Opeth reveal new concept album The Last Will And Testament

“I love this record,” Åkerfeldt exclaims. “I have to say it (write it). Maybe I’m proud even? There are some familiar ingredients in there I suppose. Most of our music has sprung from the same source, so I guess it’s not much of a shocker if it’s going to sound like ‘us’. I’m a bit in awe of what we did with The Last Will And Testament. It feels like a dream. There is some ‘coherence’ and ‘songwriting skills’ I hope, but what do I know? I tend to favour the ‘strange’ over the ‘obvious,’ but I feel like I’m in the minority, and that’s fine. So…fair warning! Don’t expect an instant rush (as per usual), but if you do “get it” (have you got it yet?) right away, that’s ok too!”

The Last Will & Testament marks a debut for Finnish drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who had previously drummed with Paradise Lost and Bodom After Midnight, and who replaced stand-in drummer Sami Karppinen of Therion, who in turn had replaced longstanding drummer Martin Axenrot, who left the band in November 2021.

“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?” Åkerfeldt enthuses. “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?”

The Last Will And Testament, Opeth’s fourteenth studio album was written by Åkerfeldt, with lyrics conferred with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (The Heard, ex-Crucified Barbara). The album was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Boman (Ghost, The Hellacopters), engineered by Boman, Joe Jones (Killing Joke, Robert Plant), and Opeth, with Boman, Åkerfeldt, and the rest of Opeth mixing at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm. Strings were arranged by Åkerfeldt and Dave Stewart (Egg, Khan) and conducted by Stewart at Angel Studios in London.

You can see Travis Smith’s stunning new artwork for The Last Will And Testament, evoking memories of The Shining‘s eerie Overlook hotel photo, below.

Opeth, who headline Bloodstock Festival next weekend and tour North America throughout October, have also announced European tour dates for February 2025. You can see the full list of European dates below.

Fans who pre-order the new album will receive a special ticket pre-sale code for the European tour! That offer will end on Tuesday, August 6 at 2pm BST. Tickets go on general sale on Friday, August 9 at 10am local time.