Opeth frontman/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt recently spoke to Decibel of the material the group have in the works for their next album. He said of their progress so far:
“I have about six songs done and another two or three just started, plus a million ideas that I haven’t processed yet. Some songs are simple and stripped-down, while others are epic in the true sense of the word. Business as usual, hopefully with unusual music.”
He later continued:
“Some of these things could easily be done with synthetic sounds or effects, but recording the Storm Corrosion LP with Steven Wilson made me realize what a massive difference it can mean to incorporate the real shit. I’m semi-pretentious in my songwriting and sometimes I go all in. I think it’s time for ‘all in’ with strings and the full monty. Hopefully it won’t be a mess.”
He also delved into one track in particular which was inspired by Goblin:
“It’s a jam I came up with during the Mastodon/Ghost tour that we ended up soundchecking. After a few days, you’d hear people in the corridors humming it. It’s a fucking hit! But basically it’s a not-so-subtle headbanging-type nod in Goblin‘s direction. And to avoid confusion, the song is even called ‘Goblin‘. My rip-off deteriorates mid-song and becomes fusion-esque darkened prog rock like Mahavishnu [Orchestra] or ELP. But it swings! It really does.”
