Opeth is a band whose name through the years has became a notion in the world of music. They started as a death metal band and though their music is still death metal-based, they became very popular among people who have totally different musical tastes. Their previous album (Blackwater Park) put their popularity onto an even higher level. Only one year has passed since then, and this month they released their 6th album, with the meaningful title of Deliverance.
Martin Lopez, their drummer was at the other end of the line, giving the answers to UM.
- Hello, I`m Martin Lopez from Opeth.
- Hello, thank you for calling, how are you today?
- I`m ok and you?
- Fine, thanks. Aren`t you tired after giving interviews all day long?
- Yeah, a little bit. All of us are giving interviews, we have too much to do now and I`m doing some of the Eastern European interviews and the Spanish ones too. We started early and the night is falling on us...still Mike has it worse... .
-All week long?
- Almost, we spent the last four days giving interviews and it will be going on a couple of more days next week too.
- That`s quite a lot, so thank you for calling once more. Let`s talk about the new album now, though I`m sure you were asked many times about it lately.
- Yeah, but I will try to find newer answers!
- Thanks! You were supposed to release the two albums you recorded `Deliverance` and `Damnation` at the same time but you changed the dates, `Deliverance` is out now and Damnation will come out a few months later. Why did you change the original plan?
- We didn`t want to do a double album bucause it is just two totally different albums. We know that some people are only interested in the metal part of Opeth and there are also lots of people who want to hear only the soft metal part of Opeth. So we wanted to do two totally seperate things. So the audience has the opportunity when they buy the album to choose what they want instead of buying two albums and having one there that they are not going to listen to.
- We know that `Damnation` will show the softer side of Opeth, but what is the main difference between the two albums?
- Damnation is a totally different thing, a completely acoustic album without distortion besides a few solo guitars. We can say the whole album is in the vein of song like 'Benighted' or the 'Face Of Melinda' without the end and all the ballads. So the new stuff is a pretty progressive album and it`s not metal at all.
- Do you use normal vocals on Damnation?
- Yes, there are normal vocals on the whole album. And there are lots of backing vocals from Steven Wilson as well, and we used more keyboards too. I mean the keyboards are not taking over in any song, it is just like something in the background, something in the atmosphere. We used some pecussion also; there is a totally different sound, something totally different from what we have been doing so far.
- Many of your fans would like to hear a metal album with soft vocals. Have you ever thought about making one like that?
- No, we never thought about it. You know it just doesn`t feel right. I think all the brutal vocal parts are fit with the brutal songs. This is the way we sound and so far we like the brutal songs as they are. This is why we did two different albums. We wanted to experiment. You know we listen to lots of mellow stuff and when we play together we use to play mellow stuff and not so much metal. I mean we enjoy listening to metal but when we just meet to play we often play softer music. So we wanted to do a whole album with that. But I think doing a whole metal album with clean vocals can get pretty boring. That`s why we use both vocal styles all the time.
- How much did it take to make the album, starting from the writing process till the release time?
- The writing process was maybe a month and a half or two... then we rehearsed maybe two times and then we recorded it during two and half months or something. So, totally, starting from writing until the last takes of the recording took approximately 5 months.
- Did you spend the whole 2 months in studio?
- Yes, when we usually go to the studio we have parts of the songs, few riffs, few vocal lines so we put everything together in the studio, even some of the lyrics. As I said we didn`t rehearse before, maybe only two times, so we had to rehearse in the studio, learning the songs there and also record them. Everything happened very fast.
- Has Mikael written everything on the album or he had only the basic ideas?
- Well, Mikael is the main guy. It comes like he writes all the guitars and he gets the ideas and then we put everything together. Every one of us is doing our own job. Martin M. and I stand for the bass lines and the drum rhythms, Peter for his solos and Mike stands for everything else we can say He writes the melodies, that is the most important job in the band.
- How does it work outside the studio if he has got a new idea?
- We are friends, we meet and he brings a tape with himself if he has some new ideas so we can listen to it together. And sometimes he plays on guitar when we are together and we can try out our ideas and play it again and again. That's the way we form songs. It's not like he sends us tapes and we listen to them at home and play them alone.
- Please give us a few more details about the album.
