Video interview Mikael

[Mikael Åkerfeldt]

Yes, Peter wrote the whole guitar arrangement to those riffs, but I remember I played the leads to his 2nd riff. I agree they're great! That's why they're on there I suppose haha!

 

[Amaran9th]

Wow, this thread has turned into an impromptu interview with Mikael himself, I love it.

I'll add a few Q's to the mix:

1. From what genre of music or artists do you draw influence for some of the odd riffs you write. The riffs specifically I'm speaking of are in Master's Apprentices right before the "I hold my breath in wait" verse, the beginning riff of Ghost of Perdition, and the "White faced, haggard grip" riff in Serenity. They all include strange harmonies and very intervallic movement rather than scalar which you don't hear too often in metal riffs.

2. Do you have a favorite riff that you've written or does it change from day to day?

 

[jamj1974]

Sometimes the forum seem like this shitty tv programs, where "famous" people throw shit each other.Always focusing in personal stuff or something i don understand.

This is a metal forum community, to discuss about our faves bands and their MUSIC....YES MUSIC!!!

sorry for my bad english...( if somoone will complain ( as always))

best regards

 

[Hedon-]

Sometimes the forum seem like this shitty tv programs, where "famous" people throw shit each other.Always focusing in personal stuff or something i don understand.

This is a metal forum community, to discuss about our faves bands and their MUSIC....YES MUSIC!!!

sorry for my bad english...( if somoone will complain ( as always))

best regards

the personal stuff is the most interesting.
so mike who's the better vocalist you or peter tagtgren?

 

[Mikael Åkerfeldt]

1. Those are more or less inspired by Morbid angel, all of them. Trey is the master of dual disharmonics in actual riffing...

2. One of my fave riffs is in "The funeral portrait", right after I say "Ruby eyes in the fog"...for some reason I find it perfect and the way we go into it as well...

 

[jamj1974]

wow, this is my firt time on forum that i post a reply and mike is in front of the computer...maybe in your home studio where you check mails? ( as you said on the dvd from watershed special edition)..

hehehehe..cheers!

 

[Crepuscularia]

Trey is also the master of creating bizarre religions out of H.P. Lovecraft stories. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

How about plugging some obscure bands if you're still here Mike? I just picked up These Trails and loved it!

 

[Crepuscularia]

wow, this is my firt time on forum that i post a reply and mike is in front of the computer...maybe in your home studio where you check mails? ( as you said on the dvd from watershed special edition)..

hehehehe..cheers!

If Mike is in his home studio, the only possible reason could be that he's working on the follow up to Watershed... right Mike?

 

[Metalstrm]

Sometimes the forum seem like this shitty tv programs, where "famous" people throw shit each other.Always focusing in personal stuff or something i don understand.

This is a metal forum community, to discuss about our faves bands and their MUSIC....YES MUSIC!!!

sorry for my bad english...( if somoone will complain ( as always))

best regards

SOMETIMES THIS FORUM SEEMS LIKE THOSE....

Just joking

 

[Amaran9th]

1. Those are more or less inspired by Morbid angel, all of them. Trey is the master of dual disharmonics in actual riffing...

2. One of my fave riffs is in "The funeral portrait", right after I say "Ruby eyes in the fog"...for some reason I find it perfect and the way we go into it as well...

Going to give Morbid Angel a good chunk of listening time (okay after I can play Watershed entirely in my head). I've always been interested in which bands influenced those riffs. The Master's Apprentices one took me awhile to wrap my head around and now I love it, sounds like a snake tamer trying to charm an anaconda in hell.

The funeral portrait is full of great riffs and that one is nice the way everything kind of bottoms out as it comes in, very evil.

Thanks for the response.

 

[leprecon]

I just put Blackwater Park disc to my computer. And as i've said before Dirge is maybe my favorite song of that album. And Peter did those riffs!!

And now listening to Funeral... maybe you will play it live? Since it's heavy as hell.... as you MIKE said in Portnoy "sessions".

 

[DinoB]

2. One of my fave riffs is in "The funeral portrait", right after I say "Ruby eyes in the fog"...for some reason I find it perfect and the way we go into it as well...

Man that song is awsome you guys should play that live more often. In my opinion of course.

 

[Metalstrm]

What really surprises me in Mike's influences is that he never mentions Pink Floyd. Now I tend to think of Opeth as the Pink Floyd of metal. Besides the abstract similarities (mature emotional content etc...) I find quite a few more perceivable similarities, such as the general atmosphere, soloing style (Mike's blues are on the level of Gilmour's in my opinion), and other things I can't think of right now.

 

[mexicola]

What really surprises me in Mike's influences is that he never mentions Pink Floyd. Now I tend to think of Opeth as the Pink Floyd of metal. Besides the abstract similarities (mature emotional content etc...) I find quite a few more perceivable similarities, such as the general atmosphere, soloing style (Mike's blues are on the level of Gilmour's in my opinion), and other things I can't think of right now.

I agree. Pink Floyd would maybe be too obvious to mention?
Lotsa people namedrop them all the time just to be cool.

 

[Godhead59]

3. Per did the fusion sounding rhythm in "Beneath the mire" where we do a unison solo.

Hey Mike, hope you answer this!
This part, this solo in Beneath the Mire, is one of the most amazing musical moments I've ever heard. The guitar and the keyboard together make such a unique sound, and the solo itself - so foreboding, moody, melodic...

Any chance of it ever being played live? It would be an extremely impressive live moment, seeing you two play that solo in complete accuracy...

 

[froghawk]

Wait, so Mike wrote the opening melody in beneath the mire?

Also, Peter wrote some music on MAYH?

It's really cool to have this stuff clarified. Thanks, Mike!

 

[BefriendedUnit]

I've been trying to watch the new Faceculture one but it lags like a bitch and there's no real play/pause button to let me facilitate loading vs. playing. So I get to watch up to 5 seconds at a time before it buffers. Can someone YouTube this mother?

 

[Nailed Reaper]

1. They've never delivered a riff no, but we've always worked together on their respective instruments.

2. Basically I have been writing most of the music since the beginning. I guess around 80% of the music on the 2 first and more on the rest. "Still life" was only written by me, as was "Blackwater park" (apart from the 2 riffs), "Deliverance" and "Damnation"

3. Per did the fusion sounding rhythm in "Beneath the mire" where we do a unison solo. He also did the "Whispered conjuration..." riff in "The grand conjuration". The rest of the record was written by me I guess.

We always put "Music by Opeth" to avoid any confusion I guess, but all we got in the end was confusion over the actual writing credits, haha.

Thanks a lot! It clears all the fog.

^ If you shout a bit louder I'm pretty sure he'll hear ya better, Comrad.

I shouted loud enough as you can see, maltian puss!

PS: whoa, I think Mike had a pretty free evening yesterday - he'd never posted so much in one day, eh?

 

[hibernal_dream]

I've been trying to watch the new Faceculture one but it lags like a bitch and there's no real play/pause button to let me facilitate loading vs. playing. So I get to watch up to 5 seconds at a time before it buffers. Can someone YouTube this mother?

Just pause it, wait till it buffers, then watch it

 

[BefriendedUnit]

there's no real play/pause button

^