Recently, Swedish psychedelic, doom/death metal band Opeth embarked on the Progressive Nation tour with Dream Theater, 3 and Between the Buried and Me. The bill may seem strange and ill-fitting for Opeth, a band that's just as likely to burst into death growls as to soar into a classical-inspired passage or swirl into the a trippy, surreal melody. But Opeth have built up enough of a following to draw their own fans to the tour. Also, frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt says Dream Theater's audience has been surprisingly welcoming of the eclectic, extreme Swedes. Besides, he adds, performing with Dream Theater makes more sense than playing with a lot of the other bands with which Opeth have shared the stage.
"We don't fit in with anyone, which is the problem," Åkerfeldt says. "But we don't care because we love what we do and we love that nobody else sounds like us."
In addition to diversifying their fanbase on Progressive Nation, Opeth are gearing up for the release of their ninth studio album, Watershed, which comes out June 3. The disc is an logical progression from their 2005 album Ghost Reveries. The melodies are beautiful, the compositions adventurous and the rhythms are filled with passion and power. However, it's even more musically extreme than their last offering, attacking with feral blast beats and blowtorch guitar riffs between surreal excursions and sinuous hooks. And, while the band's previous music featured undeniably strong musicianship, the guitar work on Watershed is even more dynamic and technical thanks to the addition of Fredrik Åkesson (ex-Arch Enemy), who replaced longtime guitarist Peter Lindgren in May 2007.
In the Headbangers Ball Blog Opeth interview podcast, Åkerfeldt talks about his musical goals for Watershed, his personal approach to the lyrics and how having children has made him more angry and aware. He also addressed the musical changes Åkesson has brought to the band, the impact The Zombies and The Hollies had on the new disc and why he chose to cover songs by Pat Travers and Alice in Chains.
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