OPETH Frontman: 'We've Never Jumped On Trends Or Chances To Make Money'

OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt recently spoke to Decibel magazine about the making of the group's new album, "Ghost Reveries", and the band's decision to sign with Roadrunner Records, among other topics. A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:

On "Ghost Reveries":

"I'm psyched, very happy. I've been working on this record for ever three months. This new album has the potential to become my favorite. Probably because from the beginning we were more meticulous, it's more finished overall. In the past, we sort of just threw everything together and then were like, 'Oh, we'll just fix that later.' For previous albums, no one knew the songs but me, but for this album we were well rehearsed. I got the feeling when I listened to these songs in the mix that stuff was happening all the time — just pow! pow! pow! pow! Which is what I wanted! I want the album to be one of those records that you listen to once and you're like, 'What was that?' And you have to listen again — and with the long songs I don't want people to be bored."

On how a jump to Roadrunner Records will affect OPETH's loyal fanbase:

"[Roadrunner's] a big label; I'm sure they will help us, but for a band like us, we have to be really careful. We have a credibility that we've earned from over 15 years of playing together. We've never jumped on trends or chances to make money, so in the eyes of our old fans, this tour [the recently completed Sounds of the Underground tour] is probably like our sell-out moment. I want us to maintain that credibility, but I'm not stupid. I want to play in front of as many people as possible while maintaining that credibility."

On having to compromise for the sake of radio/MTV airplay:

"I would love to do a single. We have this soft song, you know, a ballad, and I was thinking, 'Maybe that could be the single?' Because it's short and it's good! But the rest of the album is all heavy.

"You know, it's really weird talking about a single when you have ten-minute songs! And that are heavy! [Roadrunner] want us to do edits, which I understand, but it's going to suck! They obviously want to do a video, and have a specific first song ready for airplay [the interview was conducted before the band shot a video for 'The Grand Conjuration' — Ed.], but I don't like people tampering with my songs! But I'm not stupid. I know that no one's going to play a ten-minute song and, as I said, I want people to hear us. Even if they hear a shitty three-minute edit, it's better than nothing. I'm probably going to hate it, but if that's the only way for a band like us to reach out to new people, then I guess that's the way it is."