“I only asked for the spoken-word part, then an email comes in – ‘Do you need some flute?’ I wasn’t going to say no!” How Opeth’s The Last Will And Testament wound up featuring Ian Anderson, Joey Tempest and growled vocals

Opeth.

When Opeth released the track §1 in August, it was their first new music featuring growled vocals in 16 years – but bandleader Mikael Åkerfeldt rejects the suggestion that The Last Will And Testament is a death metal record.

Instead, he says, their 14th LP represents a melding of their earlier aggression with vintage prog. “If you take those vocals away, it’s no big stretch. I think this album is slightly heavier; it’s much darker and evil, but I think they’re the only thing that could keep the prog guys away from this record.