OPETH's Mikael Åkerfeldt - "It Doesn’t Mean Much In The Metal World To Put Out A Single"
November 26, 2012, 11 years ago
Roadrunner Records has issued a new interview with OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt. A couple of excerpts follow:
Q: You’ve been touring behind Heritage for over a year now, so in your mind, which of these songs will still be in the set list three or four years from now?
A: "Well, 'Devil’s Orchard' is the single, so to speak - it doesn’t mean much in the metal world to put out a single, but we still love playing that song and getting a good reaction. We played 'Famine' for the first time on this tour, which I also love playing; it’s really spooky, so that might be in the set, who knows? But generally I think we’re gonna revolve songs from this album in the future, just like we do with other records. But I think 'Devil’s Orchard' is definitely gonna be in the set more often than not."
Q: As the music moves in a more progressive direction, and away from metal, can you ever see Opeth becoming a band that “jams” onstage?
A: "Hard time seeing that happening, to be honest [laughs]. I’m not a really big fan of jams. I remember going to see the BLACK CROWES play, which I liked their album that they had out at the time, Amorica, with the lady’s crotch on the cover. And they were just jamming, and they didn’t really play any songs off their record, and they seemed really fucked up on whatever they were taking at the time, and I thought it was not… it wasn’t for me. Besides, I’m not a good jamming guitar player, and I can’t stand around singing “Ooh baby” all the time [laughs], so I can’t really see that happening. We’re more song-based, and we’ve always been, so I think that’s what we’re gonna try and do in the future. Even though I love progressive music and ’70s music, and obviously many of those bands’ shows were based on jams, I don’t think that’s going to happen for Opeth, to be honest."
Read the full interview here.
Opeth recently updated their live itinerary with the announcement of a trek through Sweden, dubbed Swedish Heritage Tour, in November/December. Dates include:
November
29 - KB - Malmo, Sweden30 - Katalin - Stockholm, Sweden
December
1 - Club 700 - Örebro, Sweden2 - Nefertiti - Gotheborg, Sweden
3 - Nefertiti - Gotheborg, Sweden
4 - Sodra Teatern - Stockholm, Sweden
5 - Sodra Teatern - Stockholm, Sweden
6 - Maxim - Gävle, Sweden
7 - Skandiateatern - Norrköping, Sweden
Opeth's complete live itinerary can be found at this location.