OPETH's FREDRIK ÅKESSON: 'Shredding Is Fun, But You Have To Be Tasteful'

U.K.'s Guitarist magazine recently conducted an interview with OPETH/ex-ARCH ENEMY guitarist Fredrik Åkesson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Guitarist: You're at the end of the summer festival season now. How is the material for the next OPETH album coming along?

Fredrik: Mikael [Åkerfeldt, OPETH mainman/singer/guitarist] recently showed me a riff that he's working on right now. Very different and very interesting! That's probably going to end up on the new OPETH album. He's working on two tracks for the next one at the moment. [Martin] Mendez [bass] and I are working on material at my house. We'll see what happens, but we'll try and squeeze some material in there — see what the master says! [laughs]

Guitarist: What's been the highlight of your time in the band so far?

Fredrik: Some gigs are magic — playing the Royal Albert Hall with the band was incredible. I saw the DVD and it looks very cool. I was a little unfortunate with the camerman stepping on my power though! I went silent in the last song — the whole rig died. A bit stressful standing in front of all those people.

Guitarist: If you weren't a guitar player what do you think you'd be doing for a living?

Fredrik: Maybe I'd be a singer! Normal job? I've done a lot of shity jobs. I've been a construction worker, I've cleaned up after dead people… I don't want to go back to anything like that. Maybe I'd be working in a studio — close to music. Actually, I'd be a guitar tech. I've done it once before. One show with DOKKEN when [EUROPE guitarist] John Norum was in the band.

Guitarist: When you first joined OPETH, a lot of people may have seen you as a shredder. But there's a lot more to you than that, as Mikael has said. Do you think people have realized that now?

Fredrik: Yes and if you listen to Watershed there isn't that much shredding. It's a couple of runs — I had to squeeze something in! [laughs] But I hope people see that I try to be diverse. On the solos from 'Burden', for example, it's more of a vintage approach — Gilmour, Knopfler, early Blackmore. I try to play what's right for the song rather than getting in as much shred as possible to impress people. Shredding is fun, but you have to be tasteful.

Read the entire interview from Guitarist magazine.