This sounds like it's gonna divide the fan base even further than Heritage.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc7HVLyLSdA[/youtube]
Aussie metal man Andrew Haug interviews Mikael Åkerfeldt about a pretty wide spectrum of stuff, but here are all the important bits regarding the new record-
- Åkerfeldt doesn't really understand how people can dig Damnation pretty much across the board, but then shit on Heritage like it's this huge departure from their sound. Also mentions that Heritage is his favorite record Opeth has done thus far.
- Heavy music is just dull and boring to him now; says metal music and heavy music has taken on a different meaning to him now. Also mentions he's sick of playing extreme music.
- Says they've got three new songs in various forms of completion, especially one named "Goblin" (difficult to understand him when he says the title- sounds like "Goblin")that they've been jamming on at sound check before shows. Feels as though the song takes a "more is more approach" in terms of writing, and is a "evil and overblown metal song."
- The band has been in the business long enough that he and the band just want to write music they want to hear at this point.
As much as everyone wants to hate on them at this point for going in a different direction with the term "heavy" for their music, it's the best direction they can go in at this point. Having Opeth jam on some super crazy death metal stuff now would sound forced and boring. The new stuff is at the very least interesting; it's heavy in that classic way where it hits hard but is completely aware of when to quiet down or do something else. It's not trying to be this super heavy album- they've done that a thousand times. I'm interested to see where they're going to go with the new one in the very least, especially after he described "Goblin" as a throwback to prog with that "more is more" feel… so, y'know, maybe we'll get a "Opeth does Yes with a magical, heavy twist" as the next record. Wouldn't that be sick?
Also, consider this- if they released a trite heavy record to please everyone, they'd get major flack. They're still getting that for Heritage, but they're enjoying what they do. That's what matters. Bring on new Opeth! Also, check out the full interview above in the YouTube video.