- I can tell you the album is more brutal now. The first song is amazingly fast and brutal and as well it has the typical Opeth emotion. For example, the refrain with the melodies can make you cry. The gothic parts are softer than ever. We did a very good job when it comes to all the softer parts. You know it's different but you can say Deliverance is harder yet softer than the albums we made before. It's more mature and everything worked better. We also have grown as musicians, it's easier to play, to write songs now, it's easier to put them together. It doesn't feel complex anymore, we just put it right the way. It's easier to work like that. As long as you can grow as a musicican you always have new doors to open, more ways to take. And it is a sicker or our darkest album so far. There are parts on the album I can't listen to because I get into a bad mood. It's very, very emotional and dark. If you wanna be in a good mood, to be glad and happy, don't put our new album on.
We have more experiences now too. Before Blackwater Park we maybe played 10 times live. With BP everything seemed to explode and we became a bigger band then ever. We played everywhere, the band took all our time with these gigs and live performances. And it gave us a certain interest in the band so we put our whole soul in the new album.
-Did you change something with the sound to make it even more darker?
- No, but the sound is much, much better this time. It's more powerful now. Andy Sneap and Steven Wilson really worked on this album. We used four different studios for the two albums. We put more effort working on the sound, I think you can hear it. And also the keyboard's sound gives you a lot more atmosphere to the music, make`s it darker.
- Also Mikael's growling vocals with his emotions in it makes it darker, there are so much in his voice.
- Yes, but I think it's normal. In a weak time you have different feelings, you are not just happy all the time, you may be sad, depressed or mad as well. And he can show it out with growls, or clean vocals..
- Do you have a favourite song on the new ablum?
- Yes, I have. Actually it is the title song, 'Deliverance'. I like the whole song, the feeling around the song is so sick but also mellow. It's hard for me to pick a favourite because I like every song. And all of us in the band have a different, favourite song. But so far I like the second song the most. But we will see, tomorrow another song might be my favourite.
- Can you tell us a few words about the lyrics?
- The new lyrics are very, very personal. Mikael wrote them and they reflect his life, what had happened with him, what things he had gone through. So I can't tell you so much about them, you just have to read them and get your own feelings from them. But I think they are the best lyrics we've ever had. They are very deep.
- Do you know if Mike has ever thought about writing the lyrics in Swedish?
- Not for Opeth. He has his own band Sörskogen and he sings in Swedish there. But it could happen someday, who knows?
- The new album titles 'Deliverance' and 'Damnation' says a lot. There are many meanings behind them. Why did you choose these words?
- That's a very hard question to answer. I think the word Deliverance says everything from the whole ablum. It's deliberately sick and hard and mellow at the same time. It feels like that. So, I think Deliverance is the perfect title for it. Also like Damnation is the exact title for the soft album.
- Many people got to know Opeth or became a fan of your music with BP. Do you think 'Deliverance' will be such a turning point again?
- Yes, actually I think so. The difference between Still life and BP is not so big as the difference between D & D and BP. We took a very big step with this album, for me it's so much better as BP. And the thing that we did Damnation, a totally different album, that is so far and far from metal, rather a progressive album, will turn a lot of people against us as well as a lot of fans will understand that we played what we wanted to. I think we will lose some of our fans but we will also gain a lot more people who are open minded. You know, we like what we do.
- So far I've read only good reviews from 'Deliverance'.
- Good, I haven't read a single review myself...
- Fans are expecting a tour after Deliverance
- We will be going on tour in the beginning of next year or the end of this year. Seems we are going to play in Hungary too. I specially would like to play in the Checz Republic, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and all the countries in that region because the crowd there goes totally insane. I know becuase we played in Poland once and that was great. We talked with our manager and told him where we would like to play and these countries were on our list.
- Are you going to tour in other parts of the world?
- Yes, we will go to the States and we have a big chance to go to Japan, Australia and South America too.
- Concerning to the touring plans, have you thought about recording a live album or a DVD?
- There are plans about a DVD but I can't tell you about it now It's in the planning state now so it's gonna be a real surprise
- Where do you think you have the biggest fan-base?
- In the US. Once we toured there for two months and I can tell you actually metal has a big audience in America. More people showed up on our concerts there than in Europe ever. It's different from what comes through the media.
- What are your contacts with the fans like?
- Very good. You know I played in another death metal band earlier and the contact with the fans then were totally different as we have now with the Opeth fans. I think Opeth fans are pretty open-minded people who just take it easy and who really love Music. We get many e-mails and we try to answer to as much as we can. We do it ourselves, we have a very strict 'law' about it. We are Opeth and we take care of our stuff, we don't want people from outside to do these things. We try to keep the band as personal as we can and this is the case with the contact with the fans too.
