Opeth Preparing New Material

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Roadrunner Records) Opeth mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt recently gave an interview to Martin Carlsson of the Swedish newspaper Expressen , during which he hinted at what the band's fans can expect from their next album, the follow-up to 2011's Heritage .

Says Mikael, "We looked at Rockfield studio in Wales where Queen recorded 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' We have not decided yet, but it will be an expensive album. There is a lot going on, a lot of string arrangements that we have not had before."
He says the new music he's been writing (four songs are complete, with three more in progress) is "Maybe a little harder [than Heritage ], but not death metal hard but hard rock/heavy metal hard. Since there are many progressive parts and very acoustic guitars but more sinister riffs."

He also reveals that he'll be producing the record himself, saying, "I love how Dio's Holy Diver sounds, this early '80s sound where the '70s still remain but there is more weight in the entire production. At the moment, I want to get a similar sound, which is not retro but it sounds like real instruments and has a little more weight than Heritage ."

If you read Swedish, you can check out the whole feature here: https://www.expressen.se/noje/kronikorer/martin-carlsson/martin-carlsson-opeth-rundar-av-med-ostersjospelning/