Opeth Interview!

Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), July 21st 2003 @ The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto

Opeth's Damnation tour with Porcupine Tree was definitely one of the more unique gigs I've been to. Since they were switching spots during the whole tour, Opeth played first at the Toronto show (which incidently kicked off the tour), with Porcupine Tree on later. The guys were friendly as hell, hanging outside the tourbus for ages to autograph, take pics with fans and such. Rob and I finally managed to get a hold of Mikael and chatted with him for a while...

Rob: First off, I would like to say that Opeth has been a very strong musical influence for me towards the songs that I try to write musically and lyrically. And I feel that you guys have your own level of greatness, you're just like...one of those bands that just stick out, more than anyone else... cos it's such a weird combination, I've never really heard of like... the death metal and acoustics together as one... it's brilliant and I congratulate you guys, it's amazing!
Mike: Thanks! [laughs]
Rob: Okay, I wanna ask things that I've been curious about, myself personally. How long have you guys been musicians?
Mike: Ummmm, well, you know, like professionally, so to speak... it wasn't until...when I started, which was like...
Rob: Orchid? '94?
Mike: Yeah, Orchid, '94. It wasn't really professional cos we weren't making money in those days. But I've been playing guitar since I was in sixth grade when I got my first electric! I was like...10? 11?

bored and listened to death metal since I was like one years old... I was into all sorts of music. When I got into heavy metal, I liked the ballads as much as the heavy stuff...
Tina: Deep Purple?
Mike: Yeah Deep Purple!!

Rob: My musical career went from G'nR and Metallica then to Ace of Base and Nirvana then to Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg and then into nu-metal and then into metal!
Ryan: Awwww! [laughs]
Mike: Yeah, why not?? It's like... I've been listening to many, many different kinds of musics too. With Opeth, we just leave every option open, pretty much. We do what we think sounds good, regardless of if that part can be considered a jazz part or whatever... we just put everything in the song that we think sounds good.
Tina: Yeah, I was just telling Ryan... on Closure, we were saying that you can hear a kind of Arabic influence...
Mike:Yeah, yeah. I've always liked that kinda stuff, what Ritchie Blackmore did with Rainbow, and Led Zeppelin and that kinda... that whole Arabian kinda influence. I've always been very much into that. ....And when the Martins came into the band - they lived in what could be considered thhe ghetto of Stockholm, with so many different cultures - they introduced many, many different artists that I'd never heard of, which are fantastic!
Tina: Like what?
Mike: There's sa guy called ummm Ibrahim... umm De Sales? I think is his name...which is like Turkey and Lebanon - well, he's from Lebanon, he's considered like.. a pop singer, like fucking Bruce Springsteen! But for me, it's like something I've never heard before. And that's so inspirational to hear that kinda music! The first time they played that to me, we were in the studio recording Blackwater Park and I was - as usual, I wasn't done with the music. So they played that stuff to me and I was like "Fuck!!" and I ran off and wrote Bleak! You know, that song Bleak! And it's like, ever since then we had that influence, especially from the Martins... so it's a new kind of... new music for me.

Rob: That's pretty cool! So what inspired you to pick up a guitar and then say "Hey! I wanna be this guy on stage!" Who was the key influence for you?
Mike: Probably umm.. since I play guitar, it was more like the guitar players of the metal bands... like KK Downing -
Rob: Adrian Smith?
Mike: yeah, Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore, all those guys - I was into guitars pretty much, I wanted to be guitarist and I never even considered being a singer!
Tina: So how did that happen?
Mike: It's because I was singing in my first band, Eruption - it was like a thrash/death metal band - it was like screaming vocals and I could do that. I knew I had a fairly good clean voice too, but we never incorporated it in those days, apart from like... Misfits covers and Black Sabbath covers and stuff like that. And when Opeth started, we had a different singer but he quit. And I - you know.. was the new singer.
Rob: Were you still in the band at the time?
Mike: Yeah I was still in the band - I started in Opeth and I was meant to be the bassplayer in the beginning. But Opeth was actually a band before I started... and I was meant to be a bassplayer but the other guys in the band didn't like the idea of kicking out their bassplayer. So when I came to rehearsals, none of them knew I was coming, and when I was there, they were like "uhh who's this guy??" And the singer (my friend) was like "Well, he's gonna be the bassplayer cos our bassplayer SUCKS!" Oh okay, you know, they were like "well, you know, we don't want him" So the band split up, and me and the singer, we reformed the band and then I was the guitar player.