- Mikeal has taken parts in other side projects. What about the other band members?
- Martin Mendez and I, play in band called Aerial. We play some kind of music between Tool and Katatonia. Mikael has Bloodbath. We will see what happens with these side projects, solo works in the future. With Aerial we are going to record something very soon. We want just to do something different while the main focus is always on Opeth for the all of us.
- Concerning the different bands you play in, the question is obvious, what kind of music do you listen at home?
- I have so many albums If you check my collection you will find every kind of music from the 70s till right now. But I mostly listen to metal bands, death metal bands but also Camel, Doors and lots of music from the 70s.
- Sure, we can feel the combination and the influence of those styles in Opeth's music. What makes you to try to find the balance among these extremes?
- We play what we like and we like what we listen to. We get these inspirations everytime we put on an album we like. The music will stay in our head and when we play later on, it flows through us into the instruments. That's why we do, what we do. Like the Damnation album, that is totally a 70s album. Maybe it's wrong in time now because nobody plays such music, but we wanted to make an album like that, a completely progressive album in some way.
Like if we put everything we like together in a bag and shake it, we will have Opeth.
- So, we can say your influences, your inspritations haven't changed through the years.
- No, not so much. I still listen to the music I liked. Of course every time you get to know new bands you like, your source of creation is getting bigger and bigger, you open new doors. That's why I think every album we do is Opeth but with a little more of something new, a little bit fresh. The new album is even fresher. We had two years since the last record and during this time we discovered lots of bands we liked. This is shown through our music too.
- What do you think about that Opeth became an influential band for others nowadays?
- I think it's great. 99% of the bands today are making shit music in my opinion, I don't like them at all. I really think you can say whatever you want about Opeth, you can say we are too hard or too soft but we have some certain quiality in our music. So if bands listen to it and find it an inspiration-source I think it's great. Opeth became a big band without becoming a 'hit-band'. We are a band who play their feelings, emotions in the music we have. We see very deep in that question and the music and we do is our total transparency. We play what we feel and we will never play something just because the people want to hear that. From the day we will feel tired of playing death metal we will not play it at all, we will do something else. Because we don't do this for the crowd, we do it for ourselves. And our fans get this, I think they understand this and this is why they are so much into us and this is why they use us as an inspiration source.
- Many people think that `Still Life` is somehow didn`t fit among the other Opeth albums. A friend of mine told me, while he is listening to that album he gets into a totally different mood...
- It could be. You know every album has its importance, its place. You've got Orchid that is pretty melodic but a very easy album. Then `Morning Rise` a little harder but still very melodic, `My arms..` is a brutal, sick album. Then `Still Life` chills down a little bit everything again. Like if you put `My arms..` and `Blackwater Park` together you would get `Still Life`. It was a step between that two albums. I think it`s an Opeth album totally. And SL was the album that gave us a name in the underground.
- Which Opeth album do you like the most?
- Right now it`s Damnnation... Damnation and Deliverance and I really love `My arms..`. But I think Deliverance and Damnation are the best albums we have made so far. I`m entirely amazed by them now.
- Who made the cover of 'Deliverance'?
- Travis Smith did it again. Just like at the last three albums. He made the cover of Damnation too. Actually, it will be like almost the same cover but a little bit different. It will be like both albums seems together.
- Do you remember how you started to work him years ago?
- He made a few covers we liked, though I don't remember which bands were those, so we contacted him and he was available for us. We sent him the cds and some recordings. He liked them and he came up with his ideas to them. Since then we are working together. I like his other works too and I think right now he is the No1 in doing covers. He has got a pretty wild mind.
- The cover of Deliverance has a special mood, it reminds me and some friends of the movie `The Others`. Have you seen it?
- No, I`m not into movies or TV at all. I watch soccer if I turn on the tv. I`m a very big soccer fan, I love soccer, it`s just taking over my life.
- Do you play football yourself?
- Yes, we even played a game against In Flames. And we kicked their asses! Believe it or not Mike is a good player.
- And who is the goal-keeper?
- Mike was a goal-keeper when he was a kid and he is our goal-keeper when we play with IF too.
- How long have you been playing football? Have you ever wanted to become a professional football player?
- Always since I remember. I`ve played in teams before, with Peter and Martin we still play in teams sometimes in the summer, but mostly for fun. Sure I wanted to be a professional player. I tried to be one but then I had to choose between football and music.
- I`m sure your fans are thankful for that! Beside playing football with IF, what are your connections like with other Swedish bands?
