FREDRIK ÅKESSON On Return Of Growling Vocals In OPETH: 'If We Bring The Element Back, It Shouldn't Be There As A Gimmick'

In a new interview with Australia's Silver Tiger Media, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson of Swedish progressive metallers OPETH was asked about the fan and media response to the band's latest album, "The Last Will And Testament", which came out in November. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I've seen a lot of really great reviews of it. And, of course, that makes us really happy. And some good album charts as well, here in Sweden and Germany and some other countries.

"It's exciting times," he continued. "We've been working on it for such a long time and it's been such a huge part of [our] life and digesting it and recording it and everything, it's kind of a relief to get it released. We were supposed to release it slightly earlier, so when we did the North American tour we did a month ago or something like that, at least we played two of the new tracks, 'Paragraph One' and 'Paragraph Three', and we noticed at the time, because we started off the set with 'Paragraph One', both of those tracks were released in digital formats, so the audience was aware of them, and they worked out really well live. And that also gives you a good insight of what the album is gonna be like. And also they were extremely fun to play. It's fun to play new stuff. It's more action packed in a way. So, yeah, it's all good. And we're happy about everybody likes it and we can't wait to get out there and play more songs from it, really."

Asked how long it took to write and record "The Last Will And Testament", Fredrik said: "Well, writing the album took about maybe a year totally, perhaps. I think the first track was done — we got the demo. Mike [OPETH guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt] sent me a snippet from 'Paragraph Seven'; that was the first track that was completed. And when I heard it in its entirety, with the vocals, with the growls coming back and everything, I was, 'Wow, this is gonna be heavy, man. This is really cool.'

"We knew about [the growling vocals coming back already] because that element has been with us all the time because we play a lot of those tracks live," he continued. "And I noticed that Mikael seemed to think it's fun again to do it, that he was commenting on his own ability in that element of his singing. Like, 'Wow, that was really guttural this night,' and stuff like that. I could tell just the vibe of him that he was enjoying it again. And that's very important that if we bring the element back, it shouldn't be there as a gimmick. It has to be a reason for it. We knew, of course, there was gonna be a lot of talk about it, but also it suits these songs and it's also suits the concept. So it's not just about, yeah, a gimmick thing. And it also makes sense after doing four albums without it. And it's always been a big part element of the band also. But I think it's in a different way.

"So the writing started probably 2022, at the end of 2022, when we were done with all the touring that we were obliged for, that we signed up for [2019's] 'In Cauda Venenum' [album] that we had to finish after the pandemic," Fredrik added. "But that was a good thing also because we had got to do three tours with our new drummer Waltteri [Väyrynen] and see how he worked live and get him in the machinery and in the band and get the good vibe, which is so important, amongst each other. So I would say that that's when the writing started. It took a year about the writing, but we were starting rehearsing. The first track that was done was 2023 in June, and that was 'Paragraph Seven'. That's when Waltteri could start learning the drum parts. And then during that summer, a lot of the tracks were added on one after each other. And he had to practice for six months before he nailed all the drum parts because the drum arrangement on this album is really intricate. So he had to work his ass off, basically.

"The recording process started last year at Rockfield Studios again, but this time around in a bigger facility called the Quadrangle where bands like RUSH and QUEEN recorded, and also the last album with HEAVEN & HELL with Ronnie Dio, the BLACK SABBATH version of Ronnie Dio," the guitarist explained. "I believe that was Dio's last recording ever. I stayed in the same apartment he stayed in because it's a residential studio. So that was a bit surreal. But anyhow, yeah, and then you had the mix after that. So we spent three weeks at this studio in Wales, Rockfield, which is basically you live on a farm in the countryside. So you have sheeps and horses and geese. And, yeah, you walk to close little smaller town called Monmouth, and it's really beautiful, like a fairytale kind of landscape. And you go to local pub and have a beer and then walk all the way back. There's a lot of time you sit still in the studio, so you need to get out there. And you get fed. We had these two ladies who gave us food every night and they always gave us desserts, like apple pie, but they always put floating cream on top. So we had to exercise a little bit to get our arteries going a little bit."

"The Last Will And Testament" was released via Reigning Phoenix Music/Moderbolaget. Speaking to United Rock Nations about his decision to include growling vocals on the LP, Mikael said: "I wanted to try it out. I had been thinking, and we had been talking in the band that we should, maybe we could try and see what happens if we write something that's slightly heavier. And I felt I wanted to try and see if I could write music and fit that type of vocals on to new music. And I hadn't done that for many years… It's been a while. So I wrote a few parts and tried the death metal vocals, and it sounded awesome. Besides, it also provided a different voice to this character in the story. It became an asset that I haven't really had the need for, for the last four albums. But now it was an asset that actually could be beneficial for the whole concept, for the whole record. It sounded awesome too. I'm happy."

In October, Åkerfeldt addressed the fact that OPETH fans have reacted positively to his return to growling vocals on "§1", telling "Coffee With Ola": "I don't have social media. Obviously, the record is not out yet, so I haven't read any reviews, but I'm on YouTube, believe it or not, every now and then, so I've seen some comments and videos, 'Oh, my god, OPETH is back. Mikael's back,' that type of thing. And yeah, there are some screams on there. And it's cool that they appreciate it. It's also slightly annoying."