Rob: So while you're working on tracks, how does the progression work? Do you just think of a riff that'll go with another one or just compile riffs like... "this will go with this!" and then just write... ding! whatever.. and then just say 'that go maybe... here!'
Mike: Yeah, well, for the heavy material, it's more like... I compile all the ideas I have for a song. Like what we played tonight, those songs are made from beginning to end, more like... more like verse-chorus-verse,, like that. But for the heavy stuff, we just compile everything and try to piece it together.
Tina: For the heavier stuff, how do you guys manage that on stage? Cos I mean you've got all these different guitar parts layered over each other...
Mike: Well, you know, today, we were talking just before the show... we were so nervous!! We were like "Let's just do a heavy set instead!" [laughs] Because we've been touring since... since December. And we've had a total of maybe 4 or 5 weeks off. So the heavy stuff, it's super tight. And everything's like.. you know, it's nothing for us. We can play those songs in our sleep. But tonight was a new thing and we were fucking nervous! And this stuff is more fragile, and more easy for the crowd to hear mistakes - it's a completely different thing. But the heavy stuff, we know - we know how to play that stuff, we've been doing it for such a long time. Damnation is the first album of it's kind, for Opeth...

Rob: When you're writing a track... all your tracks have like some kinda hidden messages in musical???? do you think "hey that'll be cool, I'll write a song about it."
Mike: No, I don't spend too much time on lyrics, so there's no real hidden message. I only really spend time on lyrics when there's a concept. I've done two concept albums...
Rob: What were the concept albums?
Mike: Blackwater Park and Still Life... oh! sorry! No, not Blackwater Park... My Arms, Your Hearse and Still Life.
Tina: How do you come up with your lyrics? When I was listening to Damnation for the very first time, I got to Death Whispered A Lullaby, and I was like "wow, that's not Mike!"
Mike: No, that's not my lyric either!
Tina: Yeah, and I hadn't even read through the booklet yet, and I was like 'that's not Mike!"
Mike: Yeah I didn't write that, Steven wrote that lyric. I was under so much pressure in the studio and we were... two and a half months in the studio, and I was working day and night... I had half a day off during that time. I was like a wreck! So when I started to write the lyrics, Steve was there, and I was like "Steve, c'mon, write a lyric for me." ....and he did.
Rob: He did a good job, I'll say! All the songs on Damnation are bloody excellent! I have to say every song I heard is not one that I've been disappointed with. It's some of the most melodic stuff I've ever heard...
Mike: Yeah, I'm very pleased, I'm very happy with it too.
Tina: So how do you come up with ideas for the other lyrics? Is it personal stuff... or...?
Mike: Yeah some of it, you know... In the early days, it never was really personal. We played a song tonight called To Bid You Farewell - that's probably the first personal lyric I'd written. But you know, I'd always write about stuff like... fantasy stuff [laughs] yeah I like emotional, evocative lyrics. And I've never really considered myself a great writer in that sense. But in the last couple of albums, I've been trying to make them more personal... not in the sense that I want to be able to explain. It's a little easier for me to work that way and especially for the last two albums, so much stuff happening to me. It was easier to pick... easier to pick a subject, for me, to write something...

Rob: When in the final stages of Damnation... how did you feel about writing an acoustic album? I understand that writing Deliverance is a standard Opeth album, but to have one that's characterised as *not* a standard Opeth album... did that make you feel pressured at all?
Mike: No, no. I was ready to write that kinda stuff. I'd been listening to stuff more similar to the Damnation material for a long time, you know, like ten years. Like...
Rob: Porcupine Tree?

Mike: Yeah, Porcupine Tree and other prog-rock bands, obscure stuff from the 60s and 70s. So I'm so much into that material, so when the songs were done for Damnation, I knew exactly that it's gonna be good. Cos it's a way for me to get closer to those influences. Which I always use as influences. When I write heavy material, I listen to Pink Floyd. It was.. in a way, it was easy to write that album. It was like, you have all these ideas and you're starting from nowhere - you haven't done anything like it, prior to Damnation. So it was like, I had so many ideas and I could put so many ideas on the same album.I was used to writing that stuff at all but - huh?

[Martin Mendez walks in, muttering something in Swedish... pointing to Mike's backstage pass... Mike says something back in Swedish and we caught the word 'rockstar']
Rob: I don't understand Swedish but I'm guessing they're not gonna let you in unless you have a pass!
[More Swedish chatter......"rockstar".... swedish stuff... "pass".... more svenska.....]
Tina (to Mendez): Take the CD booklet with you!
Rob: Say "I'm in this band!!! Look at my picture!!"
[Mendez looks at us half grinning and half scared, takes Mike's pass and heads back out]
Mike: Sorry...

