comment êtes-vous entrés en contact avec lui?
En fait c'est un journaliste français, Olivier Badin (NdR : confrère de Hard n' Heavy), un ami de longue date, qui m'a permis de le rencontrer. Il était en train de réaliser une interview avec Steven et lui a fait écouter des versions promo de plusieurs albums, dont un d'Opeth. Et quelques temps plus tard, j'ai reçu un e-mail de Steven me disant qu'il avait notre album entre les mains et qu'il l'adorait!
Tu étais déjà fan de Porcupine Tree à l'époque?
Oui! Je les suis de près depuis 1996, et l'avoir au téléphone, c'était comme recevoir un coup de fil de Dieu! (rires).
D'où vous est venue l'idée d'enregistrer deux albums, l'un dans un registre death métal et l'autre dans un style plus calme?
Etant donné l'accueil de notre dernier album, il était clair que l'on n'attendait de nous un deuxième Blackwater Park, et surtout que l'on profite du succès de cet album. Mais après cinq disques, nous avions envie de surprendre un peu et de faire quelque chose de différent. Ma première idée était donc d'enregistrer un album de death super heavy (rires), mais j'adore tellement composer des parties acoustiques plus calmes qu'il m'était trop difficile de toutes les jeter à la poubelle. C'est mon ami Jonas, de Katatonia, qui nous a donné l'idée de sortir deux albums. Music for Nations n'était pas très chaud au début, car ce genre de doubles sorties peut créer beaucoup de problèmes, plus particulièrement dans le cas de Deliverance et Damnation qui sont deux disques vraiment différents. Mais ils se sont peu à peu faits à cette idée.
A quoi doit-on s'attendre pour Damnation? Les titres seront-ils dans la même veine que les deux morceaux de la version limitée de Blackwater Park (deux guitares acoustiques + chant clair)?
Je crois que les auditeurs ne reconnaîtront peut-être pas le groupe. C'est vraiment très différent, et assez éloigné de ce que l'on a pu faire auparavant. Ce sera beaucoup plus riche. On a notamment enregistré pas mal de claviers, du mellotron, ce genre de chose… J'adore ces trucs là! (rires) Cela sonnera plutôt comme un album oublié depuis 1971, assez " vieux " mais aussi original. Je ne saurais pas trop comment décrire la musique, je pense qu'il te faudra l'écouter pour voir de quoi je veux parler. Ne sois pas effrayé, mais je dirais que ça ressemble un peu au groupe Air (rires), sans être pour autant aussi " pop ". C'est vraiment beaucoup plus sombre.
Comment s'est déroulé l'enregistrement, et comment Opeth aborde-t-il le processus de composition?
C'était un véritable enfer! (rires) Nous avons commencé par enregistrer dans un vieux studio de Göteborg, là où nous avions enregistré Still Life (NdJ : quatrième album du groupe). Mais cette fois-ci, nous n'avions pas d'ingénieur du son, et nous avons dû faire entièrement confiance à nos oreilles, alors que nous n'y connaissons absolument rien en matière d'enregistrement. Le propriétaire du studio n'était pas vraiment très compétent non plus, et je commençais à me dire que Deliverance ne serait jamais prêt. J'étais à deux doigts de fondre en larmes chaque jour passé dans ce studio (rires). Ce mec était si nul (rires). Puis quand Steven est arrivé, nous avons pu terminer l'enregistrement aux studios Fredman (NdJ : studios de Fredrik Nordstrom, producteur de death culte, ayant entre autres à son actif des albums de In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, At The Gates, Arch Enemy, etc…).
C'est de là que vient le titre " Deliverance "? (rires)
Oui, tu as raison, j'y ai aussi pensé à ce moment là. Ce titre à réellement un double sens (rires)! Quand nous avons commencé le travail aux studios Fredman, nous craignions que les bandes soient vides! (rires). Mais tout s'est finalement bien passé. Steven, Fredrik et Andy Sneap ont fait un travail remarquable. Tu verras, sur les crédits de l'album, nous avons mis " Steven Wilson le sauveur " ou d'autres choses du même genre (rires)! Je suis en fait assez content du résultat, car j'ai bien cru pendant un moment qu'il n'y aurait pas d'album. Concernant le processus de composition, je dois dire qu'il nous a pris pas mal de temps. J'ai commencé à écrire durant notre dernière tournée américaine, en enregistrant sur un petit huit pistes, mais je ne pouvais mettre en boite que 8 minutes à chaque fois, et j'étais donc obligé de couper mes morceaux en plusieurs parties, étant donné qu'ils dépassent tous la dizaine de minutes. Quand nous sommes entrés en studio, les morceaux n'étaient pas tous terminés. C'était assez dur, on enregistrait les parties batterie dans la journée, puis je continuais à écrire le reste la nuit. Au final, nous n'avons pu répéter les deux albums qu'une seule fois et nous étions loin de les connaître parfaitement! Mais je trouve que c'est une manière de travailler très intéressante. Composer en studio te permet de rester concentré, alors qu'à la maison il y a le téléphone, internet, la Playstation (rires).
Au final, tu es donc content du résultat?
Oh oui, absolument (rires)!
Outre Porcupine Tree, j'ai également ressenti pas mal d'influences de Morbid Angel sur Deliverance. C'était quelque chose de prémédité? Morbid Angel est un groupe qui vous ressemble beaucoup dans son approche de la musique…
Oui, tu as tout à fait raison. Ces clins d'œil sur " Wreath " et " Master's apprentices " sont totalement délibérés. Morbid Angel est un de mes groupes préférés et peut-être le meilleur groupe de death metal de tous les temps. Quand j'ai composé ces riffs à la guitare, je me suis dis " Ça sonne vraiment comme Morbid Angel. Et puis merde! Ça me plait! " (rires). Nous avons voulu, à notre manière, rendre hommage à la musique de Trey (Azaghtoth, le guitariste/compositeur), mais je pense que ces riffs gardent tout de même l'esprit de notre musique.
En cherchant un peu, j'ai pu trouver de nombreux bootlegs sur le net, et vos prestations scéniques semblent toujours impressionnantes et pleines d'énergie. Pensez-vous enregistrer un live officiel?
Pour tout te dire, je n'aime pas les lives officiels, avec tous ces overdubs, ces parties réenregistrées. Je préfère nettement le son d'un pirate, qui retranscrira beaucoup mieux l'énergie d'un concert. Tu captes réellement l'essence du show, alors qu'en enregistrant un vrai live, tu créés encore un " produit ". Donc ce n'est vraiment pas au programme pour le moment!
Progressia est un magazine " progressif ". Nous définissons comme " progressif " un groupe qui n'a pas peur de dépasser ses limites, de se détacher d'un style, et qui ne rechigne pas à un peu d'expérimentation. Tout cela n'est pas uniquement basé sur la technique des musiciens et la longueur des morceaux. Au vu de cette définition, qualifierais-tu la musique d'Opeth de " progressive "?