- We have lot of friends among them. Of course we don`t know all of them. But Amon Amarth and Katatonia are very close friends to us.
- Do you like their music too?
- Yes, I love Katatonia`s music. I think they are the best metal band now. I don`t understand why people don`t listen to them, why don`t they give a chance to their music. Katatonia has something that no other bands have. They are so perfect in getting you in a mood, like into suicidal mood. They have the best lyrics. Katatonia is one of my favourite bands.
- Do you know who you're going to tour with? Will you choose them or the record company?
- No, I don`t know yet. It depends on many things. If we are going to headline a tour then usually we can choose. Last time we chose Katatonia and we went with them on tour. But this time I don`t know yet. If it was possible I would choose them again.
-Have you seen Entombed`s special performance with the Swedish Naional Ballett?
- Not the whole show, I saw only one song and it was very interesting. The dancers wore mask and it was somehow pretty evil. The other guys went to the concert and they told me it was very good.
- Have you ever thought about making an artistic thing like that?
- Yes, but we still have so much things as a band we haven`t done yet. I think we will do something when we have the time and the money for it. Right now we have to concentrate on the two albums, then we are going on the tour we are going to play in places we haven`t been before.
And now here are some fan-questions from your forum at UM.
-How has the attitude behind the writing of Opeth`s music changed since the beginning? For example, is originality less or more important?
- It is as important as it was. We don`t choose how to write. We just do it as we feel and we put that on the paper. We play and record what we feel and we never think of making a good album because that may bring more money. It`s just how it is coming from inside.
- Is there more or less emphasis on being technically good?
- Of course it is better to be technically good. The more you complete the more you can do, the more you can express yourself. But we don`t put so much weight on that, we don`t try to be technical or try to show what we can do, like `hey, look how fast I can play`. But of course we try to grow as musicians so our music grows with it too
- When composing your music, are you consciously placing an emphasis on the length of each song?
- No, not at all. A song can be 5, 10, 20 minutes long. It just depends on the song, you know. As I said, just as it feels.
- Do you think that Opeth`s progressive influence has had a lasting effect on the heavy metal industry by making such bands as Camel and Rush more relevant and palatable to today`s heavy metal scene?
- It can be. We listen to these band so we have lot of influences from them. And if people read about it they may check these bands too. In some way we bring these bands back to life because our fans got interested in them too. They are 70s bands and though Camel is still playing they are not so big now. I think it`s a very good thing because these bands are truly amazing and there are no other bands nowadays playing that kind of music.
- If you were ever to choose one band to cover one of your songs, which band would it be and what song?
- Hard question.. It might be Pink Floyd doing Deliverance. I would like to hear that!
- Have Opeth made any cover songs?
- Yes, we covered songs from Celtic Frost and Iron Maiden. We did a cover from Soldier of Fortune this time but finally it didn`t get onto the album.
-Has Opeth become "urbanized" in musical style and in image? A look at the cover of the first 5 albums give most viewers a sense of being in nature (beside a lake, a forest, a swamp...). This sense becomes even stronger when thinking of songs like "The Forest of October", "Black Rose Immortal" and "Blackwater Park" (both lyrical content and title of song). Last many fans talk about Opeth as forest metal; saying that the music of Opeth belongs to the forest and the autumn: -"The best way to enjoy Opeth is in a couch with a blanket and a cup of tea".
With the new release, it feels somehow that Opeth has moved closer to the city. The cover of "Deliverance" shows the inner exterior of an apartment and the song titles does not show any interest in nature. I have yet to hear the lyrics but the music itself this time is to me more of urban sounds and rythm (the train-like beginning of "By the Pain..." or the operatic feel of the ending of "Deliverance").
- We didn't get urbanized. We still take pics in the forest, because that`s the only place you can really feel freedom, in some kind of way, all alone in the nature. We haven`t become urbanized and this has nothing to do with the music either. We, just like everybody else, change from day to day. We never tried to be a forest band or an urbanized band, we are Opeth. We took pictures in the forest because we felt it fitted to the music, because its freedom. Next week we might take pictures in a pool if we think that a pool can reflect that freedom feeling. You know, the image of freedom we are always looking for.
- According to some of your interviews you seem to be aware of the major life-changing effect Opeth has to some people. Do you ever think about the lives you´ve changed and if you do, how does it feel?
- Well, the thing is that we can`t understand that. Of course when a guy comes up to us telling that our changed his life we are happy in some way but we can`t really realize and understand that our music can do that to people.
