Akerfeldt doubts return to screaming vocals

Opeth mainman Mikael Akerfeldt says he thinks its unlikely he’ll ever return to the screaming vocals he used on the band’s earlier material.

But he reports it’s something he’d explore further if new tracks called for that style of sound.

He tells asQme: “Next year I guess we’ll focus on new music. When it comes to screams, I don’t know. If the songs we write need the screams, they’ll be on there.

“I have a feeling that I won’t write those kind of songs. I’ve been screaming for more than 20 years, so I’m not as good as I was. I’m a pretty chilled out person so I don’t really have that in me any more.

“I can do it when we’re playing some of those old songs. But for me to write new music as aggressively as I wrote 10 or 15 years ago, it’s not likely – but you never know.”

Earlier this year, Akerfeldt insisted fans couldn’t dictate the band’s direction, despite coming under fire from some about using clean vocals.

Opeth will celebrate their 25th anniversary by playing their 2005 album Ghost Reveries in full at London’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on October 18. They were forced to move the show from the city’s Palladium due to “production issues.”

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.