Dans ce sens oui, Opeth est un groupe progressif. Je dirais même " progressiste ", car nous essayons toujours d'apporter quelque chose de nouveau à notre musique, en cherchant à ne pas nous répéter. Je pense qu'avoir enregistré un album comme Damnation, alors que nous sommes un groupe de death metal, est vraiment ce que l'on peut appeler " repousser ses limites ". Porcupine Tree le fait également, Radiohead aussi.
Ce n'est donc vraiment pas dans le but d'essayer de toucher un auditoire plus large que vous avez enregistré Damnation. Il est vrai que ton style de voix " death " peut en rebuter plus d'un, et d'un autre côté, cet album risque de sonner bizarrement pour les fans de death metal...
J'aime à penser que les fans d'Opeth sont très ouverts d'esprit, et cette facette de notre musique a toujours était là, c'est elle qui fait notre singularité. Il est vrai que Damnation risque de dérouter une partie de nos fans, mais c'est un risque que je n'ai pas peur de prendre car j'ai horreur que la partie soit facile. Ça ne me dérangerait pas non plus d'enregistrer un album que tout le monde déteste, mais qui, quinze ans plus tard, deviendra une référence (rires)! Il est aussi certain que le chant death ne nous permet pas de toucher tout le public que nous pourrions avoir, mais qu'importe. Cela fait partie de nos racines et de la musique que nous aimons, et ce n'est pas près de changer. En laissant ce type de chant de côté, on perdrait une partie de notre intégrité, et également de notre originalité.
A chaque nouvel album que vous sortez, je me dis que c'est celui-là le meilleur. Penses-tu pouvoir encore évoluer pour le prochain, et quelles sont éventuellement les directions que tu penses prendre plus tard?
C'est une question très difficile! Pour tout t'avouer, il m'arrive d'être fatigué de la musique, voir même de la détester! La seule chose que je sais, c'est que nous allons faire un petit break. Nous allons bien évidemment tourner pour promouvoir Deliverance et Damnation, c'est une grosse sortie pour nous et nous allons bien nous occuper de la promo et de ce genre de choses. Nous serons PARTOUT (rires)! J'ai cependant envie de faire autre chose que de la musique. Ou alors quelque chose de différent. Il est prévu que Steven Wilson et moi-même nous lancions dans un projet commun, mais je ne sais pas encore dans quelle direction nous allons partir (rires). Il lui reste des morceaux qui n'ont pas plu aux autres membres de son groupe car ils étaient un peu trop " heavy ", et qui ne figurent donc pas sur In Absentia. Il y en a en particulier un que j'adore et qui reste mon titre préféré de Porcupine Tree. Mais bon, je ne sais pas encore vraiment comment tout cela va sonner, mais du moment que je fais quelque chose avec Steven (rires)!
Tu penses-donc tourner tout de même un peu. Y-aurait-il déjà quelque chose prévu?
Rien n'est encore décidé, mais il est probable que nous tournions aux Etats-Unis en compagnie de Porcupine Tree. On a déjà deux dates bookées en Californie. Rien n'est prévu en ce qui concerne l'Europe, mais nous essayerons de tourner un peu plus en France.
Quels groupes écoutes-tu en ce moment? Ont-ils une influence sur la musique de Opeth?
En ce moment je suis à fond dans un groupe de prog excellent dont le chanteur me donne des frissons : c'est Ark. J'adore la voix de Lande, en partie parce qu'elle me fait penser à celle de David Coverdale. Je les trouve géniaux, et je n'arrête pas d'écouter leur dernier album, Burn the sun. Sinon j'ai découvert un autre groupe suédois vraiment pas mal, qui s'appelle Pathoss. Leur dernier album, Time lost, vient juste de sortir et il est absolument fantastique! Si tu peux mettre la main dessus, tu seras un homme heureux (rires)! A part ça, les choses habituelles : Porcupine Tree et Morbid Angel (rires), Camel, les Beatles, etc…
Tu écoutes finalement très peu de metal!
Oui, tu as raison. J'attends vraiment quelque chose de nouveau de la part de la scène metal. Je suis impatient d'écouter le prochain album de Katatonia. J'adore aussi Tool, mais de manière générale je ne cherche pas la perle rare. Il faut toujours que quelqu'un me dise " écoute ça! " pour que j'y prête attention. Je vais donc continuer à écouter mes vieux disques.
Progressia : Tout d'abord, un an après la sortie de Blackwater Park, pourrais-tu nous faire un petit bilan : quel a été l'accueil des fans, des critiques, comment s'est passé cette tournée de manière générale?
Mikael Akerfeldt : Tout s'est plutôt bien passé. Blackwater Park s'est beaucoup plus vendu que nos précédents albums et nous avons eu droit à un plus grand intérêt de la part de la presse spécialisée. C'était également la première fois que nous réalisions une véritable tournée. Nous avons changé de maison de disques (Music for Nations), et les critiques ont été beaucoup plus élogieuses que par le passé. Cet album est définitivement notre plus grand succès.
Il est vrai que je n'ai lu que de bons articles sur ce disque.
Depuis les débuts du groupe, nous avons toujours eu de très mauvaises critiques. Peut-être l'avons-nous mérité quelques fois (rires). Je suis très content de l'accueil de Blackwater Park, car je commençais à douter de nous (rires).
Etes-vous content du travail de Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) sur cet album?
Oh oui, vraiment! C'était la première fois que l'on travaillait avec lui, et j'avoue que Steven a toujours était mon idole. Collaborer avec lui s'est révélé génial dans tous les sens du terme ; il a fait un boulot magnifique. C'est pourquoi nous lui avons demandé de s'occuper de Deliverance et de Damnation.
Tu as sûrement du écouter In Absentia, son dernier album. Lorsque j'ai entendu " Blackest eyes " pour la première fois, j'ai tout de suite pensé à Opeth.
C'est vrai, j'y ai aussi pensé. Steve s'est mis à écouter beaucoup de metal ces derniers temps, et il est impressionné à chaque fois qu'il voit un groupe jouer. Il me fait penser à un enfant dans une confiserie (rires). Ce style l'influence beaucoup et je crois que le son de Porcupine Tree va aller dans ce sens.
Comment êtes-vous entrés en contact avec lui?
En fait c'est un journaliste français, Olivier Badin (NdR : confrère de Hard n' Heavy), un ami de longue date, qui m'a permis de le rencontrer. Il était en train de réaliser une interview avec Steven et lui a fait écouter des versions promo de plusieurs albums, dont un d'Opeth. Et quelques temps plus tard, j'ai reçu un e-mail de Steven me disant qu'il avait notre album entre les mains et qu'il l'adorait!
Tu étais déjà fan de Porcupine Tree à l'époque?
Oui! Je les suis de près depuis 1996, et l'avoir au téléphone, c'était comme recevoir un coup de fil de Dieu! (rires).
