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"“You
can't deny the fact that it's pretty odd or diverse for
a death metal band to do an album like this, or rather,
to be able to do an album like Damnation and get away
with it. Damnation introduced Opeth to a lot of non
metal fans who've since then moved into metal I
believe.”
- Mikael
Åkerfeldt" |
DEATH METAL MELTDOWN – OPETH EXCLUSIVE
Sweden’s Opeth are best known as a heavy-weight Death
Metal band. Their music is intense, punishing, and heavy.
Their latest release Damnation takes a turn in quite the
opposite direction. Damnation’s music is quiet, acoustic and
introspective, full of melody and dynamics not often
associated with a death metal act. FPE sat down with Opeth
frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt to discuss the new CD and his
thoughts on all things guitar. Enjoy!
What
inspired you to record Damnation? It is quite a departure from
previous Opeth recordings?
Mikael Åkerfeldt:
“Damnation was part of this idea I had about doing 2 albums at
the same time. Since we had the idea of doing a very extreme
and heavy album (Deliverance) on one side it allowed us to
make Damnation our most delicate and beautiful record. I
concentrated more on strong melodies than I've ever done
before. It was also a way for me to get closer to my
influences from the 60´s and 70´s.”
How have
Opeth fans reacted to Damnation?
M: “Most people
seem to really like it, although some didn't obviously. It's
fine, even though I think it's absolutely amazing I'm not
surprised that some people, especially die-hard metal fans,
might not dig the album. Commercially we've pretty much only
received praise for the album. You can't deny the fact that
it's pretty odd or diverse for a death metal band to do an
album like this, or rather, to be able to do an album like
Damnation and get away with it. Damnation introduced Opeth to
a lot of non metal fans who've since then moved into metal I
believe.”
Did you formally study guitar or are
you self-taught?
M: “Completely self taught. I
don't know shit when it comes to scales or chords...I make up
my own chords and I wouldn't know what they're called. I just
try to write stuff that I think sounds good, same with solos.
I'm happy with my tone, but my technique isn't good at all I
believe. I got the tone and the sense of rhythm so that's
basically what I rely on most. I wouldn't mind taking a few
lessons to get to the next level, but it's hard when you're
lazy!”
Do you construct your guitar solos or
improvise them?
M: “I more or less construct them,
but that obviously comes from improvising a solo 10 times and
then picking it your favorite parts. I come up with decent
solos pretty fast, it's never been a big problem for me, then
again, I don't do stuff that's that hard...I just want it to
raise the intensity of the music during that specific part
really.”  What kind of strings are you using?
M:
“For electrics I only use D’Addario 010-046, although I'm
thinking about trying out sets that has thicker strings in the
rhythms since I'm working on open drop D tunings for the next
Opeth albums. I kind of like that falling note when you hit
the string too hard as well, like Morbid Angel you know. It
can be a great effect, not many use that as most bands think
it's ugly, but Trey Azagthoth of Morbid angel has developed
that into a style, which I would like to adapt to an extent.
For acoustic strings I play Thomastik 011 strings which are
fantastic. For classical I use D’Addario J45 or 46 which are
great too. I like high tension in classical strings. I used to
work for 3 years in a guitar store that only sold acoustic
guitars, so I've tried pretty much every brand of acoustic
strings there is.”
Who are your musical
influences?
M: “Everything from Morbid angel via
Whitesnake to Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake to Miles Davis.
I've got a wide taste in music and will listen to anything
good. There are genres I don't like at all like techno, hip
hop, nu metal, power metal, emo metal etc...there's a lot of
crap out there, so nowadays it's not often that I find a new
band that I really like. Recently I've gotten into Today is
the Day, Mastodon and Gorguts which are all great. Gorguts
been around forever but I've never heard any of their albums
til recently. They're not going anymore as I heard the singer
or somebody from the band died. I'm an avid collector of
obscure vinyl from the 60´s and 70´s as well as metal vinyl
originals. I've got about 3 maybe 4000 vinyl, and a lot of
stuff from my collection is absolutely fantastic. Bands that
no one knows about...mainly progressive rock, krautrock and
psychadelia. I like tripped out stuff you
know.”
Do you have a daily practice
routine?
M: “Not at all. I don't play guitar every
day when we're in-between tours. I play a lot while I'm
writing and obviously touring is good for your playing. I
think I've improved a lot from touring so much as we have. I
can reach my emotions more easily nowadays and really play
with the heart. Before I was always too nervous to really hit
it the way I want to. I don't practice whatsoever...I just
play, and the intention with that is to come up with some cool
music.”
How do you warm up before a
show?
M: “Don't warm up either...sorry, I'm very
unprofessional when it comes to stuff like that. I don't warm
up my voice or my fingers. I basically have a smoke, a coffee
and a shot of Grants scotch. That's it!”
 If you could jam with one
artist who would that be?
M: “I'm not a good jam
guitarist unless I play with people I know. Like the guys in
Opeth. I'm totally in awe with guys who can just jam with
everyone and make it sound good. There was this guy, Rudy, who
was the soundman for Devil Driver on our most recent tour. He
could play...I mean, really play the fucking guitar. And sing
too. He played with Hank Williams the 3rd and he's fucking
phenomenal when it came to jamming. I heard him once and he's
ace! Blues player you know. I mean, I can play guitar, but I
don’t have what it takes to be a jam player like that. I'm too
shy in many ways. I like it and love the idea of Opeth jamming
on stage etc...but I don't know....it's not for me I
guess.”
What effects pedals do you
use?
M: “I miss the days of the stomp boxes....I
used to have a HM1 from boss which was what EVERYBODY used in
Sweden in the late 80´s/early 90´s...the pedal was called
"Heavy metal"!
I had that plus a tube screamer to make it
sound more clear and fatter. Nowadays I only play Boss/Roland
multi effects. I got one GT6 which is my main pedal + a GT3
which is great too although some crew guy spilled beer in it
so it's a bit fucked up now. Still works but is not 100%
reliable.
What was the last book you enjoyed
reading?
M: “Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis. Don't
read much but that one really got my attention!”
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