- Thanks for the interview, see you in Hungary soon!
- Thanks, see you and all the fans out there on the next tour!
Opeth Homepage
Martin Lopez, their drummer was at the other end of the line, giving the answers to UM.
- Hello, I`m Martin Lopez from Opeth.
- Hello, thank you for calling, how are you today?
- I`m ok and you?
- Fine, thanks. Aren`t you tired after giving interviews all day long?
- Yeah, a little bit. All of us are giving interviews, we have too much to do now and I`m doing some of the Eastern European interviews and the Spanish ones too. We started early and the night is falling on us...still Mike has it worse... .
-All week long?
- Almost, we spent the last four days giving interviews and it will be going on a couple of more days next week too.
- That`s quite a lot, so thank you for calling once more. Let`s talk about the new album now, though I`m sure you were asked many times about it lately.
- Yeah, but I will try to find newer answers!
- Thanks! You were supposed to release the two albums you recorded `Deliverance` and `Damnation` at the same time but you changed the dates, `Deliverance` is out now and Damnation will come out a few months later. Why did you change the original plan?
- We didn`t want to do a double album bucause it is just two totally different albums. We know that some people are only interested in the metal part of Opeth and there are also lots of people who want to hear only the soft metal part of Opeth. So we wanted to do two totally seperate things. So the audience has the opportunity when they buy the album to choose what they want instead of buying two albums and having one there that they are not going to listen to.
- We know that `Damnation` will show the softer side of Opeth, but what is the main difference between the two albums?
- Damnation is a totally different thing, a completely acoustic album without distortion besides a few solo guitars. We can say the whole album is in the vein of song like 'Benighted' or the 'Face Of Melinda' without the end and all the ballads. So the new stuff is a pretty progressive album and it`s not metal at all.
- Do you use normal vocals on Damnation?
- Yes, there are normal vocals on the whole album. And there are lots of backing vocals from Steven Wilson as well, and we used more keyboards too. I mean the keyboards are not taking over in any song, it is just like something in the background, something in the atmosphere. We used some pecussion also; there is a totally different sound, something totally different from what we have been doing so far.
- Many of your fans would like to hear a metal album with soft vocals. Have you ever thought about making one like that?
- No, we never thought about it. You know it just doesn`t feel right. I think all the brutal vocal parts are fit with the brutal songs. This is the way we sound and so far we like the brutal songs as they are. This is why we did two different albums. We wanted to experiment. You know we listen to lots of mellow stuff and when we play together we use to play mellow stuff and not so much metal. I mean we enjoy listening to metal but when we just meet to play we often play softer music. So we wanted to do a whole album with that. But I think doing a whole metal album with clean vocals can get pretty boring. That`s why we use both vocal styles all the time.
- How much did it take to make the album, starting from the writing process till the release time?
- The writing process was maybe a month and a half or two... then we rehearsed maybe two times and then we recorded it during two and half months or something. So, totally, starting from writing until the last takes of the recording took approximately 5 months.
- Did you spend the whole 2 months in studio?
- Yes, when we usually go to the studio we have parts of the songs, few riffs, few vocal lines so we put everything together in the studio, even some of the lyrics. As I said we didn`t rehearse before, maybe only two times, so we had to rehearse in the studio, learning the songs there and also record them. Everything happened very fast.
- Has Mikael written everything on the album or he had only the basic ideas?
- Well, Mikael is the main guy. It comes like he writes all the guitars and he gets the ideas and then we put everything together. Every one of us is doing our own job. Martin M. and I stand for the bass lines and the drum rhythms, Peter for his solos and Mike stands for everything else we can say He writes the melodies, that is the most important job in the band.
- How does it work outside the studio if he has got a new idea?
- We are friends, we meet and he brings a tape with himself if he has some new ideas so we can listen to it together. And sometimes he plays on guitar when we are together and we can try out our ideas and play it again and again. That's the way we form songs. It's not like he sends us tapes and we listen to them at home and play them alone.
- Please give us a few more details about the album.
- I can tell you the album is more brutal now. The first song is amazingly fast and brutal and as well it has the typical Opeth emotion. For example, the refrain with the melodies can make you cry. The gothic parts are softer than ever. We did a very good job when it comes to all the softer parts. You know it's different but you can say Deliverance is harder yet softer than the albums we made before. It's more mature and everything worked better. We also have grown as musicians, it's easier to play, to write songs now, it's easier to put them together. It doesn't feel complex anymore, we just put it right the way. It's easier to work like that. As long as you can grow as a musicican you always have new doors to open, more ways to take. And it is a sicker or our darkest album so far. There are parts on the album I can't listen to because I get into a bad mood. It's very, very emotional and dark. If you wanna be in a good mood, to be glad and happy, don't put our new album on.