D'où vous est venue l'idée d'enregistrer deux albums, l'un dans un registre death métal et l'autre dans un style plus calme?
Etant donné l'accueil de notre dernier album, il était clair que l'on n'attendait de nous un deuxième Blackwater Park, et surtout que l'on profite du succès de cet album. Mais après cinq disques, nous avions envie de surprendre un peu et de faire quelque chose de différent. Ma première idée était donc d'enregistrer un album de death super heavy (rires), mais j'adore tellement composer des parties acoustiques plus calmes qu'il m'était trop difficile de toutes les jeter à la poubelle. C'est mon ami Jonas, de Katatonia, qui nous a donné l'idée de sortir deux albums. Music for Nations n'était pas très chaud au début, car ce genre de doubles sorties peut créer beaucoup de problèmes, plus particulièrement dans le cas de Deliverance et Damnation qui sont deux disques vraiment différents. Mais ils se sont peu à peu faits à cette idée.
A quoi doit-on s'attendre pour Damnation? Les titres seront-ils dans la même veine que les deux morceaux de la version limitée de Blackwater Park (deux guitares acoustiques + chant clair)?
Je crois que les auditeurs ne reconnaîtront peut-être pas le groupe. C'est vraiment très différent, et assez éloigné de ce que l'on a pu faire auparavant. Ce sera beaucoup plus riche. On a notamment enregistré pas mal de claviers, du mellotron, ce genre de chose… J'adore ces trucs là! (rires) Cela sonnera plutôt comme un album oublié depuis 1971, assez " vieux " mais aussi original. Je ne saurais pas trop comment décrire la musique, je pense qu'il te faudra l'écouter pour voir de quoi je veux parler. Ne sois pas effrayé, mais je dirais que ça ressemble un peu au groupe Air (rires), sans être pour autant aussi " pop ". C'est vraiment beaucoup plus sombre.
Comment s'est déroulé l'enregistrement, et comment Opeth aborde-t-il le processus de composition?
C'était un véritable enfer! (rires) Nous avons commencé par enregistrer dans un vieux studio de Göteborg, là où nous avions enregistré Still Life (NdJ : quatrième album du groupe). Mais cette fois-ci, nous n'avions pas d'ingénieur du son, et nous avons dû faire entièrement confiance à nos oreilles, alors que nous n'y connaissons absolument rien en matière d'enregistrement. Le propriétaire du studio n'était pas vraiment très compétent non plus, et je commençais à me dire que Deliverance ne serait jamais prêt. J'étais à deux doigts de fondre en larmes chaque jour passé dans ce studio (rires). Ce mec était si nul (rires). Puis quand Steven est arrivé, nous avons pu terminer l'enregistrement aux studios Fredman (NdJ : studios de Fredrik Nordstrom, producteur de death culte, ayant entre autres à son actif des albums de In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, At The Gates, Arch Enemy, etc…).
C'est de là que vient le titre " Deliverance "? (rires)
Oui, tu as raison, j'y ai aussi pensé à ce moment là. Ce titre à réellement un double sens (rires)! Quand nous avons commencé le travail aux studios Fredman, nous craignions que les bandes soient vides! (rires). Mais tout s'est finalement bien passé. Steven, Fredrik et Andy Sneap ont fait un travail remarquable. Tu verras, sur les crédits de l'album, nous avons mis " Steven Wilson le sauveur " ou d'autres choses du même genre (rires)! Je suis en fait assez content du résultat, car j'ai bien cru pendant un moment qu'il n'y aurait pas d'album. Concernant le processus de composition, je dois dire qu'il nous a pris pas mal de temps. J'ai commencé à écrire durant notre dernière tournée américaine, en enregistrant sur un petit huit pistes, mais je ne pouvais mettre en boite que 8 minutes à chaque fois, et j'étais donc obligé de couper mes morceaux en plusieurs parties, étant donné qu'ils dépassent tous la dizaine de minutes. Quand nous sommes entrés en studio, les morceaux n'étaient pas tous terminés. C'était assez dur, on enregistrait les parties batterie dans la journée, puis je continuais à écrire le reste la nuit. Au final, nous n'avons pu répéter les deux albums qu'une seule fois et nous étions loin de les connaître parfaitement! Mais je trouve que c'est une manière de travailler très intéressante. Composer en studio te permet de rester concentré, alors qu'à la maison il y a le téléphone, internet, la Playstation (rires).
Au final, tu es donc content du résultat?
Oh oui, absolument (rires)!
Outre Porcupine Tree, j'ai également ressenti pas mal d'influences de Morbid Angel sur Deliverance. C'était quelque chose de prémédité? Morbid Angel est un groupe qui vous ressemble beaucoup dans son approche de la musique…
Oui, tu as tout à fait raison. Ces clins d'œil sur " Wreath " et " Master's apprentices " sont totalement délibérés. Morbid Angel est un de mes groupes préférés et peut-être le meilleur groupe de death metal de tous les temps. Quand j'ai composé ces riffs à la guitare, je me suis dis " Ça sonne vraiment comme Morbid Angel. Et puis merde! Ça me plait! " (rires). Nous avons voulu, à notre manière, rendre hommage à la musique de Trey (Azaghtoth, le guitariste/compositeur), mais je pense que ces riffs gardent tout de même l'esprit de notre musique.
En cherchant un peu, j'ai pu trouver de nombreux bootlegs sur le net, et vos prestations scéniques semblent toujours impressionnantes et pleines d'énergie. Pensez-vous enregistrer un live officiel?
Pour tout te dire, je n'aime pas les lives officiels, avec tous ces overdubs, ces parties réenregistrées. Je préfère nettement le son d'un pirate, qui retranscrira beaucoup mieux l'énergie d'un concert. Tu captes réellement l'essence du show, alors qu'en enregistrant un vrai live, tu créés encore un " produit ". Donc ce n'est vraiment pas au programme pour le moment!
Progressia est un magazine " progressif ". Nous définissons comme " progressif " un groupe qui n'a pas peur de dépasser ses limites, de se détacher d'un style, et qui ne rechigne pas à un peu d'expérimentation. Tout cela n'est pas uniquement basé sur la technique des musiciens et la longueur des morceaux. Au vu de cette définition, qualifierais-tu la musique d'Opeth de " progressive "?
Dans ce sens oui, Opeth est un groupe progressif. Je dirais même " progressiste ", car nous essayons toujours d'apporter quelque chose de nouveau à notre musique, en cherchant à ne pas nous répéter. Je pense qu'avoir enregistré un album comme Damnation, alors que nous sommes un groupe de death metal, est vraiment ce que l'on peut appeler " repousser ses limites ". Porcupine Tree le fait également, Radiohead aussi.
Ce n'est donc vraiment pas dans le but d'essayer de toucher un auditoire plus large que vous avez enregistré Damnation. Il est vrai que ton style de voix " death " peut en rebuter plus d'un, et d'un autre côté, cet album risque de sonner bizarrement pour les fans de death metal...
