Submit questions for Opeth interview . . .

[Nate The Great]

The writers at UM are in the process of contacting Opeth for an interview. If you would like to submit a question, or questions, please do so on this thread.

Please don't use this thread for discussion - only for questions.

Thanks

 

[YaYo]

Ok, heres a question, see if you like it, feel free to reword to make it comprehensible:

As each new album comes along, the use of repetition grows. Riffs are repeated without variation 4/6/8 times, song structures have more repeated sections, and vocals are becoming a lot more structured and less free flowing. And now it is coming together with the verse/chorus structured songs that are said to be on Damnation. Has this been a concious effort? If so what are the reasons? and are there any plans to head back in the other direction, creating songs that dont rely so much on strict repetition?


And another question:

How have the attitudes behind the writing of Opeth's music changed since the beginning? For example: Is originality less/more important? Do you find yourself writing music that will get the crowd going, and does the opinion of fans have an effect on what you write? Is there more/less emphasis on being technically good? etc.

 

[R.I.P.2]

Good questions, I'd be especially interested to see the answer to the first one...

 

[Thanatopsis123]

Ask him about his project DevilSun. What's it sound like? When is the debut album expected? How does he enjoy working with Lord k?

 

[MetalManCPA]

Question: When composing your music, are you consciously placing an emphasis on the length of each song? Or, is each song an idea for which time is not a barrier?

Question: In light of the previous question, many bands write albums with 14+ songs, all of lengths 5 minutes or less to fill an album. Opeth's MO seems to be that of less individual songs per album, each song being quite lengthy. Is this because you don't feel that Opeth can get their musical message across with the more standard radio playable length of songs, or is this purely a writing style?

 

[Bleakest Harvest]

Question: Get any new Playstation games?

Question: How many Marlboro Lights do you smoke a day Mike?

Bets question on the thread BY A MILE

 

[airman]

Will you ever sing in swedish?

 

[Bleakest Harvest]

Originally posted by airman
Will you ever sing in swedish?

~puts on Sorskogen~

aaah,nothing like some Mikael Akerfeldt stuff in Swedish...

 

[Ecto]

what about the mellow album? do you intend to go on tour to promote the album making only an acoustic show? like mtv unplugged? for sure, with this album, Opeth will reach more off-metal public...would you mind to be in the mainstream?

 

[veil the sky]

Q1: It's about time that Opeth finally comprimised their musical integrity and released an album of remixes and 3 minute rock songs designed to sell unprecedented numbers of t-shirts to upset parents of rebellious teenagers world-wide. What holds Opeth back and stops this natural progression from happening?

Q2: Do you think that Opeth's prog 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?

thanks

 

[MetalSlime]

Old question that I haven't seen an answer to yet:

In "Harvest", what are the words sung over the last repeat of the chorus?

Same question about "The Funeral Portrait" during the "And you were just like them all" part. What words are sung over that?

 

[Slynt]

YaYoGakk, a beautiful question. I want to pose the same question. What are the reasons for developing more, dare I say it, non-progressive compositions?

 

[Slynt]

Oh, and one more:

For a while back you intended to do a tour with My Dying Bride. Are you still planning to do something with this band (which ranks #2 on my list after Opeth)?

And:

When will we get details on a Deliverance tour?

 

[FlatteningOfEmotions]

Question 1: What do you think of people downloading Deliverance before it's release?

Question 2: Who influences Mikael and Peter as guitarists?

 

[Birgith]

Question: Got a girlfriend?

eh.. the most obvious question (eh?)

 

[shivering corpse]

Q: What kind of state of mind is the band in when writing? What kind of imagery and things do you get in your head? Is it hard to get in the right state of mind?

Q: What are the major influences in the new material?

 

[Slipknot_isn't_metal]

Q: If you you were to chose one band to cover one of your songs, which band would it be and what song ?

 

[Static]

If its not to late.

Question: Why is it that ever since BWP you've played a lot less picked acoustic riffs? It just seems that you strum a lot more often rather than play the cool picked acoustic riffs that were all over Still Life and the previous releases.

 

[Kushantaiidan]

Question:

How many studio albums do you predict you will release before you guys decide to call it quits?

Question:

Would you ever consider doing a tour with Hammering Moss?

 

[Hondo]

Another thread gave me the idea.

Question: Who is usually playing the riffs and leads on the last few albums? Since it was pretty clear on the first 2 that it was just one person in each ear.

That's not worded very well.