In a recent chat with Kerrang!, Mikael Åkerfeldt talked about how he convinced Ian Anderson to join the new Opeth album.
“Well, the Ian thing came about because I asked him already years ago when we did the ‘Heritage’ record if he would play the flute,” the singer recalled. “I’d emailed some email, I don’t know if it was the correct one, supposedly addressing Ian, about him being on that album, and I never got a reply then. So we ended up using a Swedish guy that’s now passed on that record.”
He continued, “Somewhere along the line I did an interview, talking about records. One was a Jethro Tull record, and I told the story that Ian didn’t reply and said something like, ‘That motherf*cker!’ I got an email from after that from the Jethro Tull management saying, ‘Ian would love to play with you in the future. Just let us know.’”
“This time, though, I wasn’t really searching for his flute playing, because I’ve been looking at Ian Anderson interviews, and his voice is just so f*cking good – his speaking voice,” Mikael added. “So I asked him to do kind of narrations, which he did. And it’s insane. Along the line, he asked, ‘Do you need some flute as well?’”
When Anderson joined an interview with Mystery Tour radio show on Italian station Radio Onda D’Urto in February, he revealed his presence in Opeth’s album, saying, “Well, from time to time I play on other people’s records, if they’re interesting to me. I just did – last week, I played on three or four tracks from a prog metal band called Opeth. [They’re] Swedish.”
Opeth’s upcoming album ‘The Last Will and Testament’ will arrive on October 11, 2024. The record’s first single, ‘§1,’ was released on August 1. The band will also start touring North America in October to promote their new album.