“I have an audio recording of a Black Mass from San Francisco. I’ve never played it all the way through”: The legendary album Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt wishes he had made – and the rock band he thinks are a “joke”

Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt posing for a photograph — (Image credit: Will Ireland/Total Guitar Magazine)

Mikael Akerfeldt has led Opeth’s 30-plus year transformation from gnarly underground death metal band to modern prog flagbearers. But he’s also an insane music lover and vinyl collector, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of some of the dustier corners of rock and metal. In 2017, the Swede revealed the albums that have made him the musician he is today.

The First Album I Bought

Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast (1982)

“I was eight years old and on a mission to buy a metal record one day, and it just happened to be Iron Maiden. It’s become one of the most important records in my life. I don’t even have to listen to it anymore; I hear it in my head. It’s in my DNA.”

The Album That Reminds Me Of School

Alice Cooper – Constrictor (1986)

“All my mates at school got that record when it came out because of He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask) from the Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives soundtrack. It’s more pop than rock because there’s not a lot of distorted guitars. In school, we had an hour on Fridays where pupils could decide what we’d do, and one week my friend chose the music so he recorded a full 60-minute cassette of that song on loop.”

The Best Album Artwork

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970)

“It’s a beautifully spooky cover and I’ve gazed at it for years. I almost got obsessed with those infrared film photos where the colours are reversed slightly. I’ve been looking for the artist for 25 years but he’s vanished from the face of the Earth. I want him to do an Opeth sleeve.”

The Album That Defines Metal

Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith (1984)

“I remember seeing the Freewheel Burning video on TV as a kid – it was the fastest and heaviest thing I’d ever heard. I was so disappointed when I bought Rocka Rolla after it because it sounded like a different band and their singer was listed as Bob Halford. I thought it was Rob’s brother!”

Judas Priest - Freewheel Burning - YouTube

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The Album No One Would Believe I Own A Copy Of

Anton Szandor LaVey – The Satanic Mass (1968)

“It’s not completely out of this world because I have a slight fascination with occult stuff, but I have an audio recording of a Black Mass from San Francisco. I’ve never played it all the way through because I get bored!”

The Most Underrated Album

Judas Priest – Turbo (1986)

“I remember getting hold of it and hearing the synthesisers that were forbidden in heavy metal. I love even the cheesy songs like Parental Guidance that metalheads talk shit about but I’ve always liked that. Everyone was trying to put out cool records in the 80s.”

The Album I Wish I’d Made

The Beatles – The Beatles (aka The White Album) (1968)

“I come across as a complete Anglophile with all these British bands but I’d love to have made either Abbey Road or The White Album. I’ll settle with The White Album because it’s the longest. Without any competition, I think The Beatles are the best rock band that ever existed.”

Helter Skelter (Remastered 2009) - YouTube

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The Album That Should Not Be

The Offspring – Conspiracy of One (2000)

“The entire Offspring back catalogue! They’re a joke band to me and I don’t get it. I don’t think I could be friends with someone who listens to them. I’m sure they’re nice guys but their music is shit, I’m not even sure who it’s aimed at. I can’t even drink a beer if their songs are playing in the room – I just leave!”

The Album I Want Played At My Funeral

The Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)

“It depends whether I want people to be crying or happy, but Golden Slumbers starts very sad and melancholic but turns into a beer-drinking kind of song.”

The Album I Want To Be Remembered For

Opeth – Heritage (2011)

“It caused the biggest stir with our fans, but it happens to be one of my favourite records and the collective favourite of the other members, too. I really love it and it might become a hidden classic for people. It’s a slow burner because it’s been six years and more people are telling us they hated it at first but now love it.”

Originally published in Metal Hammer issue 295 (April 2017)

Opeth - The Devil's Orchard [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube

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