J'aime à penser que les fans d'Opeth sont très ouverts d'esprit, et cette facette de notre musique a toujours était là, c'est elle qui fait notre singularité. Il est vrai que Damnation risque de dérouter une partie de nos fans, mais c'est un risque que je n'ai pas peur de prendre car j'ai horreur que la partie soit facile. Ça ne me dérangerait pas non plus d'enregistrer un album que tout le monde déteste, mais qui, quinze ans plus tard, deviendra une référence (rires)! Il est aussi certain que le chant death ne nous permet pas de toucher tout le public que nous pourrions avoir, mais qu'importe. Cela fait partie de nos racines et de la musique que nous aimons, et ce n'est pas près de changer. En laissant ce type de chant de côté, on perdrait une partie de notre intégrité, et également de notre originalité.
A chaque nouvel album que vous sortez, je me dis que c'est celui-là le meilleur. Penses-tu pouvoir encore évoluer pour le prochain, et quelles sont éventuellement les directions que tu penses prendre plus tard?
C'est une question très difficile! Pour tout t'avouer, il m'arrive d'être fatigué de la musique, voir même de la détester! La seule chose que je sais, c'est que nous allons faire un petit break. Nous allons bien évidemment tourner pour promouvoir Deliverance et Damnation, c'est une grosse sortie pour nous et nous allons bien nous occuper de la promo et de ce genre de choses. Nous serons PARTOUT (rires)! J'ai cependant envie de faire autre chose que de la musique. Ou alors quelque chose de différent. Il est prévu que Steven Wilson et moi-même nous lancions dans un projet commun, mais je ne sais pas encore dans quelle direction nous allons partir (rires). Il lui reste des morceaux qui n'ont pas plu aux autres membres de son groupe car ils étaient un peu trop " heavy ", et qui ne figurent donc pas sur In Absentia. Il y en a en particulier un que j'adore et qui reste mon titre préféré de Porcupine Tree. Mais bon, je ne sais pas encore vraiment comment tout cela va sonner, mais du moment que je fais quelque chose avec Steven (rires)!
Tu penses-donc tourner tout de même un peu. Y-aurait-il déjà quelque chose prévu?
Rien n'est encore décidé, mais il est probable que nous tournions aux Etats-Unis en compagnie de Porcupine Tree. On a déjà deux dates bookées en Californie. Rien n'est prévu en ce qui concerne l'Europe, mais nous essayerons de tourner un peu plus en France.
Quels groupes écoutes-tu en ce moment? Ont-ils une influence sur la musique de Opeth?
En ce moment je suis à fond dans un groupe de prog excellent dont le chanteur me donne des frissons : c'est Ark. J'adore la voix de Lande, en partie parce qu'elle me fait penser à celle de David Coverdale. Je les trouve géniaux, et je n'arrête pas d'écouter leur dernier album, Burn the sun. Sinon j'ai découvert un autre groupe suédois vraiment pas mal, qui s'appelle Pathoss. Leur dernier album, Time lost, vient juste de sortir et il est absolument fantastique! Si tu peux mettre la main dessus, tu seras un homme heureux (rires)! A part ça, les choses habituelles : Porcupine Tree et Morbid Angel (rires), Camel, les Beatles, etc…
Tu écoutes finalement très peu de metal!
Oui, tu as raison. J'attends vraiment quelque chose de nouveau de la part de la scène metal. Je suis impatient d'écouter le prochain album de Katatonia. J'adore aussi Tool, mais de manière générale je ne cherche pas la perle rare. Il faut toujours que quelqu'un me dise " écoute ça! " pour que j'y prête attention. Je vais donc continuer à écouter mes vieux disques.
Monday, 16 September 2002
Mikael Åkerfeldt - Interview by Sibilla (16 Sep 2002)
Sibilla: Hi, How are you?
Peter Lindgren: Good, and you?
S: Great. Where are you?
P: Home, in Stockholm Sweden.
S: Ok, so how old were you when you started playing guitar?
P: Fifteen maybe
S: How old are you now?
P: 28, getting older. So I've been playing for like thirteen years.
S: Why did you decided to play?
P: I was very much into Metallica, and Kirk Hammet was my sort of Idol, in the beginning. After a while I realized that he wasn't very god at playing actually. In the beginning Metallica was my big great idol and since Kirk Hammet was the solo guitarist he was my idol, but then again when I look back at that band, James Hettfield is probably the greatest guitarist in that band. But when you are young you always fancy fast guitar playing. When I was young I wanted to play really fast and everything but now I realize you have to practice allot for years to be able to play that fast and I don't want to spend that much time doing that kind of stuff because there's always people that's going to be faster than you. I think nowadays I prefer guitar players that can hit one note, you know, and it sound good, that single note rather than playing a hundred notes and It doesn't sound good at all, you know? Im not impressed by fast guitarists anymore.
S: Well, you are pretty fast.
P: Um, it's like I'm ok, you know, but there's always,every time we play on stage and we play with other bands, there is always three guitar players that are very fast, but they cant do three good chords in a row, you know, they only play fast. I think there's more to music than playing fast and fast solos. It's better to spend more time in the song writing process. A good song is more important than a great guitar solo.
S: I saw you guys in Paris,
P: Last year?
S: yeah
P: Ok
S: So, you guys don't seem to really care about the makeup and outfits that you wear onstage.
P: We've been a band for so long. When we released the first album it was in the middle of this black metal boom, and it was a hard time for us back then because we didn't have any makeup or anything, we were just ordinary guys. We always have been concentrating on the music only, and it turned out that you know, we didn't put pictures of ourselves on the sleeves of the album so there was sort of a mystique aura around the band, no one knew exactly who we were, so that's the only thing that is image of us, you know, people maybe don't know how we look like and stuff, but nowadays there seem to be pictures of us all over the place, so we are not mystical anymore. We don't have any image at all, it's just us. Of course we wouldn't play in blue jeans and a white t shirt maybe, we wear the things that we wear when we go to a party maybe, stuff like that, that's what we wear. I would wear makeup and stuff just to make people more interested in you, because if you do that I think it's pretty obvious that whenever the bandwagon turns in another direction people are going to leave you and jump on the next bandwagon. The people that listen to us, they don't listen to us because we look cool or we seem cool, they are into us just because of the music. I prefer to have a few good fans that a million that are going to leave you as soon as something more interesting comes up.
S: I agree. So, What do you like most about music? What satisfies you the most?
P:You can listen to music and it doesn't matter what kind of mood you are in, because there is music that can follow every mood, and I think it's like, if you are in a certain mood for example if you are sad, and you don't want to be sad, you want to do something else, then you can put on some happy music that suits that and you can change, but if you want to be more sad you can play sad music, so can always use the music to change your mood, you know, make it stronger. Music, is a thing that, I think it just makes life more interesting actually. Music is part of life.
S: So, did you always want to be a famous musician, or did it just happened?
