When Swedish prog metal kings Opeth played London’s Eventim Apollo in November 2022, their minds weren’t on King Crimson, Camel or Genesis. They were thinking about the bands who’d made the venue a part of heavy metal history.
“To me it’s still the Hammersmith Odeon,” says guitarist Fredrik Åkesson. “That venue has so much history hosting bands like Saxon, Maiden and Motörhead when I was a kid – it’s legendary.”
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1729078929/articles/i9UC7lR8p1729410136626/9089091097.jpg]
There were other reasons that night was momentous, too. The UK stop on their Evolution XXX tour was a night to celebrate 30 years of achievement, Opeth’s ascension from extreme metal cult heroes to gamechanging prog metal torchbearers, paving the way for everyone from Gojira to Jinjer. But even with a packed house and thousands of fans waiting, there was only one face Fredrik was focused on as he played.
“I looked up into the balcony and [Iron Maiden’s] Bruce Dickinson was there, air drumming!” he says. “I’ll never forget that gig.”
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1729078929/articles/i9UC7lR8p1729410136626/2809009220.jpg]
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1729078929/articles/i9UC7lR8p1729410136626/7099100922.jpg]
It’s testament to just how far Opeth have come that they not only regularly pack out massive venues around the world – Sydney Opera House, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Wembley Arena, they’ve done the lot – but have also earned the respect and admiration of some of music’s leading figures. It hasn’t always been the case, though. Their first decade was spent largely trying to outrun a bum reputation inherited from an earlier incarnation of the group, their ambitious songcraft and clear progressive leanings were an uphill battle best summarised by frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt to Prog in 2023: “People thought we were shit.”
Thankfully, by the 2000s their reputation had shifted. From 2001’s Blackwater Park to 2008’s Watershed, Opeth cemented themselves as one of extreme metal’s most critically revered and boundary-pushing groups. So naturally, they ditched extremity altogether. From 2011’s Heritage onwards, they embraced 70s prog with intricate, complex songs that left their death metal roots gathering dust. Their career thrived and the band found whole new audiences, even as metal purists decried them from the wings. But who says they can’t go back?
Over the summer, Opeth released §1, their first single since 2019’s In Cauda Venenum. On that album, they had bridged much of the more technical songcraft they had explored post-Heritage with metallic heft befitting a band that now headlined festivals and could play arenas. They also wrote songs entirely in their native Swedish tongue for the first time. Everyone wondered where they might go next, but nobody was prepared for the return of death metal vocals. Seventy-seven seconds in, Åkerfeldt growled for the first time on record in almost 16 years: ‘Draped in death/the howl of lore.’
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1729078929/articles/i9UC7lR8p1729410136626/1890980087.jpg]
Fan response was immediate and, by and large, ecstatic. Loudest were the metal fans who had been waiting for Opeth to return to their extreme metal roots, particularly given they had never actually stopped playing those songs live. But what about their other fans, the ones they’d gained in the past decade of psychedelic hues, symphonic swells and jazz breaks? Prog’s come to the Sanctum Hotel in London to find out. As a disclaimer, we should point out that although the album features the return of some death growls, overall The Last Will And Testament is probably the proggiest album Opeth have released thus far.
It’s a humid September day, but thankfully the thick, sticky air is nullified by the coolness of the hotel’s subterranean cinema room. Black and white portraits of Kurt Cobain and Ozzy Osbourne on the walls lend a sense of stylish, sanitised bohemia. It’s rock’n’roll, but with the crusts cut off. So, what’s with the fancy digs?
“It’s the Maiden hotel!” Åkesson says, elaborating that the metal legends opened the site back in 2009 and still have ties to it now. Bruce Dickinson attending Opeth gigs aside, they’re not the most obvious bands you would pair up, but Åkesson admits Maiden inspired Opeth as much as they have countless other metal bands.
“Besides, Iron Maiden have a progressive side, undoubtedly,” he points out.
