OPETH wins Swedish GRAMMIS Award for 'The Last Will And Testament'
31-03-2025
OPETH was honored in the “Best Hard Rock/Metal” category at this year’s edition of the Swedish Grammis awards (Swedish Grammy equivalent), which was held Thursday night (March 27) at Annexet in Stockholm. The bands were nominated for their most recent releases, all of which came out during 2024.
“Best Hard Rock/Metal” nominees were as follows:
* AMARANTHE – “The Catalyst”
* HORNDAL – “Head Hammer Man”
* NESTOR – “Teenage Rebel”
* OPETH – “The Last Will And Testament”
* SKRAECKOEDLAN – “Vermillion Sky”
You can see video of OPETH‘s acceptance speech below.
“The Last Will And Testament”, OPETH‘s fourteenth studio album, was released last November via Reigning Phoenix Music/Moderbolaget. The LP was written by OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, with lyrics conferred with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (THE HEARD, ex-CRUCIFIED BARBARA). “The Last Will And Testament” was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman (GHOST, THE HELLACOPTERS),engineered by Boman, Joe Jones (KILLING JOKE, ROBERT PLANT) and OPETH, with Boman, Åkerfeldt and the rest of OPETH mixing at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm. The strings on “The Last Will And Testament” were arranged by Åkerfeldt and returning prog friend Dave Stewart (EGG, KHAN) and conducted by Stewart at Angel Studios in London. Not one to miss a beat, visual artist Travis Smith returned to the fold, crafting his 11th cover, a haunting “photograph” reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick‘s infamous “Overlook Hotel” photograph. Miles Showell (ABBA, QUEEN) also revisited mastering and vinyl lacquer cutting at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Åkerfeldt rolled out the red carpet for storied flautist and JETHRO TULL mainman Ian Anderson. Not only do Anderson‘s signature notes fly on “§4” and “§7”, he narrates on “§1”, “§2”, “§4”, and “§7”. Joining Anderson, EUROPE‘s Joey Tempest lends a backing vocal hand on “§2”, while Åkerfeldt‘s youngest daughter, Mirjam Åkerfeldt, is the disembodied voice in “§1”.
“The Last Will And Testament” is a concept album set in the post-World War I era, unfolding the story of a wealthy, conservative patriarch whose last will and testament reveals shocking family secrets. The narrative weaves through the patriarch’s confessions, the reactions of his twin children, and the mysterious presence of a polio-ridden girl who the family have taken care of. The album begins with the reading of the father’s will in his mansion. Among those in attendance is a young girl, who, despite being an orphan and polio-ridden, has been raised by the family. Her presence at the will reading raises suspicions and questions among the twins.
“The Last Will And Testament” is the darkest and heaviest record OPETH has made in decades, and it is also the band’s most fearlessly progressive. A concept album recounting the reading of one recently deceased man’s will to an audience of his surviving family members, it brims with haunting melodrama, shocking revelations and some of the wildest and most unpredictable music that Åkerfeldt has ever written.
Last month Swedish progressive metallers OPETH announced the fall 2025 European leg of “The Last Will And Testament” tour.
Sign up to the OPETH mailing list at Opeth.com to receive first access to tickets on Wednesday, February 26 10 a.m. local time.
Tour dates:
Sep. 29 – Hamburg, Germany – Laeiszhalle
Sep. 30 – Luxembourg, Luxembourg – Rockhal
Oct. 01 – Mannheim, Germany – Rosengarten
Oct. 02 – Zurich, Switzerland – Komplex 457
Oct. 04 – Vienna, Austria – Vienna Metal Meeting
Oct. 06 – Milano, Italy – Alcatraz
Oct. 07 – Zagreb, Croatia – Culture Factory
Oct. 08 – Budapest, Hungary – Barba Negra
Oct. 10 – Sofia, Bulgaria – Asics Arena
Oct. 11 – Bucharest, Romania – Laminor Arena
Oct. 14 – Dresden, Germany – Alter Schlachthof
Previously, we could announce that OPETH will be headlining the Friday edition of this year’s Dynamo Metalfest, held in Eindhoven from August 15-17.
OPETH‘s latest album, “The Last Will And Testament”, was released on November 22, 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music/Moderbolaget.
OPETH guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt previously took us through the band’s entire new album, “The Last Will And Testament“, with some interesting comments about how each track came to be. He does so in a video, dissecting all the ins and outs of every song of the band’s latest effort.
Watch the video below.
Following the album’s first single, “§1” (Paragraph One), the band last month released the second offering from record, “§3” (Paragraph Three).
Stream “§3” below.
OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt comments: “So put yourself in my position for a minute: Your band has this new album. You like it. In fact, you love it! It’s got this elaborate concept running through all eight songs on there. You’ve written it over the timespan of, say, six months, effective time. You’ve invested a lot of passion into putting it together. You’ve recorded it together with your friends/colleagues. You’ve had a good time in the process. Now, said album is on the verge of being released and you’re expected to talk about it. Prepare your audience for its coming. Talk it up! You do want people to hear it, right? You love the album so it should be easy, right? At this point, all you have to do is put together a few words for the new ‘single.’ But you’re confused with the use of the term ‘single,’ as you connect it to the olden days where ‘singles’ often had the word ‘hit’ next to it. And you know that won’t happen! Still you want people to hear it. Your loving ‘fans’ might think it’s awesome. But you don’t want to come across as a salesman. On top of that you’re not a complete self-absorbed asshole who thinks you’ve got the Midas touch (well….). Also you have a bad case of that inborn Swedish modesty, sprinkled with some impostor syndrome. What do you say? ‘§3’ is out now!'”
Stream the previously released “§1” below.
The follow-up to 2019’s widely acclaimed “In Cauda Venenum”, “The Last Will And Testament” is set in the shadowy, sepia-stained 1920s. It slowly reveals its secrets like some classic thriller from the distant, cobwebbed past, with each successive song shining more light on the stated machinations of our dead (but definitely not harmless) protagonist. The emotional chaos of the story is perfectly matched by OPETH‘s vivid but claustrophobic soundtrack, which artfully winds its way towards a crestfallen but sumptuous finale. Masters of their own idiosyncratic musical domain, OPETH have never sounded more unique.
“The Last Will And Testament” is destined to be a milestone in OPETH‘s illustrious recorded history. The band’s first out-and-out concept record, it features guest cameos from JETHRO TULL legend Ian Anderson and Joey Tempest, frontman with Swedish rock gods EUROPE. Only one of the album’s eight songs has a title: closing ballad “A Story Never Told”. The rest are simply labeled as numbered chapters in this slowly unfolding saga of deceit, recrimination and betrayal. Enigmatic, unsettling and immersive, “The Last Will And Testament” is a turbulent, prog metal tale like no other.
Making his recorded debut alongside OPETH‘s long-established lineup of Mikael Åkerfeldt, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson, bassist Martin Mendez and keyboard maestro Joakim Svalberg on “The Last Will And Testament” is new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who joined the band in 2022.
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