P: It happened, more or less. Music has always been an interest of mine, but Im interested in other kinds of stuff you know, I like reading books and I like sports, so, I wasn't that good at ice hockey or anything, but I played actually when I was a kid, but if I was better at that maybe I would be an Ice Hockey player , in miami right now (im in miami). It's a coincidence I think, I could have not chosen to play the guitar, and maybe be a drummer, and I would have been a lousy drummer and you wouldn't be doing this interview right now. It's a coincidence, but since I am interested in music and I have been for a long time. It has of course been a dream of mine, to be like a musician and sort of famous for doing it but, I started to play guitar not to be famous, it was just interesting to see if I could do the same things that Kirk Hammet or those guys could do, but I couldn't apparently. I find that you can do so much things with a guitar, even though there are so many records recorded there's always hope, you always have an opportunity to do something that has never been done before, and that's really interesting because you can always create something that is really new .
S: You guys have actually done something that has never been done before.
P: Oh,we try at least.
S: Ok, So how has this album been doing commercially?
P: Blackwater Park?
S: Yes
P: It's been doing great for us, way more than I ever expected, I think its sort of a breakthrough for us. We recently got nominated for a Swedish grammy which is the biggest musical award in Sweden, that was insane, because there always famous people in those nominations, and all of a sudden we were there, and we fell that we didn't belong and people didn't know who we were but apparently they did because we were nominated but it was strange. So it's been doing great.
S: I know allot of people that appreciated heavy metal only after listening to your band.
P: I think that to hear that people that's not into heavy metal or death metal could all of a sudden start listening to us, I think that's a compliment. We've always been trying to do something more than just Death metal. All of us in the band have this different tastes that not always fit together, but there is always elements in everything that you listen to that you can blend into your own music. On each album we try to expand and broaden our music, and the mind of the listener too. There is always something for everyone, for example when we have a new record I play the death metal songs to my mother I play the soft songs, and she's like 'Oh this sounds good', and then all of a sudden she has a different approach to the music and then I can play the hard stuff, and she's like 'mm, this is to hard for me but I like the other parts', you know she's interested in that, but she apparently wouldn't if I play the other stuff, or, of course if I wasn't her son.
S: So I heard you guys were writing some new stuff.
P: Yes, we are writing it right now, we haven't booked a studio yet, and we haven't decided when to record, but its probably going to take a couple of months to right the whole thing because we are trying to put out too cd's at the same time, we are going to make a hard one and a soft one, that's the initial plan at least, we have to see what's going to happen with that. I'm curious about seeing how they do, one of them is apparently going to sell better than the other, Im not sure which one, but that's going to be fun.
S: The songs you write never seem to follow a pattern, and there is definitely no sign of the typical verse chorus verse, they seem to have a of their own.
P: It was the seventies bands, progressive stuff. They taught us that a song doesn't necessarily have to have, you know, verse and chorus and verse and chorus, it could be like an adventure, you start somewhere, and end somewhere else, and in between start and end there is always something going on and the different parts don't necessarily have to repeat themselves. We try to make the theme apparent, people may not know what is going to come, but when you listen to the song several times you see that the parts do fit well together. So, its just a different way of approaching a song. It's more adventurous to listen to a song that you are not sure what's going to happen. It just adds something to the music.
S: What about Harvest?
P: Like I have said we've been experimenting throughout career with song structures, and we've been trying to broaden our mind more with each album. In the second morningrise album we did a ballad and after that we knew that we could always include a ballad on the album. Harvest is actually a verse and chorus song, and, we thought, well, we have never done that before, so why not do that. We thought it sounded good, so we just put it on. Harvest is an ordinary song written in a ordinary way. We experiment in song writing.
S: I think it's a really good song.
P: Thank you.
S: Do you enjoy touring?
P: I do sometimes, there's always good and bad moments on a tour. In general I think tours are a but too long. I think three or four weeks would be perfect. It tales a while for you to get into it, and after a while you get really fed up with, because everything is always the same everyday. The first three weeks are always pretty ok. I think touring is really fun, for a while, but there should be some breaks in between. I do prefer playing live than being in the studio.
S: So, I read that you recently graduated from college?
P: Yes, A year ago, I got a degree in Engineering physics. I like to study, I got a degree in literature too.
S: Really? I'm doing that also
P: Really?
S: Yeah, well Im still in school.
P: Ok, good.
After this, my tape recorder got stuck, and I could not record the last twenty minutes of the interview. We talked some more about college, part time jobs and the upcoming tour.
Peter Lindgren: Good, and you?
S: Great. Where are you?
P: Home, in Stockholm Sweden.
S: Ok, so how old were you when you started playing guitar?
P: Fifteen maybe
S: How old are you now?
P: 28, getting older. So I've been playing for like thirteen years.
S: Why did you decided to play?
P: I was very much into Metallica, and Kirk Hammet was my sort of Idol, in the beginning. After a while I realized that he wasn't very god at playing actually. In the beginning Metallica was my big great idol and since Kirk Hammet was the solo guitarist he was my idol, but then again when I look back at that band, James Hettfield is probably the greatest guitarist in that band. But when you are young you always fancy fast guitar playing. When I was young I wanted to play really fast and everything but now I realize you have to practice allot for years to be able to play that fast and I don't want to spend that much time doing that kind of stuff because there's always people that's going to be faster than you. I think nowadays I prefer guitar players that can hit one note, you know, and it sound good, that single note rather than playing a hundred notes and It doesn't sound good at all, you know? Im not impressed by fast guitarists anymore.
S: Well, you are pretty fast.
P: Um, it's like I'm ok, you know, but there's always,every time we play on stage and we play with other bands, there is always three guitar players that are very fast, but they cant do three good chords in a row, you know, they only play fast. I think there's more to music than playing fast and fast solos. It's better to spend more time in the song writing process. A good song is more important than a great guitar solo.
S: I saw you guys in Paris,
P: Last year?
S: yeah
P: Ok
S: So, you guys don't seem to really care about the makeup and outfits that you wear onstage.
P: We've been a band for so long. When we released the first album it was in the middle of this black metal boom, and it was a hard time for us back then because we didn't have any makeup or anything, we were just ordinary guys. We always have been concentrating on the music only, and it turned out that you know, we didn't put pictures of ourselves on the sleeves of the album so there was sort of a mystique aura around the band, no one knew exactly who we were, so that's the only thing that is image of us, you know, people maybe don't know how we look like and stuff, but nowadays there seem to be pictures of us all over the place, so we are not mystical anymore. We don't have any image at all, it's just us. Of course we wouldn't play in blue jeans and a white t shirt maybe, we wear the things that we wear when we go to a party maybe, stuff like that, that's what we wear. I would wear makeup and stuff just to make people more interested in you, because if you do that I think it's pretty obvious that whenever the bandwagon turns in another direction people are going to leave you and jump on the next bandwagon. The people that listen to us, they don't listen to us because we look cool or we seem cool, they are into us just because of the music. I prefer to have a few good fans that a million that are going to leave you as soon as something more interesting comes up.