He grins wide and raises his eyebrows conspiratorially: “You know, one of Steve Harris’s favourite bands is Jethro T...
“To me it’s still the Hammersmith Odeon,” says guitarist Fredrik Åkesson. “That venue has so much history hosting bands like Saxon, Maiden and Motörhead when I was a kid – it’s legendary.”
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1729078929/articles/i9UC7lR8p1729410136626/9089091097.jpg]
There were other reasons that night was momentous, too. The UK stop on their Evolution XXX tour was a night to celebrate 30 years of achievement, Opeth’s ascension from extreme metal cult heroes to gamechanging prog metal torchbearers, paving the way for everyone from Gojira to Jinjer. But even with a packed house and thousands of fans waiting, there was only one face Fredrik was focused on as he played.
“I looked up into the balcony and [Iron Maiden’s] Bruce Dickinson was there, air drumming!” he says. “I’ll never forget that gig.”
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1729078929/articles/i9UC7lR8p1729410136626/2809009220.jpg]
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1729078929/articles/i9UC7lR8p1729410136626/7099100922.jpg]
It’s testament to just how far Opeth have come that they not only regularly pack out massive venues around the world – Sydney Opera House, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Wembley Arena, they’ve done the lot – but have also earned the respect and admiration of some of music’s leading figures. It hasn’t always been the case, though. Their first decade was spent largely trying to outrun a bum reputation inherited from an earlier incarnation of the group, their ambitious songcraft and clear progressive leanings were an uphill battle best summarised by frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt to Prog in 2023: “People thought we were shit.”
Thankfully, by the 2000s their reputation had shifted. From 2001’s Blackwater Park to 2008’s Watershed, Opeth cemented themselves as one of extreme metal’s most critically revered and boundary-pushing groups. So naturally, they ditched extremity altogether. From 2011’s Heritage onwards, they embraced 70s prog with intricate, complex songs that left their death metal roots gathering dust. Their career thrived and the band found whole new audiences, even as metal purists decried them from the wings. But who says they can’t go back?
Over the summer, Opeth released §1, their first single since 2019’s In Cauda Venenum. On that album, they had bridged much of the more technical songcraft they had explored post-Heritage with metallic heft befitting a band that now headlined festivals and could play arenas. They also wrote songs entirely in their native Swedish tongue for the first time. Everyone wondered where they might go next, but nobody was prepared for the return of death metal vocals. Seventy-seven seconds in, Åkerfeldt growled for the first time on record in almost 16 years: ‘Draped in death/the howl of lore.’
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1729078929/articles/i9UC7lR8p1729410136626/1890980087.jpg]
Fan response was immediate and, by and large, ecstatic. Loudest were the metal fans who had been waiting for Opeth to return to their extreme metal roots, particularly given they had never actually stopped playing those songs live. But what about their other fans, the ones they’d gained in the past decade of psychedelic hues, symphonic swells and jazz breaks? Prog’s come to the Sanctum Hotel in London to find out. As a disclaimer, we should point out that although the album features the return of some death growls, overall The Last Will And Testament is probably the proggiest album Opeth have released thus far.
It’s a humid September day, but thankfully the thick, sticky air is nullified by the coolness of the hotel’s subterranean cinema room. Black and white portraits of Kurt Cobain and Ozzy Osbourne on the walls lend a sense of stylish, sanitised bohemia. It’s rock’n’roll, but with the crusts cut off. So, what’s with the fancy digs?
“It’s the Maiden hotel!” Åkesson says, elaborating that the metal legends opened the site back in 2009 and still have ties to it now. Bruce Dickinson attending Opeth gigs aside, they’re not the most obvious bands you would pair up, but Åkesson admits Maiden inspired Opeth as much as they have countless other metal bands.
“Besides, Iron Maiden have a progressive side, undoubtedly,” he points out.
He grins wide and raises his eyebrows conspiratorially: “You know, one of Steve Harris’s favourite bands is Jethro T...
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Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 154