Opeth’s New Album The Last Will & Testament Coming This October
Well, well, well. There’d been rumblings for a little while now and after the announcement of a headlining North American tour, I was suspicious that we’d hear about some new music… but legendary Swedes and prog metal giants Opeth have finally lifted the veil on their forthcoming album The Last Will & Testament.
Set for release on October 11 via Reigning Phoenix Music/Moderbolaget, it’s the band’s 14th release in an already epic discography that honestly needs zero introduction. The band initially teased the announcement of a new album during their performance yesterday at Wacken Open Air 2024.
According to the band, The Last Will & Testament is a concept album that’s set post-World War I. In it, the patriarch of a wealthy, conservative family dies and his last will and testament drops some truth bombs about his kin. The narrative through line within the album follows each revelation and how his twin children react to the news. Oh and apparently there’s a “polio-ridden girl” linked to the family somehow that may be a wild card in the whole thing.
Sounds like there’s a lot going on in the record. With the cat now out of the proverbial bag, frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt said he was excited to finally get the album in front of fans.
“I love this record. 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!”
Åkerfeldt went on to discuss the creation of the album, with the band officially welcoming drummer and percussionist Waltteri Väyrynen to their discography.
“This is the first record with Walt on drums. 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?”
As for the rest of the album, it features a lot of Jethro Tull‘s Ian Anderson — both as a flautist and as a narrator, if that’s your thing. Europe’s Joey Tempest is also on this thing as a backing vocalist. Oh and yes, you can stop wondering right now: Åkerfeldt growls.
So check out the first single “§1” below, even if it’s the radio edit. If you’d like to catch Opeth live, you can do so at any of the North American dates, or at the newly announced European tour dates, listed below.
The Last Will & Testament Tracklist:
01 – §1
02 – §2
03 – §3
04 – §4
05 – §5
06 – §6
07 – §7
08 – A Story Never Told
OPETH North American Tour Dates (w/ TRIBULATION):
10/11: Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave / Eagles Club
10/12: Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater & Ballroom
10/14: Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
10/15: Montréal, QC @ L’Olympia
10/16: Worcester, MA @ Palladium
10/18: Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
10/19: Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
10/20: Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
10/22: Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
10/23: New Orleans, LA @ Fillmore New Orleans
10/24: Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin
10/25: Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre
10/27: Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
10/29: Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
10/30: Los Angeles, CA @ YouTube Theater
10/31: San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
OPETH European Tour Dates 2025:
02/09: Helsinki (FI) @ Ice Hall
02/11: Stockholm (SE) @ Cirkus
02/12: Oslo (NO) @ Sentrum Scene
02/14: Copenhagen (DK) @ DR Koncerthuset
02/15: Hamburg (DE) @ Docks
02/17: Cologne (DE) @ Palladium
02/18: Berlin (DE) @ Tempodrom
02/19: Munich (DE) @ Muffathalle
02/21: Paris (DR) @ L’Olympia
02/22: Amsterdam (NL) @ AFAS Live
02/23: Brussels (BE) @ Ancienne Belgique
