Mikael Akerfeldt flicks through Book Of Opeth

Mikael Akerfeldt has released a video showing him looking through the first copies of Opeth’s upcoming book.

Book Of Opeth is released on April 15 via Rocket 88 publishers and is available for pre-order via the official website only.

It tells the Swedish outfit’s story in the words of mainman Akerfeldt, his bandmates, their friends, former members and collaborators.

The package – part of the band’s 25th anniversary celebrations – comes with exclusive unreleased acoustic versions of Atonement and Demon Of The Fall that won’t be issued elsewhere.

It will be available in two versions – a classic edition and a signature box set limited to 500 copies, signed by Akerfeldt and including a numbered print of the Pale Communion triptych by Travis Smith.

In the unboxing video, Akerfeldt recalls signing 500 copies of the limited set. He says: “I remember doing these, I had to do 500 of these…really boring. But they only come with the limited, deluxe version of the book. I signed it and numbered it myself. It’s got pictures from pre-recording days, before we even had a record deal.”

And coming across an old picture of his first tattoo, he jokes: “My first tattoo…the guy who did that was really drunk. He had like eight pints before he did that tattoo so I was a bit worried. It does look like shit actually.”

Opeth have a number of shows lined up for 2015, including an appearance at Wembley Arena on November 19.

Opeth 2016 tour dates

Jun 17: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, Sweden (with Iron Maiden)
Jul 02: Barcelona Be Prog! My Friend Festival, Spain
Jul 07: Helsinki Monsters Of Rock, Finland
Jul 09: Neskaupstaour Eistnaflug Festival, Iceland
Aug 19: Hasselt Pukkelpop, Belgium
Oct 01: New York Radio City Music Hall, NY
Nov 19: London SSE Wembley Arena, UK

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.