Opeth: Guitarist Fredrik Akesson Hints At Brave New Album

There aren't many bands out there, especially in the headbanger-blustered pits of metal, that have courted more musical controversy than Opeth.

- Shreya Bose

With the release of their 2011 album Heritage, they abandoned the death metal-driven prog leanings that proved wildly successful, and reoriented their sound to appeal to more experimental ears. In collaboration with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree fame, Opeth risked enraging loyal fans who liked their growls intact. These Swedish prog-players peppered their pre-Heritage pieces with folk/blues/jazz inspired riffage and paired their Satan-pleasing growls with achingly eloquent ballads. But the decisive shift into plaintive, pastoral, almost mystical soundcraft was a hard pill to swallow for those that would swear by the devil-raising drum solo that closed Deliverance.

Primarily fuelled by the creative fumes of vocalist-guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt, Opeth has always exhibited a rare grace in their melodic filings. Always adept at eliciting the guttural roar, Akerfeldt has also charmed listeners by offering nothing less than enchantment with clean vocals. This vocal changeling made almost schizophrenic shifts from tremor inducing bellows to luminous melodies that would enchant a siren in the sea.

When crafting sounds in the death/progressive metal tradition, Akerfeldt and his cohorts knit stories into a tapestry of unexpected sounds. Often, a gentle yet precise piano wanders into the midst of battle-worthy chaos. A seductive acoustic intro that speaks of wistful memories and feather-whisper introspection leads into barrelling death metal. Quiet humming saunters into a massive onslaught of dissonant harmony - all while meandering around disarmingly upbeat vocal harmonies. You wouldn’t expect it, but a touch of funk will appear to lead the gothic-and-giddy carnivalesque into Stevie Wonder-style polyphony.