Shaded from the heat in a small woodland clearing in San Jose, California, , vocalist and guitarist with Swedish prog-metallers Opeth casually reclines on the grass, his eyes masked by sunglasses, a cigarette smouldering in his distinctive toothy grin. A faint breeze rustles the leaves – the atmosphere is serene and peaceful, our actual location betrayed only by the screeching roars belting out of the battered PA system just beyond the tree line. Backstage at the Sounds Of The Underground tour, Akerfeldt winces as Madball tear their way through a midday set.
Already on his fifth interview of the day, the singer and his band are the needle in the haystack of this rolling metal circus that features amongst others Throwdown, Devildriver, Lamb Of God and GWAR. One of the few bands with melodies, one of even fewer with keyboards, and the only act boasting a mid-set ballad, Opeth have surprised, and impressed, everyone. Akerfeldt seems happy to explain what’s up.
Mikael Åkerfeldt: “That’s our plan with this whole thing: to fit in, but to stand out a mile. A lot of the bands on this tour sound very alike for my taste and we are here to get some new fans and we knew we’d stand out a bit because of the way that we sound.” “Yeah, I don’t want to be just some other band.
We’ve been playing a ballad as part of our set and after it people cheer – all of them – so I think it’s going well.” Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special.