Ever wondered what attending a concert by one of the world’s biggest boy bands was like but couldn’t find the courage/excuse/familial relation to justify it? Never fear because one of prog metal’s most influential figures is here to help.
Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt recently attended a concert by UK heartthrobs One Direction and has given a pretty entertaining account of his experience.
Don’t worry metal-heads, the Swede wasn’t seeking inspiration for Opeth’s forthcoming new album, instead he was chaperoning his eldest daughter, a One Direction fan – as Åkerfeldt tells Metal Hammer for their latest cover story – and his pain is our gain, as he delivers an insightful and humorous review of the Clubfeet-cribbing boy band.
“Well, I was in the minority there, being an old dude for one! But it was two sold-out nights at the Friends Arena which holds 60,000 people or something,” the 40-year-old musician explains.
“It kinda felt like they’d just dragged five guys from the crowd up…”“I anticipated some type of show as they had some elaborate stage thing going on. But when the guys hit the stage it kinda felt like they’d just dragged five guys from the crowd up… if there were guys in the crowd, which there obviously wasn’t!” he says.
“It was just people on stage that were able to sing in key, but other than that they didn’t do much, they didn’t do any syncopated dance moves, there wasn’t much of a show. And since there were five guys, they’d sing every fifth line of a song and in between be just walking around.”
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Åkerfeldt’s final verdict? “It was mind-boggling, I just couldn’t see the fascination, but kids think they’re cute and that kind of stuff.” So, zero devil’s horns out of ten, then? “For me, I did not understand the point of the songs… some I recognised but I felt a bit sad in a way.”
The Opeth linchpin did concede however that ‘Story Of My Life‘ was a highlight. “I turned to my daughter and said, ‘This one’s okay.’”
Mad props to Åkerfeldt for suffering through two hours’ worth of FM-friendly pop for the sake of his kid, but what we really want to see now is the reverse? Any One Direction-loving parents out there wanna attend an Opeth concert and give us the lowdown?
There’ll be ample opportunity when the prog metal five-piece embark on a European tour this October and November to celebrate the release of their new studio album Pale Communion, scheduled for local release on 22nd August (via Warner Music Australia).
Opeth were last in Australia for a national tour last March in support of their 10th LP, 2011’s Heritage, but they could be due back sooner rather than later as they’re rumoured for the Soundwave 2015 lineup. Promoter AJ Maddah recently tweeting he thinks the band are “just about due for a SW. As long as I can give them a long set … around 80 min.” Fingers crossed.
Hear the first taste of Pale Communion, ‘Cusp Of Eternity’, below – along with Åkerfeldt’s least hated fave 1D tune.
