[youtube]https://youtu.be/LuRO_ARLa_Y[/youtube]
Opeth have slowed down a bit with their two most recent albums, taking the foot off the gas and getting a lot more melodic. While a lot of that has to do with singer Mikael Akerfeldt’s desire to sing more and growl less, he’s never put out a full-on solo album before. There have been rumors that he’d be doing one for years, dating back to 2003, as Metal Injection notes. However, in a recent interview with Rocksverige, Akerfeldt brought up the rumor, stating that there’s an offer on the table, even if he hasn’t done anything yet:
“I don’t know. Maybe. I actually got an offer from a record label to do a solo record not long ago. But, I mean, those rumors come from me saying that I would like to do a thing like that to learn more about studio production, like the technical aspect of recording a record. So I was thinking I’m gonna start in a somewhat easy way, with just an acoustic guitar and vocals — basically some type of singer-songwriter record. But, I mean, it hasn’t materialized. And since then people ask me all the time, ‘When is it coming?’ So it was never decided, really; it was just, like, something I said … [I have] nothing that I’ve written with the intention of putting it out as a solo record. It’s just… I have snippets of songs that haven’t ended up anywhere else. So I might… I might do something, but I don’t think people should hold their breaths.”
What would a solo album from the singer of Opeth sound like? Another question would be how much of his supposed solo stuff that he’s written might have already wound up being used on the last few Opeth albums. Further in the interview, he states that there might or might not be another album from Storm Corrosion, his project with Porcupine Tree frontman (and Opeth producer) Steven Wilson. It’s not like he’s going to rule that out yet either, but he essentially said that many weren’t expecting what a collaboration from them would sound like the first time, but with an album out already, they wouldn’t want it to become dull. So basically, if they feel like putting out an album, they will, but only then.