We have more experiences now too. Before Blackwater Park we maybe played 10 times live. With BP everything seemed to explode and we became a bigger band then ever. We played everywhere, the band took all our time with these gigs and live performances. And it gave us a certain interest in the band so we put our whole soul in the new album.
-Did you change something with the sound to make it even more darker?
- No, but the sound is much, much better this time. It's more powerful now. Andy Sneap and Steven Wilson really worked on this album. We used four different studios for the two albums. We put more effort working on the sound, I think you can hear it. And also the keyboard's sound gives you a lot more atmosphere to the music, make`s it darker.
- Also Mikael's growling vocals with his emotions in it makes it darker, there are so much in his voice.
- Yes, but I think it's normal. In a weak time you have different feelings, you are not just happy all the time, you may be sad, depressed or mad as well. And he can show it out with growls, or clean vocals..
- Do you have a favourite song on the new ablum?
- Yes, I have. Actually it is the title song, 'Deliverance'. I like the whole song, the feeling around the song is so sick but also mellow. It's hard for me to pick a favourite because I like every song. And all of us in the band have a different, favourite song. But so far I like the second song the most. But we will see, tomorrow another song might be my favourite.
- Can you tell us a few words about the lyrics?
- The new lyrics are very, very personal. Mikael wrote them and they reflect his life, what had happened with him, what things he had gone through. So I can't tell you so much about them, you just have to read them and get your own feelings from them. But I think they are the best lyrics we've ever had. They are very deep.
- Do you know if Mike has ever thought about writing the lyrics in Swedish?
- Not for Opeth. He has his own band Sörskogen and he sings in Swedish there. But it could happen someday, who knows?
- The new album titles 'Deliverance' and 'Damnation' says a lot. There are many meanings behind them. Why did you choose these words?
- That's a very hard question to answer. I think the word Deliverance says everything from the whole ablum. It's deliberately sick and hard and mellow at the same time. It feels like that. So, I think Deliverance is the perfect title for it. Also like Damnation is the exact title for the soft album.
- Many people got to know Opeth or became a fan of your music with BP. Do you think 'Deliverance' will be such a turning point again?
- Yes, actually I think so. The difference between Still life and BP is not so big as the difference between D & D and BP. We took a very big step with this album, for me it's so much better as BP. And the thing that we did Damnation, a totally different album, that is so far and far from metal, rather a progressive album, will turn a lot of people against us as well as a lot of fans will understand that we played what we wanted to. I think we will lose some of our fans but we will also gain a lot more people who are open minded. You know, we like what we do.
- So far I've read only good reviews from 'Deliverance'.
- Good, I haven't read a single review myself...
- Fans are expecting a tour after Deliverance
- We will be going on tour in the beginning of next year or the end of this year. Seems we are going to play in Hungary too. I specially would like to play in the Checz Republic, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and all the countries in that region because the crowd there goes totally insane. I know becuase we played in Poland once and that was great. We talked with our manager and told him where we would like to play and these countries were on our list.
- Are you going to tour in other parts of the world?
- Yes, we will go to the States and we have a big chance to go to Japan, Australia and South America too.
- Concerning to the touring plans, have you thought about recording a live album or a DVD?
- There are plans about a DVD but I can't tell you about it now It's in the planning state now so it's gonna be a real surprise
- Where do you think you have the biggest fan-base?
- In the US. Once we toured there for two months and I can tell you actually metal has a big audience in America. More people showed up on our concerts there than in Europe ever. It's different from what comes through the media.
- What are your contacts with the fans like?
- Very good. You know I played in another death metal band earlier and the contact with the fans then were totally different as we have now with the Opeth fans. I think Opeth fans are pretty open-minded people who just take it easy and who really love Music. We get many e-mails and we try to answer to as much as we can. We do it ourselves, we have a very strict 'law' about it. We are Opeth and we take care of our stuff, we don't want people from outside to do these things. We try to keep the band as personal as we can and this is the case with the contact with the fans too.
- Mikeal has taken parts in other side projects. What about the other band members?
