In a new interview with Prog, Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt explained how the band’s decision to work with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson came about.
“I wouldn’t have guests on the records unless I felt that they could contribute something that I couldn’t,” Åkerfeldt revealed and further explained why he specifically wanted Anderson in the record. “In this case, I don’t have that gravelly old-man voice like Ian. It just made everything so much better.”
The frontman also shared his love and admiration for Jethro Tull. “I’ve cried to Jethro Tull. Ian’s given me so much joy over the years, it’s incredible. Just to mention his name in the same sentence as this band is incredible. Joey Tempest is the same.”
In August of this year, when Opeth released the first track from the new album, fans were shocked to hear the return of the guttural roars and blastbeats from the band’s earlier sound. However, it wasn’t to Åkerfeldt’s liking.
“The first song I wrote was ‘§1,’ but I actually didn’t like it at first,” the frontman admitted during another interview. “It had some of those death metal connotations which reminded me of Morbid Angel, but I stopped halfway because I felt like an imposter. I let it sit for a while and started writing what would become ‘§7,’ which had more death metal vocals.”
Like the fans, the singer also resembled ‘§1’ to his work in the earlier days. “It reminded me of how I screamed in the olden days. I would be in the studio clenching my fists to the point where I was bleeding from the nails sticking into my flesh! I felt that thing. It’s hard to describe, but I guess it’s that old death metal magic,” he added.
The band released their album just today and has worked with numerous names — Anderson, Joey Tempest, Dave Stewart, London Session Orchestra, and more. Although the album was originally set to be released on October 11, the band announced earlier that production delays have pushed the release date to November 22.