Elaborating on why he finds it "annoying" that so much of the focus has been on the fact that he is growling on an OPETH album again, Mikael said: "I choose not to get upset. I'm an old guy. I decided I'm just gonna take in, like, 'You love it? You love that I do that stuff? Fine. I'm gonna be happy about it. But it's also, is that all we are? We've done four records in a row without that type of vocals, which people have liked, but it's been… It's so much focus on the screams, I almost feel like I wanna troll, just do a shit record, like really shit, obvious shit, with great screams and see what they think."

He continued: "But I'm really happy with the record. The screams sound really good. They fit this music and the concept of the record. So, all in all, I'm happy."

When host Ola Englund noted that there are "a lot" of growling vocals on "The Last Will And Testament", Mikael concurred. "Yeah, maybe it's 50-50, maybe more. But it was fun doing it again. I hadn't done it on an OPETH record for quite some time. 'Watershed' was the last [album] with that type of vocals. I wrote the songs. I started with the one called 'Paragraph One' ['§1']. So I tried some screams to see if it fit with the music, because I hadn't written music with the intention of having that type of vocal for a long time. So I didn't know if it was gonna work, but it sounded great to me. So I was, like, 'Okay.' Besides, it's a concept record and it gave a voice to that main character in the story. So that felt, like, 'Okay, I'm gonna try.'"

Regarding the concept for the new OPETH album, Mikael said: "People heard that first song, 'Paragraph One'. It starts with footsteps leading up to a door. A door opens and then off we go. And a patriarch, a father has died. He's a rich, conservative, stern old fucker who's passed away and the album starts when his children, his three children, arrive to attend the reading of his last will and testament, basically to see what they're, so to speak, getting. And then throughout the album, through his testament, all the lyrics are written as if they were written like a proper testament, with paragraphs, which explains the titles, or the lack of titles. And throughout the reading, he will reveal secrets about himself mostly, but many of these secrets will immediately affect his children and kind of turn their lives upside down. And then there's a twist to the story as well in the end."

"The Last Will And Testament" was written by Åkerfeldt, with lyrics conferred with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (THE HEARD, ex-CRUCIFIED BARBARA). "The Last Will And Testament" was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman (GHOST, THE HELLACOPTERS),engineered by Boman, Joe Jones (KILLING JOKE, ROBERT PLANT) and OPETH, with Boman, Åkerfeldt and the rest of OPETH mixing at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm. The strings on "The Last Will And Testament" were arranged by Åkerfeldt and returning prog friend Dave Stewart (EGG, KHAN) and conducted by Stewart at Angel Studios in London. Not one to miss a beat, visual artist Travis Smith returns to the fold, crafting his 11th cover, a haunting "photograph" reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's infamous "Overlook Hotel" photograph. Miles Showell (ABBA, QUEEN) also revisits mastering and vinyl lacquer cutting at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Åkerfeldt rolls out the red carpet for storied flautist and JETHRO TULL mainman Ian Anderson. Not only do Anderson's signature notes fly on "§4" and "§7", he narrates on "§1", "§2", "§4", and "§7". Joining Anderson, EUROPE's Joey Tempest lends a backing vocal hand on "§2", while Åkerfeldt's youngest daughter, Mirjam Åkerfeldt, is the disembodied voice in "§1".

"The Last Will And Testament" is a concept album set in the post-World War I era, unfolding the story of a wealthy, conservative patriarch whose last will and testament reveals shocking family secrets. The narrative weaves through the patriarch's confessions, the reactions of his twin children, and the mysterious presence of a polio-ridden girl who the family have taken care of. The album begins with the reading of the father's will in his mansion. Among those in attendance is a young girl, who, despite being an orphan and polio-ridden, has been raised by the family. Her presence at the will reading raises suspicions and questions among the twins.

"The Last Will And Testament" is the darkest and heaviest record OPETH has made in decades, and it is also the band's most fearlessly progressive. A concept album recounting the reading of one recently deceased man's will to an audience of his surviving family members, it brims with haunting melodrama, shocking revelations and some of the wildest and most unpredictable music that Åkerfeldt has ever written.

The follow-up to 2019's widely acclaimed "In Cauda Venenum", "The Last Will And Testament" is set in the shadowy, sepia-stained 1920s. It slowly reveals its secrets like some classic thriller from the distant, cobwebbed past, with each successive song shining more light on the stated machinations of our dead (but definitely not harmless) protagonist. The emotional chaos of the story is perfectly matched by OPETH's vivid but claustrophobic soundtrack, which artfully winds its way towards a crestfallen but sumptuous finale. Masters of their own idiosyncratic musical domain, OPETH have never sounded more unique.

"The Last Will And Testament" is destined to be a milestone in OPETH's illustrious recorded history. The band's first out-and-out concept record, it features guest cameos from JETHRO TULL legend Ian Anderson and Joey Tempest, frontman with Swedish rock gods EUROPE. Only one of the album's eight songs has a title: closing ballad "A Story Never Told". The rest are simply labeled as numbered chapters in this slowly unfolding saga of deceit, recrimination and betrayal. Enigmatic, unsettling and immersive, "The Last Will And Testament" is a turbulent, prog metal tale like no other.

Making his recorded debut alongside OPETH's long-established lineup of Mikael Åkerfeldt, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson, bassist Martin Mendez and keyboard maestro Joakim Svalberg on "The Last Will And Testament" is new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who joined the band in 2022.