Opeth unveil new single “$1;” new album arriving in October

Swedish progressive metal giants Opeth have announced their overall 14th album, The Last Will & Testament, is scheduled to arrive on October 11 via Reigning Phoenix Music / Moderbolaget. To celebrate the announcement the group released the first single, “§1.”

Opeth are set to embark on a North American tour in October followed by a European trek in February 2025.

The Last Will & Testament is a concept album set post-World War I, exploring family secrets revealed in a patriarch’s will. Written by Mikael Åkerfeldt with Klara Rönnqvist Fors, and co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman, it features guest appearances by Ian Anderson and Joey Tempest.

Vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt comments:

“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!

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?”