After 35 years and 14 albums, Opeth has built a legacy of progressive metal marked by ambition and evolution. But not every track in their catalog is a masterpiece, at least according to frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt himself. In a recent interview with Revolver, Åkerfeldt shared his thoughts on his best, worst, and most underrated works.
When asked about the greatest song he’s ever written, Åkerfeldt was quick to downplay his own catalog: “I don’t consider any of the songs I’ve written to be particularly great. But if I have to say one that I’m really happy about, it’s a song that it seems nobody really likes, apart from Steven Wilson, because he mixed the record.”
That song is “Faith in Others,” the closing ballad on “Pale Communion.” Despite the album being less popular among Opeth fans, Åkerfeldt treasures the track: “I think it’s quite beautiful. It’s not heavy in terms of metal, but it’s heavy in a different way.”
For every proud moment, there’s one that an artist wishes they could take back. For Åkerfeldt, that song is “By the Pain I See in Others” from “Deliverance.”
“I didn’t have a single song when we went in to record that album, so everything was written in the studio. Basically, I was writing music at night, and we would record it during the day. By the end, of course, I was fucked. I was so tired,” he remembered.
The physical toll was severe, leaving Åkerfeldt burnt out and even sick: “I got sick after the recording, just completely burnt out. My shit turned gray. I had to go to the doctor and get blood tests. I think that might’ve been the last song I put together for that record, and you can tell.”
While playing it live brought some surprising fun, he’s not a fan of listening to it: It’s such a tired song. It’s not good. We played it live a couple of times, and it was surprisingly fun to play live. But it’s not fun to listen to, I think,” Åkerfeldt added.
The conversation turned to the most underrated album in Opeth’s catalog. Åkerfeldt singled out “Heritage,“ their divisive 2011 release: “We got so much flak for it, so I figure it’s hated. I know a lot of people now love that record, but it wasn’t popular at the time.”
While fans initially struggled to embrace its departure from the band’s heavier roots, “Heritage” found an unlikely audience: “I remember talking to Erik Danielsson from Watain — he doesn’t like Opeth, but he likes that album. A lot of black-metal people like that record for some reason.”
Even though it remains polarizing, Åkerfeldt values the album for its uniqueness: “To me, it’s special because I don’t think we could write another record even remotely similar to it if we tried. But many of our fans didn’t understand it or just thought it sucked. So, I think it’s underrated. But many of our records are a bit overrated.”