OPETH Frontman Issues Post-South American Tour Update

Guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt of Swedish progressive metallers OPETH has issued the following update:

"Where have you been all my life???

"Buenos Aires? I love you! Yeah, kinda fell in love with the city...absolutely stunning! I could definitely see myself and my fam having a few weeks on holiday there.

"Well, recently returned from the Latin/South American tour. It's been such a blast I can't even begin to tell ya. We started in Monterrey/Mexico and the vibe of that show resonated throughout the entire tour. All the shows were awesome! Our flight schedule was pretty hectic, to say the least.

"Mexico was fantastic overall, loads of people...sold out in Monterrey, sold out the first night in Mexico City which was a magical show, had another 1,500 people (more than half sold) for the second show in the same venue, which was another magical night! Food was amazing, fans were amazing...overall...yeah, AMAZING! Thanks!!

"Next up, Bogota, Colombia! The hotel didn't have a bar, which had the whole touring party being grumpy motherfuckers, semi-alcoholics as we are. The show was great, and getting there was interesting. We were driving through central Bogota when people all of a sudden started running in out direction through the streets. We saw tear gas or some type of smoke bombs go off and the military rode in. Apparently we'd been caught in the middle of a street manifestation. A little scary, yes, but wow...interesting all the same. The landscape around the city looked amazing, but we only saw it from the inside of a car. The show was great and the crowd was super-nice to us. Shitloads of peeps that came to see us...thanks a 1000!!!

"The we travelled to Buenos Aires, Argentina via Lima, Peru (had a layover there). The promoter took us to dinner which was amazing. Had some Roquefort steak with mash that was 5/5 and nothing less! WOW! Then I had to do some promo for the show with the 'Pop & Rock' radio station. The DJ had me drinking beer all the time so I got a little but drunk actually...right there on air.

"Lovely city, fantastic show. We had all sorts of mishaps happening to us and it was beyond hot. We looked like we'd just stepped out of the shower afterwards, but it was the funniest show on tour and actually one of the shows I've enjoyed most lately.

"Next up Chile and Santiago. This was a stress trip. We always leave the hotels early mornings, round 4 am, and this one was no expception. We had some sleep at our hotel and even managed to taste the superb buffet they had before we had to scoot of to the venue. This was the biggest single show of the tour with just short of 4,500 people I think. It was....fucking stupidly AMAZING! The Chilean crowd is LOUD! I had about 15 full body shivers during the show. Spectacular!

"Unfortunately, we had to split almost immediately after the show to go to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

"We always had some fans greet us at the airport which is always nice. People have been so kind to us. Sao Paulo was hot and humid, definately the hottest city of them all. The promoters took us for a great typical Brazilian meal with strips of meat being cut straight from the grill by waiters wandering round carrying different types of meat. Delicious...had some local beer which was nice too...duh??

"I went for a nap at the hotel and come showtime, it was pouring down with rain. I mean, I have never seen so much rain in my life. Couldn't even see the concrete in the streets, it looked like we're trapped in the fucking Niagara Falls. As we arrived at the venue we saw that the roof wasn't entirely water proof, so I had raindrops falling on my head as I was screaming away. Shitloads of tech problems during this show but we had a blast nevertheless, and the crowd seemed to love the show.., memorable for sure. I've always been interested in Brazil ever since I was a kid. Our first drummer, Anders, was born in Brazil and he'd told me about the place.

"Then we had another endless flight to go back home...first one was about 11 hours, and if you've never done a long flight like that, I can tell you it's so fucking boring and unhealthy. Feet get swollen (freaky looking) and you basically feel like you're a zombie for days after...and jetlag on top of that, of course.

"Finally I have to extend a big THANK YOU to all the people that came to see us, worked for us and took care of this little trip. We had a blast and hope that we'll return soon."

"I'm getting Melinda [Mikael's daughter] some soccer shoes today and tomorrow we head for Greece and then Turkey. Most likely to be great!"

Fan-filmed video footage of OPETH performing in Buenos, Aires Argentina on April 3, 2009 can be viewed below.

OPETH will take part in the European installment of DREAM THEATER's Progressive Nation tour, set to take place throughout September, October and November 2009. Also appearing on the bill are UNEXPECT and BIGELF.

OPETH recently completed an eight-show tour of Norway which included stops in major cities Oslo and Bergen as well as dates smaller towns like Volda and Sogndal. The trek was arranged by Rikskonsertene, a Norwegian state-sponsored organization that normally handles events featuring jazz, classical and folk artists.

OPETH was forced to cancel its previously announced April 13 concert at the Theatre Club in Tel Aviv, Israel "due to the fact that it became logistically impossible to deliver gear and backline to Israel and have it clear customs in time for the show," according to a posting on the group's web site. "The band hopes to be able to play in Israel later in the year when their schedule is less heavy time-wise, allowing sufficient time for freighting necessary equipment."