Hear Opeth go full prog on new single §3

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Their last single was a death metal comeback. Now, Opeth are showing their proggy side again.

Opeth in 2024
(Image credit: Terhi Ylimäinen)

Opeth have released the second single from their upcoming record.

§3 (“paragraph three”) follows last month’s §1, which brought death metal growls back to the Swedish band’s sound for the first time in 16 years. §3 leans further on their prog sound, however, with technical riffs and bombastic strings. Listen to the new track below.

The new track, like §1, is taken from Opeth’s upcoming concept album The Last Will And Testament. Singer/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt explained the band’s decision to reintegrate death metal elements on the album in an exclusive Metal Hammer interview.

When asked by journalist Rich Hobson what “brought the band back” to death metal, Åkerfeldt answered, “Honestly? The material itself did, in a way. With this record in particular, we knew it would work well as part of the big concept idea, illustrating particular things and giving this character a voice.”

Åkerfeldt also named longtime bassist Martín Méndez and new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen as champions of the new direction. “Méndez is my horse whisperer – maybe hoarse whisperer! – in a way. He’d be like, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we did something really heavy on the next album?’, and I’m like, ‘Hm…’”

He continued: “Waltteri coming into the band was another factor. He’s much younger than us and he’s got the capacity to really play that stuff. He really loves it, constantly talking about death metal and stuff. Part of me wanted him as our new drummer to be playing on that kind of record, too. So that was in the back of my mind.”

Opeth will release The Last Will And Testament on October 11 via Moderbolaget and Reigning Phoenix Music. The band will start a North American tour with Tribulation on the same day. They’ve also scheduled a tour of the UK and Europe for February. See the full list of dates and get tickets via the Opeth website.

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Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Online Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.