Metalsucks.net Interviews Opeth

Metalsucks.net writer Vince Neilstein had a chance to interview Opeth front man Mikael Åkerfeldt and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson about a month ago in NYC when they were on tour with High On Fire and Nachtmystium who were recently booted from the tour. They talked about Metallica’s Death Magnetic and touring again. I’ll be interviewing Fredrik Åkesson this Friday in Raleigh, NC and hopefully I’ll get some good shots of the show as well. Here is a few bits and pieces from the interview:

How’s the chemistry with the other bands? You guys have probably toured with High on Fire before but maybe not Nachtmystium?

MA: No, we’ve never toured with them. We never met those guys, so we’re just getting acquainted with them. They seem like nice people, but we haven’t hung out that much yet. We’ll have time because this tour goes all the way through October, but not with Nachtmystium; they’re leaving in the middle of the tour.

Have the fans been generally responsive to the new material when you play it live?

FA: Yeah, it’s very good.

MA: Well it sounds better than the old stuff.

FA: When we did the Progressive Nation Tour, for instance, we tried out “Heir Apparent,” the second track from the record. I would say the reaction was louder than the old songs.

MA: We’ll see stuff on forums and E-mails we get through Myspace “Oh I want to hear the new songs.” I seem to recall when I went to gigs for like Iron Maiden or something; I was like “Oh, that’s that new song.” That’s a good thing that people seem very anxious to hear what we’re doing now as opposed to what we did before.

Do you worry about alienating the old fans because of the change in sound?

MA: No, but I think what we’re doing is actually the only way to keep all types of fans. To be honest even though people have their favorite records and eras of the band, I think generally somebody might be wishing for another Blackwater Park, but I don’t think that would please them. I think we have to basically take our pasts with us but try to develop something new. Once you try to please the fans, you come up with something shitty or gimmicky.

Speaking of that, do you guys agree or disagree as it applies to Metallica? Have you guys heard the new album?

MA: I heard one song.

One song? What did you think?

MA: It started like Load or something, but then it picked up and became really fast. I thought it was cool and definitely a step in the right direction. I think it’s a bit like a desperate move in a way for them. People want the old stuff, so it didn’t sound like a step forward more like a step backward. I still think, from what I heard, people are saying that it’s the best one since the Black Album which I don’t think is far from the truth. I didn’t like the Load or Reload albums. I didn’t like St. Anger either

To read more on this interview head on over to Metalsucks.net

Image used with permission from Newscom.com