- Martin Mendez and I, play in band called Aerial. We play some kind of music between Tool and Katatonia. Mikael has Bloodbath. We will see what happens with these side projects, solo works in the future. With Aerial we are going to record something very soon. We want just to do something different while the main focus is always on Opeth for the all of us.
- Concerning the different bands you play in, the question is obvious, what kind of music do you listen at home?
- I have so many albums If you check my collection you will find every kind of music from the 70s till right now. But I mostly listen to metal bands, death metal bands but also Camel, Doors and lots of music from the 70s.
- Sure, we can feel the combination and the influence of those styles in Opeth's music. What makes you to try to find the balance among these extremes?
- We play what we like and we like what we listen to. We get these inspirations everytime we put on an album we like. The music will stay in our head and when we play later on, it flows through us into the instruments. That's why we do, what we do. Like the Damnation album, that is totally a 70s album. Maybe it's wrong in time now because nobody plays such music, but we wanted to make an album like that, a completely progressive album in some way.
Like if we put everything we like together in a bag and shake it, we will have Opeth.
- So, we can say your influences, your inspritations haven't changed through the years.
- No, not so much. I still listen to the music I liked. Of course every time you get to know new bands you like, your source of creation is getting bigger and bigger, you open new doors. That's why I think every album we do is Opeth but with a little more of something new, a little bit fresh. The new album is even fresher. We had two years since the last record and during this time we discovered lots of bands we liked. This is shown through our music too.
- What do you think about that Opeth became an influential band for others nowadays?
- I think it's great. 99% of the bands today are making shit music in my opinion, I don't like them at all. I really think you can say whatever you want about Opeth, you can say we are too hard or too soft but we have some certain quiality in our music. So if bands listen to it and find it an inspiration-source I think it's great. Opeth became a big band without becoming a 'hit-band'. We are a band who play their feelings, emotions in the music we have. We see very deep in that question and the music and we do is our total transparency. We play what we feel and we will never play something just because the people want to hear that. From the day we will feel tired of playing death metal we will not play it at all, we will do something else. Because we don't do this for the crowd, we do it for ourselves. And our fans get this, I think they understand this and this is why they are so much into us and this is why they use us as an inspiration source.
- Many people think that `Still Life` is somehow didn`t fit among the other Opeth albums. A friend of mine told me, while he is listening to that album he gets into a totally different mood...
- It could be. You know every album has its importance, its place. You've got Orchid that is pretty melodic but a very easy album. Then `Morning Rise` a little harder but still very melodic, `My arms..` is a brutal, sick album. Then `Still Life` chills down a little bit everything again. Like if you put `My arms..` and `Blackwater Park` together you would get `Still Life`. It was a step between that two albums. I think it`s an Opeth album totally. And SL was the album that gave us a name in the underground.
- Which Opeth album do you like the most?
- Right now it`s Damnnation... Damnation and Deliverance and I really love `My arms..`. But I think Deliverance and Damnation are the best albums we have made so far. I`m entirely amazed by them now.
- Who made the cover of 'Deliverance'?
- Travis Smith did it again. Just like at the last three albums. He made the cover of Damnation too. Actually, it will be like almost the same cover but a little bit different. It will be like both albums seems together.
- Do you remember how you started to work him years ago?
- He made a few covers we liked, though I don't remember which bands were those, so we contacted him and he was available for us. We sent him the cds and some recordings. He liked them and he came up with his ideas to them. Since then we are working together. I like his other works too and I think right now he is the No1 in doing covers. He has got a pretty wild mind.
- The cover of Deliverance has a special mood, it reminds me and some friends of the movie `The Others`. Have you seen it?
- No, I`m not into movies or TV at all. I watch soccer if I turn on the tv. I`m a very big soccer fan, I love soccer, it`s just taking over my life.
- Do you play football yourself?
- Yes, we even played a game against In Flames. And we kicked their asses! Believe it or not Mike is a good player.
- And who is the goal-keeper?
- Mike was a goal-keeper when he was a kid and he is our goal-keeper when we play with IF too.
- How long have you been playing football? Have you ever wanted to become a professional football player?
- Always since I remember. I`ve played in teams before, with Peter and Martin we still play in teams sometimes in the summer, but mostly for fun. Sure I wanted to be a professional player. I tried to be one but then I had to choose between football and music.
- I`m sure your fans are thankful for that! Beside playing football with IF, what are your connections like with other Swedish bands?
- We have lot of friends among them. Of course we don`t know all of them. But Amon Amarth and Katatonia are very close friends to us.
- Do you like their music too?