S: I agree. So, What do you like most about music? What satisfies you the most?
P:You can listen to music and it doesn't matter what kind of mood you are in, because there is music that can follow every mood, and I think it's like, if you are in a certain mood for example if you are sad, and you don't want to be sad, you want to do something else, then you can put on some happy music that suits that and you can change, but if you want to be more sad you can play sad music, so can always use the music to change your mood, you know, make it stronger. Music, is a thing that, I think it just makes life more interesting actually. Music is part of life.
S: So, did you always want to be a famous musician, or did it just happened?
P: It happened, more or less. Music has always been an interest of mine, but Im interested in other kinds of stuff you know, I like reading books and I like sports, so, I wasn't that good at ice hockey or anything, but I played actually when I was a kid, but if I was better at that maybe I would be an Ice Hockey player , in miami right now (im in miami). It's a coincidence I think, I could have not chosen to play the guitar, and maybe be a drummer, and I would have been a lousy drummer and you wouldn't be doing this interview right now. It's a coincidence, but since I am interested in music and I have been for a long time. It has of course been a dream of mine, to be like a musician and sort of famous for doing it but, I started to play guitar not to be famous, it was just interesting to see if I could do the same things that Kirk Hammet or those guys could do, but I couldn't apparently. I find that you can do so much things with a guitar, even though there are so many records recorded there's always hope, you always have an opportunity to do something that has never been done before, and that's really interesting because you can always create something that is really new .
S: You guys have actually done something that has never been done before.
P: Oh,we try at least.
S: Ok, So how has this album been doing commercially?
P: Blackwater Park?
S: Yes
P: It's been doing great for us, way more than I ever expected, I think its sort of a breakthrough for us. We recently got nominated for a Swedish grammy which is the biggest musical award in Sweden, that was insane, because there always famous people in those nominations, and all of a sudden we were there, and we fell that we didn't belong and people didn't know who we were but apparently they did because we were nominated but it was strange. So it's been doing great.
S: I know allot of people that appreciated heavy metal only after listening to your band.
P: I think that to hear that people that's not into heavy metal or death metal could all of a sudden start listening to us, I think that's a compliment. We've always been trying to do something more than just Death metal. All of us in the band have this different tastes that not always fit together, but there is always elements in everything that you listen to that you can blend into your own music. On each album we try to expand and broaden our music, and the mind of the listener too. There is always something for everyone, for example when we have a new record I play the death metal songs to my mother I play the soft songs, and she's like 'Oh this sounds good', and then all of a sudden she has a different approach to the music and then I can play the hard stuff, and she's like 'mm, this is to hard for me but I like the other parts', you know she's interested in that, but she apparently wouldn't if I play the other stuff, or, of course if I wasn't her son.
S: So I heard you guys were writing some new stuff.
P: Yes, we are writing it right now, we haven't booked a studio yet, and we haven't decided when to record, but its probably going to take a couple of months to right the whole thing because we are trying to put out too cd's at the same time, we are going to make a hard one and a soft one, that's the initial plan at least, we have to see what's going to happen with that. I'm curious about seeing how they do, one of them is apparently going to sell better than the other, Im not sure which one, but that's going to be fun.
S: The songs you write never seem to follow a pattern, and there is definitely no sign of the typical verse chorus verse, they seem to have a of their own.
P: It was the seventies bands, progressive stuff. They taught us that a song doesn't necessarily have to have, you know, verse and chorus and verse and chorus, it could be like an adventure, you start somewhere, and end somewhere else, and in between start and end there is always something going on and the different parts don't necessarily have to repeat themselves. We try to make the theme apparent, people may not know what is going to come, but when you listen to the song several times you see that the parts do fit well together. So, its just a different way of approaching a song. It's more adventurous to listen to a song that you are not sure what's going to happen. It just adds something to the music.
S: What about Harvest?
P: Like I have said we've been experimenting throughout career with song structures, and we've been trying to broaden our mind more with each album. In the second morningrise album we did a ballad and after that we knew that we could always include a ballad on the album. Harvest is actually a verse and chorus song, and, we thought, well, we have never done that before, so why not do that. We thought it sounded good, so we just put it on. Harvest is an ordinary song written in a ordinary way. We experiment in song writing.
S: I think it's a really good song.
P: Thank you.
S: Do you enjoy touring?
P: I do sometimes, there's always good and bad moments on a tour. In general I think tours are a but too long. I think three or four weeks would be perfect. It tales a while for you to get into it, and after a while you get really fed up with, because everything is always the same everyday. The first three weeks are always pretty ok. I think touring is really fun, for a while, but there should be some breaks in between. I do prefer playing live than being in the studio.
S: So, I read that you recently graduated from college?
P: Yes, A year ago, I got a degree in Engineering physics. I like to study, I got a degree in literature too.
S: Really? I'm doing that also
P: Really?
S: Yeah, well Im still in school.
P: Ok, good.
After this, my tape recorder got stuck, and I could not record the last twenty minutes of the interview. We talked some more about college, part time jobs and the upcoming tour.
Tuesday, 9 July 2002
Mikael Åkerfeldt - Interview by Griever (09 Jul 2002)
Opeth is the ultimate in being both beauty and the beast in metal, there is no group of musicians on the earth that can say they sound anything like them, or come close to the depth, emotion and utter brilliance that is expressed in their writing. Whilst many metal bands are content with playing as hard and as fast as possible, Opeth balances the music they create with enthralling acoustic sections and quite soothing vocals courtesy of Mikael Akerfeldt. The lyrics Mikael writes have often become the center of attention for me, as I am a dedicated writer and heavily influenced by his words. To others the music may be the only thing they hear, in the case of that listener they are presented a palette of brooding emotions, well written and well delivered music that cannot be ignored. Thanks to my good friend and guitarist I was introduced to Opeth, and I try to let others experience the band that I consider the truest essence of talent. I was delighted to hear back from Mikael, his accepting this interview means a great deal to me.
Griever: Please accept my cordial hello and thanks for doing this interview.
Mikael Akerfeldt: It's my pleasure.
G: So, how are you and the rest of the band?
MA: I'm pretty OK, but so stressed out that it's unbelievable. The guys are fine I reckon. We have a few gigs coming up and it's stressing me out since I gotta finish off the new songs in time for the recording.
G: I have been told that Opeth's new album is due out soon and will be two discs, one being heavier, and the other disc being a more somber display, any chance on an estimated release date and or title?
MA: There's no titles or dates yet. We're starting the recording on the 22nd of July and estimate to be finished around the beginning of September. Steven Wilson will help us with the production & mix the mellow album while we've talked to Andy Sneap about doing the mix for the heavy disc. Could be cool!
G: Opeth has recorded some tracks with a more nostalgic feel to the sound, can we expect anymore of this? It really sounds excellent.
