Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth talking about Peter leaving

Opeth to me is Morningrise.
I LOVE that album SO much, it is my heart.

BUT, weirdly, i don't dislike their new direction(s)
They've covered SO much ground musically that it makes sense to evolve, and even tho the music is different, its never 'bad'.

The ferocity may be gone but whats replaced it is weird, spooky jazz which in itself is hugely interesting and compelling.
I look forward to whatever they do next.

(Tho i HAVE to say, im pretty sure i would have VERY much liked what was on Peters Riff-Tape. - The meandering contrapuntal black metal riffs from the first few albums are my FAVOURITE.)

bring back johann de farfalla

part of me felt bad about Pete back at when i first saw this video
despite the fact that i like a lot Fredik as a person and really respect him as musician as well of course
and also his signature PRS guitar as well XD

To be honest I’m really glad Peter quit. Frederik is soooooooo many thousands of times better as a lead guitarist. His phrasing his technique his melody. Everything is better.

Musicalmente era necesario la partida de Peter, el que sea músico entenderá el porqué

He's just self aware. He knows he's the songwriter/star if u wanna call it. So yeah.

They lost me after Watershed. But I'll always cherish the back catalog.

I think mikael is telling too many lies here just to bother peter after replacing him with fredrick
if he was honest ..why is the album watershed not as good as the old albums ?
Peter really had his touch on their music

My man is on some meth, adderall, or cocaine or he dropped some lucy before the interview hes calm as ive ever seen him and I love it. No wonder hes so fuckin good- i was a meth head and got shredder status in just three years on guitar, people think ive been playing since i was a kid. I wonder if hes stayed up a few nights just consumed with beer and music. The special disk on ‘venemum’ box set vinyl called “amphetamine”. Hmmmm anyways im clean now 1 year. What i would do commitment wise if i could get the chance to play with composers of such talent, id be making his meals, fluffing his god damned pillow, playing Zappa live in New York, 76 on his system cause i wanna see his reaction to that insanity and literally waiting on him hand and foot in order to get songs flowing and the recording going smoothly. We could release an album, and the next day id be working until i cant keep my eyes open on riff writing, learning the ins and outs of exactly how all the toys are hooked up, CHanging strings, tuning the guitars, i would immediately start singing lessons to offer backing vocals, id be setting up interviews and marketing us into more cash flow. I can’t understand how you can have that opportunity, and throw it away by being lazy, and jealous of your friend who is obviously a savant. My older brother is a concert pianist, and ill never be anywhere near his level of absolute genius, and its amazing to help him in any way possible, mikael must have gotten all the chicks thats why he was bitter

didnt opeth kick a guy out for not getting vaxxed or is that a different band?

I was waiting for him to say: he fucking left the band😦

Cardiacs and Opeth are two of the greatest bands ever. Tim Smith and Mikael Aekerfeldt....two geniuses.

Typical Dutch interviewer, haha. Straight to the point, cutting questions. Good stuff.

I wish something like this had happened in In Flames a few years ago especially after clayman and jesper had kicked anders's ass. Anders Friden totally fucked the band and they became a big nothing on me anymore.

Funny, he does not look so worried now about the comp....

What a duo they were.

I want to hear all Mikael's demos that he throws in the trash. The ones he states that are good, but also the ones he doesn't think are good. Could always use more Mikael music eh. Give us the good stuff u throw away at least! ha

From this you see how you can come out as an asshole if you say the truth

You either have it, or you don't. And most musicians don't, and thus why they never really go anywhere with their music. That seems to be the case with Peter. The cream didn't rise to the top.

Open and honest. Love this guy! Love Opeth!♥️🤟🏻

The funny thing is, it's not like every Opeth song is fucking amazing. So while I do understand his point, I also understand that sometimes including your bandmates ideas is vital to keeping the band together. Say what you want about where Opeth is now, but they were better with the original lineup and maybe including 1 or 2 of those "mediocre" riffs would have kept them together.

Mikael is so honest and kind man he's the best

🥲

Maybe if Peter was still in the band they would still be great. Guess we'll never know.

Damn. I wish Mickael had talked through a proper response with a publicist before saying what he said.

He could have easily said “we’re not on the same page anymore” or “we’ve grown in different directions” and everyone would understand without it being harsh.

Some could argue “Mickael is just being honest” but he admitted right here on the tape that he WASN’T honest with his band mate when he gave him the tape.

Mickael is obviously a musical genius but selfish leaders often drive great musicians into laying down their instruments.

I hope Mickael has learned from this.

Love the Dutch accent from the interviewer 😂😂

Funny things he talks 'bout moving forward, while right now Opeth is basically a '70s prog-rock cover band ... meh

You can really tell that Mike truly cares about how other people feel.

So the question is: if Peter wasn’t contributing to songwriting, why did Opeth go so downhill after he left? Granted, Lopez left as well and he was a big contributor, but it seems like Mikael has been really uninspired lately.

Best interview ever with Åkerfeldt. Maybe he was tired but that was awesome. Peter is brilliant guitarist.

Sounds like Peter made a serious miscalculation.

There is always two sides to a story . We never heard Peter’s

I don't like the turn your music took around Deliverance, Mike. I think it's shit.

For me, Pete is really important for the band even he is not so "creative" based on what Mikael said in the interview. You can see how Opeth fell after Pete left. Mikael can write damn good riffs with him even in standard c and e. I am not saying that Opeth after Watershed is not good (I actually love Sorceress album and some songs in Pale Communion), but Pete is the protector for Opeth's death elements.

I'm basically Peter when it comes to pair programming in computer science class

This interviewer makes me cringe bad

when you start a band and write all the songs you can sure as shit call all the shots....I'm not sure why people have a problem with that. And he doesn't even really do that necessarily, but in the end it's his vision...his vision IS the bands vision. It's his fuckin' band he started it.

Peter Lindgren smart. Mikael should have started a new band for his Yes prog project

Insecure and weak personalities get an arrogant vibe from this guy.

Michael may be the main songwriter, but that line-up was fucking magic, man. They haven't reached those heights again.

"But he was never really creative wit the band for the last 10 years. maybe one, two minutes of riffs..."
Yikes !! Rough Akerfeldt

now when i think back, for me the last album of opeth is ghost reveries. "Coincidentally" that was peter's last one with opeth as well. is Mikael the problem here? he says obv that he wrote most of the stuff, but development of the band musically says the opposite

Damn! I can see the pain on his face talking about Peter.

Mike complains about Peter stopping to write songs, but that happened because he wanted to change the band's style after Morningrise. It's funny that he talks about Peter in such terms when Fredrik have only co-written 2 tracks with the band, whereas Peter co-wrote 2 full albums + 2 other songs.

the band has sounded shit for like 12 years. The first two albums were the golden era by far. Why the hell did they let that go?

I love Mikey and I love Opeth but I'm gonna have to call bullshit on this one. If you're axing your own ideas for music and claiming it has to be good enough to be on the tracks, then who the fuck has been writing this 60s prog music the last 3 albums? Who the fuck is authorizing this shit Mike.

Hey guys, I'm into opeth only recently and love them! Just a question: is "My arms, your hearse" a tribute to the Comus' song Drip Drip?

Didn't they guy come back shortly after this?

He doesn't come off to me here as not being humble. If you've played in a band you know there are lots of issues with members and the material they write. it's hard because sometimes you play with guys you really like but the stuff they write sucks or they don't pull their weight or any other of a number of issues. Often times it's not personal, but when you're in charge of a band, like Mikael is, you have to do what's best for the band, even if it's hard. It's a complicated scenario and Mikael is trying to do the right thing for his music.