- Yes, I love Katatonia`s music. I think they are the best metal band now. I don`t understand why people don`t listen to them, why don`t they give a chance to their music. Katatonia has something that no other bands have. They are so perfect in getting you in a mood, like into suicidal mood. They have the best lyrics. Katatonia is one of my favourite bands.
- Do you know who you're going to tour with? Will you choose them or the record company?
- No, I don`t know yet. It depends on many things. If we are going to headline a tour then usually we can choose. Last time we chose Katatonia and we went with them on tour. But this time I don`t know yet. If it was possible I would choose them again.
-Have you seen Entombed`s special performance with the Swedish Naional Ballett?
- Not the whole show, I saw only one song and it was very interesting. The dancers wore mask and it was somehow pretty evil. The other guys went to the concert and they told me it was very good.
- Have you ever thought about making an artistic thing like that?
- Yes, but we still have so much things as a band we haven`t done yet. I think we will do something when we have the time and the money for it. Right now we have to concentrate on the two albums, then we are going on the tour we are going to play in places we haven`t been before.
And now here are some fan-questions from your forum at UM.
-How has the attitude behind the writing of Opeth`s music changed since the beginning? For example, is originality less or more important?
- It is as important as it was. We don`t choose how to write. We just do it as we feel and we put that on the paper. We play and record what we feel and we never think of making a good album because that may bring more money. It`s just how it is coming from inside.
- Is there more or less emphasis on being technically good?
- Of course it is better to be technically good. The more you complete the more you can do, the more you can express yourself. But we don`t put so much weight on that, we don`t try to be technical or try to show what we can do, like `hey, look how fast I can play`. But of course we try to grow as musicians so our music grows with it too
- When composing your music, are you consciously placing an emphasis on the length of each song?
- No, not at all. A song can be 5, 10, 20 minutes long. It just depends on the song, you know. As I said, just as it feels.
- Do you think that Opeth`s progressive influence has had a lasting effect on the heavy metal industry by making such bands as Camel and Rush more relevant and palatable to today`s heavy metal scene?
- It can be. We listen to these band so we have lot of influences from them. And if people read about it they may check these bands too. In some way we bring these bands back to life because our fans got interested in them too. They are 70s bands and though Camel is still playing they are not so big now. I think it`s a very good thing because these bands are truly amazing and there are no other bands nowadays playing that kind of music.
- If you were ever to choose one band to cover one of your songs, which band would it be and what song?
- Hard question.. It might be Pink Floyd doing Deliverance. I would like to hear that!
- Have Opeth made any cover songs?
- Yes, we covered songs from Celtic Frost and Iron Maiden. We did a cover from Soldier of Fortune this time but finally it didn`t get onto the album.
-Has Opeth become "urbanized" in musical style and in image? A look at the cover of the first 5 albums give most viewers a sense of being in nature (beside a lake, a forest, a swamp...). This sense becomes even stronger when thinking of songs like "The Forest of October", "Black Rose Immortal" and "Blackwater Park" (both lyrical content and title of song). Last many fans talk about Opeth as forest metal; saying that the music of Opeth belongs to the forest and the autumn: -"The best way to enjoy Opeth is in a couch with a blanket and a cup of tea".
With the new release, it feels somehow that Opeth has moved closer to the city. The cover of "Deliverance" shows the inner exterior of an apartment and the song titles does not show any interest in nature. I have yet to hear the lyrics but the music itself this time is to me more of urban sounds and rythm (the train-like beginning of "By the Pain..." or the operatic feel of the ending of "Deliverance").
- We didn't get urbanized. We still take pics in the forest, because that`s the only place you can really feel freedom, in some kind of way, all alone in the nature. We haven`t become urbanized and this has nothing to do with the music either. We, just like everybody else, change from day to day. We never tried to be a forest band or an urbanized band, we are Opeth. We took pictures in the forest because we felt it fitted to the music, because its freedom. Next week we might take pictures in a pool if we think that a pool can reflect that freedom feeling. You know, the image of freedom we are always looking for.
- According to some of your interviews you seem to be aware of the major life-changing effect Opeth has to some people. Do you ever think about the lives you´ve changed and if you do, how does it feel?
- Well, the thing is that we can`t understand that. Of course when a guy comes up to us telling that our changed his life we are happy in some way but we can`t really realize and understand that our music can do that to people.
- Thanks for the interview, see you in Hungary soon!
- Thanks, see you and all the fans out there on the next tour!
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