MA: Thank you. This time we'll use tapes & some pro tools I believe. We'll strive for a tighter recording for the heavy album this time as the music is more technical and the mellow album will probably have a bit of a looser classic rock sound, more ambience than before. We'll re-mic the drum kit for this one and try n get more of a 70´s sound.
G: I have noticed over the past 3 albums that your clean vocals have become much more rich and powerful, but like so many vocalists have not been able to do, you have not lost a bit of the edge on your growls, does performing both as well as you do take its toll on your vocal cords?
MA: It's not a real problem for me. It's effortless for me to scream and it doesn't really affect my voice. I've lost once and that was because I caught a cold, but insisted on drinking booze & smoked a 100 cigarettes, so the next day the voice was gone.
G: I believe that one reason Opeth has become so revered in the metal community is the fact that you arrange your songs with both brutality and acoustic sections that seam together flawlessly, this depth in the music opens up the re-play factor quite a bit, the two sides, dusk and night as I like to say, do they reflect on you as a person, or are they merely the result of songwriting?
MA: I like to write songs that way & it displays a different kind of dynamics. It's become somewhat of our trademark these days which we're cool with. I'm still very much into this kinda style and I guess it grew from my interest in prog music. Coming from a metal background it's rather obvious that we should blend everything into one pot so to speak.
G: You use rich, eloquent language in Opeth's lyrics, and the meanings are deep, why not just slander someone or something, or carry on about how everything sucks, what compels you to write about the things you do?
MA: It's not really like I'm compelled to write...I sometimes wish we were a instrumental band, because writing lyrics is hard. Even though I don't "rate" our lyrics as important as the music it feels more personal if someone would slag me for my lyrics. Weird...
G: Many people either complain or commend on many of Opeth's songs being much longer than a typical metal song, I myself commend, but is there any particular reason that you do so?
MA: Not really, I guess it sprung from me not knowing how to write songs, just pieced bits and pieces together. The first song I wrote for Opeth was like 8 minutes long, so it's always been like this. I like long songs, always have...but it's not a criteria for me to be able to enjoy music at all. It's our style rather than an obsession.
G: Are there any plans for a Opeth video? Or a live album?
MA: None of us are really into the idea while we get offers to do one every day. We'll see, it's doesn't feel important.
G: I have heard several explanations of what additions have been added to the re-release of Blackwater Park, I have already paid for but not received it yet, could you tell us exactly what has been added?
MA: There's an extra disc containing 2 new songs & a video clip of the track "Harvest". The songs are 2 singer songwriter style tunes I did. They're recorded at mine and a friends home so the sound quality, although good, is not as professional as our "real" recordings. There's an intimacy in these 2 songs that creeps up on you for that same reason, and I'd say I'm really happy about how they turned out. They're called "Still Day Beneath the Sun " & "Patterns in the Ivy 2". The video is in a "Nothing Else Matters" style...studio footage etc...looks good. It's done for Quicktime so it's not an "actual" video MTV style you know. Apart from this the CD is housed in a black clip case & there some changes in the artwork too.
G: I as many are delighted to hear that Opeth is planning a world tour in support of the new album, I have been waiting to see you guys live for a long time, any words on what to expect from the shows?
MA: I figure we are gonna do it over the top this time. We'll sort out the venues and only concentrate on the real good ones and do long sets, like 2-3 hours. If we have a budget for this I want us to work more on the lights and stuff & do all the music properly with acoustic guitars on stage etc…something special.
G: Opeth recently did a short tour with Arch Enemy and Withering Surface, how did all of that go?
MA: It was cool, they're cool people. I think it was a rather good package for the UK...it seemed to be appreciated.
G: What is involved for Opeth on the road? How do you normally travel and what conditions do you have to endure from show to show?
MA: We're easy going, once in a while we try to be rockers and demand this and that, but it shines through that we're just mamas boys. We have a night liner while we're on tour, and everyone that's been on one has pretty much seen em all. It's not great, but it's not that bad either. The worst thing about touring is the wait. We usually arrive at the venues early morning so being the headlining band means you gotta wait for hours till you're due on stage. It's boring as hell!
G: I recently put up a thread in our forum about album cover art, I listed Opeth as having the best, what is involved for you guys in deciding upon a good cover image?
MA: I don't really know. Lately we've used Travis Smith and I just give him some very vague ideas on what we're after and then it's up to him. It's his art you know...I'm not gonna make him do a picture for us really...it's his idea that's interesting.
G: I am sorry, I have to ask everyone, among all Opeth songs that have been released is there any one or two that you enjoy playing more than any of the others?
MA: "The Drapery Falls" is always good...
G: There are many albums coming out here in the next few months, are you looking forward to any of them?
MA: Yeah, I'm looking forward to the new Porcupine tree album. I've heard it once and I think it's the best album I've ever heard in my life! Other than that I don't really know.
G: Who are some of the bands you listen to on a regular basis?
MA: Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Priest and Sabbath...golden oldies...
G: What were some of your influences growing up? Did you originally intend on writing and playing metal?
MA: Pretty much the above. I was a metal head when I was a kid and I still love it somehow. I was never into pop music...pretty much a guitar maniac. I liked David Bowie though...
G: I know that many of Opeth’s fans are truly amazed with the band, how does it make you feel exactly to be so much to so many people? I would just like to know because I yearn to experience that feeling one-day.
MA: Umm, I don't think about it like that. I know what you're saying because I've always wanted to become a famous metal star or whatever, but firstly we're not THAT famous, secondly you don't really know what you mean to your fans...it's not obvious. I think I'll have to wait 20 years and maybe some kid comes up to me saying, "You're Mikael from Opeth, right", then I'd be pretty proud!
G: Besides you being involved with Bloodbath, are there any other side projects that you or any of the other guys are involved in?
MA: The Martins have some side band, though I don't know if they're active or not. Other than that its just Bloodbath right now. We have a new album on the way.
G: Excuse my ignorance, maybe it is explained somewhere but what exactly does the name Opeth mean?
MA: It's taken from a fiction novel called the "Sunbird"...Opeth is the city of the moon.
G: The older recordings of Opeth have their own feel and sound that cannot be redone, and although they are good as they are is there any plan for re-recording any of the material?
MA: Never thought about it. It's somewhat of our history and I don't believe in altering that.
G: I wish you and Opeth great success on the new album and beyond, thank you for agreeing to this interview, it means a lot. The last line goes to you, say some words to the fans or add any closing remarks, again thanks.
MA: Thanks a lot for the interview. To the fans I can just say that soon the wait is over...
Griever: Please accept my cordial hello and thanks for doing this interview.
Mikael Akerfeldt: It's my pleasure.
G: So, how are you and the rest of the band?
MA: I'm pretty OK, but so stressed out that it's unbelievable. The guys are fine I reckon. We have a few gigs coming up and it's stressing me out since I gotta finish off the new songs in time for the recording.
G: I have been told that Opeth's new album is due out soon and will be two discs, one being heavier, and the other disc being a more somber display, any chance on an estimated release date and or title?