Damnation than I was about Deliverance because it was a new thing.
Tina: I think it's really cool how you guys managed to put out Damnation and everyone's going "Wow! This is such a cool album!" as opposed to... you know, like the Metallica thing where they're like "Aw, they sold out", you know...
Mike: Yeah, but you know, we got a lot of shit for Damnation too...
Tina: Really?!
Mike: Yeah, we got a lot of shit for that. Which is fine, I can totally understand a metalhead who is into Opeth... and is maybe not be able to relate to an album like Damnation. But I'm hoping that they at least, vaguely, can see where these influences are coming from. Because it's Opeth, it might be the favourite band, so the reaction might be "Yeah, check it out!" And in a way, it was like a safe bet, because it is Opeth, and we're fucking hyped, and all that stuff you know. So a lot of people are gonna like it, regardless of what we do.

Tina: Yeah, I mean, some people I know have listened to the CD and they ask "Is this a folk band??" ... and I'm like "No man, they're a metal band!!"
Mike: You know, I want people who... say you have a guy who buys Damnation and that's his first Opeth album. I'd like to see his face when he listens to Blackwater Park or Demon of the Fall! [laughs]

Rob: How do you feel about the fan reaction toward Damnation, being the first night of the tour.. and this is the first time you've played this, correct?
Mike: Yeah.
Rob: How do you feel, to get a standing ovation...
Mike: It was very nice, and that kinda made me calm down a little bit because the crowd was so enthusiastic about the songs and the gig. But we were uhhh... as I said, we were so nervous. It's like... well obviously I didn't expect anyone to say like "Boooo!" you know. [laughs]
Rob: [laughs] Yeah, but still, a lot of people were chanting "Demon of the Faaaallll!!!" Pretty funny... but they should have known this was the Damnation tour.
Mike: Yeah yeah, we tried to make it as clear as possible. But maybe that's their favourite song - that's they wanna hear when the band comes to town... But it was very nice, the crowd was fucking great... and all that stuff.. very nice.
Rob: A lot of people are a fan of Demon of the Fall. Did you know Chad Kroeger is a fan of your music?
Mike: Who?
Rob: Chad Kroeger, of Nickelback...
Mike: Nickelback?!?!!
Rob: I went to see Nickelback at Edge Studios, 2001, and I was wearing a Blackwater Park shirt. And he comes up to me and he's like "You're a fan of Opeth??"... and I'm like "Wait a minute. Are YOU a fan of Opeth?? That's a better question! Cos he's like... a rock guy. And he's like 'Yeah yeah, I'm a fan... I've enjoyed Blackwater Park since I've heard it " And then he picks up his guitar and starts plays Demon of the Fall -
Mike: NO WAY!!!
Rob: And at the time, I had no idea about that song...
Mike: You're kidding!!!

Tina: I bet the Martins like that!
Mike: [laughs] Oh they - yeah! I don't know why - there's no real reason, not like going back to the black metal stuff, you know... it's just that... I wanna do a beautiful record, with beautiful melodies and all that stuff... and also ice-cold, ripping metal. As well as, bringing in some influences from the Damnation stuff we've done and just do a marvelous concept album.

Ryan: Basically just progress...
Mike: Yes, I haven't written a single note. I just have the idea - that's the most important thing for me, before I start writing.

Rob: What about the label? I heard you're not with Koch anymore??
Mike: Yeah, we're still with Koch!
Rob: Oh you still are?? Okay.. how do you train your voice to go from death metal to clean? Is there something special you do or does it just come naturally?
Mike: Eh, it's a lot of cigarettes and whiskey... [laughs] I don't do any training...
Tina: [pointing to the drink in his hand] Is that JD?
Mike: [laughs] This... yeah yeah, Grant's and Coke [laughs again] Yeah, I don't do any training - I probably should, you know... I just feel, like before gigs you see a lot of singers warming up and stuff. I could never do that, I think it's embarassing!
Rob: Yeah, I gotta saw, when we're on the air, like last week, when we interviewed Daniel from In Flames, I was like "don't play it! I can't stand hearing my voice!"

Rob: In your experiences with touring, which countries do you think bring out the best crowds? Is it like... North American crowds? or countries that barely get any good shows?
Mike: Yeah, countries that normally don't get any good shows are usually pretty bad...
Rob: Really?!
Mike: Yeah actually... North America's really good for us, so is like in Europe and some other countries - Holland for some reason, it was gonna explode! We were playing to like 1500, 2000 people! Italy's very good, England's very good, Germany's okay...
Rob: Have you ever played in Wales?
Mike: We have not played in Wales, no.
Rob: Aw, nobody ever plays in my home!

Tina: Have you ever thought about doing any lyrics in Swedish?

