It’s been a long five years, but Opeth are finally back with a new album. No need to ring the requiem bell just yet, but the progressive gloom greats‘ forthcoming The Last Will And Testament is out October 11th through Reigning Phoenix Music/Moderbolaget, and they’re previewing the album with a psyche-skewering single called “§1.”
A press release confirms that Opeth’s 14th full-length is a concept record that takes place shortly after World War I, and concerns “a wealthy, conservative patriarch whose last will and testament reveals shocking family secrets.”
It’s unclear at the moment just how “§1” fits into the narrative, but the song is a glorious doomscape of mounting, djent-ified tension, sick ward synth undulating and “Flight of the Bumblebee” shred, while vocalist-guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt gets extra growly about the “self-pity” on display at the will reading. You can check out an edit of the track up above.
“I have become quite interested in family, and the idea that blood is not always thicker than water,” Åkerfeldt added in a statement.
“I became interested in how family members can turn on each other. I saw an interview with this guy whose family had all turned against him, over the inheritance, so I wrote a song about that on the last record. The idea stuck with me, and then along came the TV show Succession, and I loved that series. That was in the back of my head too. It felt like an interesting topic that you could twist and turn a little bit.”
As for the rest of the record, the band’s first since 2019’s In Cauda Venenum Åkerfeldt wrote the music while lyrics were co-written alongside with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (The Heard, ex-Crucified Barbara). It’s Opeth’s first album with drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who joined the band in 2022, and likewise features guest contributions from Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson, who added flute to a few songs but also acts as a narrator through the record.
Other guest contributors include Europe frontman Joey Tempest and Åkerfeldt’s youngest daughter, Mirjam, who performs as the “disembodied voice” in “§1.”
In addition to the new album, Opeth also have a round of North American dates on the way, which start up October 11th at Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s The Rave venue. Fellow gloomsters Tribulation are on deck to support. You’ll find the full details down below.
The Last Will And Testament tracklisting:
§1
§2
§3
§4
§5
§6
§7
A Story Never Told
Opeth tour dates with 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