MA: There's no titles or dates yet. We're starting the recording on the 22nd of July and estimate to be finished around the beginning of September. Steven Wilson will help us with the production & mix the mellow album while we've talked to Andy Sneap about doing the mix for the heavy disc. Could be cool!
G: Opeth has recorded some tracks with a more nostalgic feel to the sound, can we expect anymore of this? It really sounds excellent.
MA: Thank you. This time we'll use tapes & some pro tools I believe. We'll strive for a tighter recording for the heavy album this time as the music is more technical and the mellow album will probably have a bit of a looser classic rock sound, more ambience than before. We'll re-mic the drum kit for this one and try n get more of a 70´s sound.
G: I have noticed over the past 3 albums that your clean vocals have become much more rich and powerful, but like so many vocalists have not been able to do, you have not lost a bit of the edge on your growls, does performing both as well as you do take its toll on your vocal cords?
MA: It's not a real problem for me. It's effortless for me to scream and it doesn't really affect my voice. I've lost once and that was because I caught a cold, but insisted on drinking booze & smoked a 100 cigarettes, so the next day the voice was gone.
G: I believe that one reason Opeth has become so revered in the metal community is the fact that you arrange your songs with both brutality and acoustic sections that seam together flawlessly, this depth in the music opens up the re-play factor quite a bit, the two sides, dusk and night as I like to say, do they reflect on you as a person, or are they merely the result of songwriting?
MA: I like to write songs that way & it displays a different kind of dynamics. It's become somewhat of our trademark these days which we're cool with. I'm still very much into this kinda style and I guess it grew from my interest in prog music. Coming from a metal background it's rather obvious that we should blend everything into one pot so to speak.
G: You use rich, eloquent language in Opeth's lyrics, and the meanings are deep, why not just slander someone or something, or carry on about how everything sucks, what compels you to write about the things you do?
MA: It's not really like I'm compelled to write...I sometimes wish we were a instrumental band, because writing lyrics is hard. Even though I don't "rate" our lyrics as important as the music it feels more personal if someone would slag me for my lyrics. Weird...
G: Many people either complain or commend on many of Opeth's songs being much longer than a typical metal song, I myself commend, but is there any particular reason that you do so?
MA: Not really, I guess it sprung from me not knowing how to write songs, just pieced bits and pieces together. The first song I wrote for Opeth was like 8 minutes long, so it's always been like this. I like long songs, always have...but it's not a criteria for me to be able to enjoy music at all. It's our style rather than an obsession.
G: Are there any plans for a Opeth video? Or a live album?
MA: None of us are really into the idea while we get offers to do one every day. We'll see, it's doesn't feel important.
G: I have heard several explanations of what additions have been added to the re-release of Blackwater Park, I have already paid for but not received it yet, could you tell us exactly what has been added?
MA: There's an extra disc containing 2 new songs & a video clip of the track "Harvest". The songs are 2 singer songwriter style tunes I did. They're recorded at mine and a friends home so the sound quality, although good, is not as professional as our "real" recordings. There's an intimacy in these 2 songs that creeps up on you for that same reason, and I'd say I'm really happy about how they turned out. They're called "Still Day Beneath the Sun " & "Patterns in the Ivy 2". The video is in a "Nothing Else Matters" style...studio footage etc...looks good. It's done for Quicktime so it's not an "actual" video MTV style you know. Apart from this the CD is housed in a black clip case & there some changes in the artwork too.
G: I as many are delighted to hear that Opeth is planning a world tour in support of the new album, I have been waiting to see you guys live for a long time, any words on what to expect from the shows?
MA: I figure we are gonna do it over the top this time. We'll sort out the venues and only concentrate on the real good ones and do long sets, like 2-3 hours. If we have a budget for this I want us to work more on the lights and stuff & do all the music properly with acoustic guitars on stage etc…something special.
G: Opeth recently did a short tour with Arch Enemy and Withering Surface, how did all of that go?
MA: It was cool, they're cool people. I think it was a rather good package for the UK...it seemed to be appreciated.
G: What is involved for Opeth on the road? How do you normally travel and what conditions do you have to endure from show to show?
MA: We're easy going, once in a while we try to be rockers and demand this and that, but it shines through that we're just mamas boys. We have a night liner while we're on tour, and everyone that's been on one has pretty much seen em all. It's not great, but it's not that bad either. The worst thing about touring is the wait. We usually arrive at the venues early morning so being the headlining band means you gotta wait for hours till you're due on stage. It's boring as hell!
G: I recently put up a thread in our forum about album cover art, I listed Opeth as having the best, what is involved for you guys in deciding upon a good cover image?
MA: I don't really know. Lately we've used Travis Smith and I just give him some very vague ideas on what we're after and then it's up to him. It's his art you know...I'm not gonna make him do a picture for us really...it's his idea that's interesting.
G: I am sorry, I have to ask everyone, among all Opeth songs that have been released is there any one or two that you enjoy playing more than any of the others?
MA: "The Drapery Falls" is always good...
G: There are many albums coming out here in the next few months, are you looking forward to any of them?
MA: Yeah, I'm looking forward to the new Porcupine tree album. I've heard it once and I think it's the best album I've ever heard in my life! Other than that I don't really know.
G: Who are some of the bands you listen to on a regular basis?
MA: Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Priest and Sabbath...golden oldies...
G: What were some of your influences growing up? Did you originally intend on writing and playing metal?
MA: Pretty much the above. I was a metal head when I was a kid and I still love it somehow. I was never into pop music...pretty much a guitar maniac. I liked David Bowie though...
G: I know that many of Opeth’s fans are truly amazed with the band, how does it make you feel exactly to be so much to so many people? I would just like to know because I yearn to experience that feeling one-day.
MA: Umm, I don't think about it like that. I know what you're saying because I've always wanted to become a famous metal star or whatever, but firstly we're not THAT famous, secondly you don't really know what you mean to your fans...it's not obvious. I think I'll have to wait 20 years and maybe some kid comes up to me saying, "You're Mikael from Opeth, right", then I'd be pretty proud!
G: Besides you being involved with Bloodbath, are there any other side projects that you or any of the other guys are involved in?
MA: The Martins have some side band, though I don't know if they're active or not. Other than that its just Bloodbath right now. We have a new album on the way.
G: Excuse my ignorance, maybe it is explained somewhere but what exactly does the name Opeth mean?
MA: It's taken from a fiction novel called the "Sunbird"...Opeth is the city of the moon.
G: The older recordings of Opeth have their own feel and sound that cannot be redone, and although they are good as they are is there any plan for re-recording any of the material?
MA: Never thought about it. It's somewhat of our history and I don't believe in altering that.
G: I wish you and Opeth great success on the new album and beyond, thank you for agreeing to this interview, it means a lot. The last line goes to you, say some words to the fans or add any closing remarks, again thanks.
MA: Thanks a lot for the interview. To the fans I can just say that soon the wait is over...
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