Mike: I laugh at them because it's polka-death!
[more mass laughing.. hehehe]
Mike: yeah, I don't know the guys, but my friends from Katatonia went on tour with Finntroll in Europe and said they were funny, funny guys. They're Finnish.. and Finnish people drink a lot of booze and act like maniacs! They said they had some unforgettable times.

Rob: I have one final question - it's not related to anything, but it's to help me sort an argument with a bunch of friends... Have you seen both The Wizard of Oz and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory?
Mike: I've seen uh... I've seen a Swedish uhh... it wasn't a movie, it was like stills from the book, with a famous Swedish actor narrating the stuff. I haven't seen The Wizard of Oz at all.
Rob: Really? Do you know anything about it, like the flying monkeys?
Mike: No... I know that there's like... umm there's like... a scarecrow?
Rob: Okay, well who do you think would win in a fight, the Oompaloompas from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, or the flying monkeys?
Mike: Well... the flying monkeys, I don't know it, but they sound more dangerous!
Tina: [cracks up] There ya go, I win! Oh! last question! Do you guys have Lucky Charms cereal in Sweden??
Mike: No... I haven't tried it... I don't eat cereal. If it's not Start ....which is a Swedish -
Rob: Is it like Swedish Special K? Swedish K?
Mike: No, it's not like Kellogg's.. it's more like... moos? moos?
Tina: Muesli?
Mike: Yeah, muesli!
Rob: Okay then! Did you have any more questions?
Tina: No, I guess that wraps it up!

So after getting some pics and autographs, and leaving Mikael probably confused as hell about flying monkeys and Lucky Charms, we headed off the tourbus and back into the Danforth Theatre to catch the rest of Porcupine Tree's set.

Rob: Do you guys record any overdubs while you're recording?
Mike: Oh yeah, hundreds! Thousands!

Rob: What has been the best album writing experience and the best album in your opinion?
Mike: The best album is hard to say, because it kinda changes. But some of... well you know, I think Still Life is still my favourite album. I wrote that album completely alone - we never rehearsed. And none of the other guys knew anything about what the stuff sounded like. So the whole studio experience was pretty nice... everyone was very calm, and we had lots of time. Everything was very nice... it was very nice recording that album.
Tina: As opposed to some others.. hehehe
Mike: Yeah! [laughs] The two last ones were terrible to record! But especially Damnation came out really great - Deliverance, I love that album too. But I listen to it and I just get bad memories.

Tina: I got my first electric a year and a half ago!
Mike: Yeah??? Well.. you know [laughs]
Rob: Yeah I remember when I got a B.C. Rich and I was like 'SWEEEET!'
Mike: I got one too!
Rob: I know! 'k so what brought on the idea for Opeth? What made you say "hey let's put black metal and acoustic together"... was that the case?
Mike: Well, we were a pretty standard death metal band from the beginning.
Rob: Yeah, Orchid was -
Mike: Yeah, Orchid was actually that - I think since we started recording, we've had a style of our own... We've just tried to develop it, you know. In the pre-recording days, say like early 90's, we were a death metal band, nothing else, nothing special. But I got introduced to the whole symphonic rock scene... because I like long songs. With Iron Maiden, my favourite track is The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, it's a long ass song! When I got into the symphonic rock scene, I saw a different way on how we could do our own music. Cos you know, I wasn't like...

Rob: What exactly inspired Damnation? Was it just... something like '"I need to do something changed or was it a big influence that changed it?
Mike: I think it was the whole idea of doing two albums at the same time that inspired Damnation. I got the idea from a friend of mine who said 'Do two albums.." it was clear, one heavy, one mellow. And I was very excited about doing that - at the time when I was writing it, I was probably more excited about

Rob: Yeah, I had no idea! I only knew Still Life and Blackwater Park. And then he's like "Recognise this one??" And I'm like "I...don't... know... this..." He's like "You call yourself a fan?!" and smacks me across the head! Cos I didn't know an Opeth track!
Mike: That's pretty cool... I mean.. I always thought he was a cunt!! But now I... uh... [cracks up]
[mass hysterical laughter from everyone]

Rob: What are your thoughts for the next album? Is it going to be more Damnation-like or more Deliverance?
Mike: It's not gonna be either... I've been toying around with the idea of doing a sort of long occult concept album.

Mike: No, no... I couldn't not. Doing Swedish lyrics and singing in a death metal voice is, you know...
Tina: Is it harder?
Mike: No, it's not harder - I just think it sounds ridiculous. And like, all those black metal bands that did that...
Rob: Like Vintersorg?
Mike: I haven't really heard Vintersorg, but uh... I think it's funny and I laugh. I think the thing is, for us, we're Swedes, so...
Rob: What about Finntroll? Do you laugh at them?