Opeth is now streaming their brand new, growl-heavy new album The Last Will & Testament on their YouTube page with vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt providing commentary between each and every track! Considering The Last Will & Testament is a full-on concept album, it's incredibly interesting to hear Åkerfeldt talk about every song both lyrically and musically.
The Last Will & Testament is a concept album set in the post-World War I era that tells the the story of a wealthy, conservative patriarch whose last will and testament reveals shocking family secrets. The narrative weaves through the patriarch's confessions, the reactions of his twin children, and the mysterious presence of a polio-ridden girl who the family have taken care of.
"This is the first record with [Waltteri Väyrynen] on drums," said Åkerfeldt of the record upon its announcement. "Seeing and hearing him record his bits was otherworldly and what went through my head was something like: How can a human being play this stuff? The older cats (myself, Mendez, Fred and Jocke) did our bits in due time. We did them well (I like to think) and the alcohol concentration in our blood was mostly quite low as the red light was on. We're professionals, you see! Rockfield Studios treated us well and we love that place!
"Stefan Boman recorded and mixed it all (CAPTURED it on TAPE… kind of…). Miles Showell did the master at Abbey Road Studios and then we (myself and Stefan) took him for a curry in Covent Garden. Travis Smith has done this odd-masterpiece-artwork that put 'clothes' on the music. All in all, we hope we've put together a nice little morsel of information for you to nibble on when it's raining out. Thank you for your time. Thank you for reading. Thank you for listening. Thank you for giving us a respectable past. I'll thank you for our future in the actual future, OK?"
