Akerfeldt helped Anathema in moment of need

Anathema's Daniel Cavanagh credits Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt with helping him through a tough time in 2012 – although he won't discuss the details.

The two bands were on the road together at the time, and by chance they both grace Download’s Pepsi Max Stage this evening.

Cavanagh tells TeamRock Radio: “I got to know Mike and to like him a lot on our tour in 2012. He was really there for me when I particularly needed somebody. I’ve never forgotten it and I never will – I’m looking forward to saying hello to him later on.”

Anathema released tenth album Distant Satellites this week, and Cavanagh is certain it marks a high point in the band’s career. He says: “It’s breaking new ground for us. We’ve had a good chart entry in the UK, Germany and Europe. It’s a good time – we have new management, we have a great relationship with the record label. We’ve got the best crew; we’re so lucky. The dynamic in the band is so good.”

They’ve also just confirmed additional dates for their September UK tour:

Sep 18: Belfast Limelight (previously announced)

Sep 19: Dublin Button Factory (previously announced)

Sep 21: Glasgow ABC2

Sep 22: Newcastle Academy 2

Sep 23: Manchester Academy 3

Sep 25: Wolverhampton Slade Rooms

Sep 26: London Koko

Sep 27: Bristol Thekla

Sep 28: Southampton Talking Heads

Anathema interview

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.