We met up with Mikael Åkerfeldt (vocals & guitar) and Fredrik Åkesson (lead guitar) from the Swedish progressive metal rock band Opeth at CopenHell (DK) metal festival to talk about some of the essential things for a guitar player.
Don't let Mikael fool you, He's an AMAZING guitar player, not of the "flashy" kind, there aren't many footages of him playing up close but he has an incredible taste and confidence in his playing, every note is played with purpose, his riffs are always solid in timing despite being quite difficult, not to mention that he sings whilst he plays them. Whether he's playing riffs, solos, acoustic parts, there's always an element of surprise in his playing. Time will give him the credit he deserves for his guitar playing.
Skill vs. competence. I can see where he is coming from. Mikael is a competent guitar player but he admires the skill of others. He is humble but fair.
Love these guys. Åkerfeldt is such a self-whipping guy though, beyond just humble. He plays kickass solos on the albums and you'd not even think it was him until you see him play the solos live. He has the chops no matter what he says. But his sense of harmony is incredible.
As someone who has nerded Opeth stuff for a long time… that thing with holding a note and then adding vibrato is such a good habit to have, and it’s indeed all over their records!
Mikael is always humble because of Law of Jante (Jantelagen). He's one of the best guitarist out there because he's not crazy technical but he has something that other guitarist don't have : Ability to write memorable songs and lyrics. He basically write all Opeth songs in his home studio. That's insane.
Don't forget Fredrik recorded the guitars for Ghost's latest album. Fredrik is the one I mention when someone ask me my favorite guitarists. I can't think of anyone else. Except maybe Miyako in Lovebites of course ;D
Mikael’s riff writing and especially the solo on ghost of perdition definitely convinced me that he is a brilliant guitarist. He is wayy to humble for his skill in my opinion. But i’d rather have him being humble than being some selfabsorbed brat.
They keep dishing up questions about tone, hoping they'll mention pedals and effects, and all their answers revolve around the notion that gear won't make you good. I love that