Joakim Svalberg

Swedish progressive metallers OPETH made their live debut with keyboardist Joakim Svalberg (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, GLENN HUGHES) at the 10th annual Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival on June 10, 2011 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville.

When asked by the Artisan News Service how playing Bonnaroo was different to performing at European festivals, OPETH vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt said, “It’s very similar to European festivals. It’s strange that there’s not more festivals in the United States like this, as far as I’m concerned. But yeah, it was lovely. Good hospitality.”

OPETH‘s setlist was as follows:

01. The Grand Conjuration
02. Face Of Melinda
03. The Lotus Eater
04. In My Time Of Need
05. Master’s Apprentices
06. The Drapery Falls
07. Hex Omega

OPETH will embark on a North American headlining tour in September with support from fellow Swedes KATATONIA.

Keyboardist Per Wiberg, who joined OPETH in 2005, was relieved of his duties in April as part of a mutual decision with the remaining members of the band.

OPETH will release its tenth album, “Heritage”, on September 20 via Roadrunner Records. The CD was produced by Mikael Åkerfeldt and was recorded earlier this year at Atlantis studios (formerly Metronome studios) in Stockholm. Mixing duties were handled by Steven Wilson (PORCUPINE TREE) and Åkerfeldt. Longtime collaborator Travis Smith also worked with Åkerfeldt to create, design and execute the album’s artwork, which can be seen below.

“Heritage” will be released in several configurations that will certainly incite the interest of OPETH‘s legion of fans, known for their passion for collecting and collectibles. The album will be released as a standard version; as a special edition loaded with extras; as a box set exclusive to the Roadrunner and the band’s own official Omerch webstore; and as a double LP. There is something for every OPETH fan, thanks to this variety of options. Source: Blabbermouth.net

Short performance clip:

Artisan News Service interview:

According to the French edition of Rock Hard magazine, keyboardist Joakim Svalberg (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, GLENN HUGHES) has been rehearsing with Swedish progressive metallers OPETH for the past few weeks, but has not yet been made an official member of the band.

A photo of Svalberg in the studio with OPETH during the mixing sessions for the band’s new album, “Heritage”, can be seen on left.

Keyboardist Per Wiberg was relieved of his duties as a member of OPETH in April as part of a mutual decision with the band.

OPETH vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt released the following statement on the matter: “Well, it’s been somewhat of a revolving door of members during the last couple of years, and now Per is no longer a member. [Martin] Mendez [bass], Axe [Martin Axenrot, drums] and Fredrik [Åkesson, guitar] and I came to the decision that we should find a replacement for Per right after the recordings of the new album, and this came as no surprise to Per. He had, in turn, been thinking about leaving, so you could say it was a mutual decision. There’s no bad blood, just a relationship that came to an end, and that’s that. We wish Per the best, and he did a splendid job recording keyboards for the last record, which stands as his final recording with OPETH.”

In other news, OPETH will embark on a North American headlining tour in September with support from KATATONIA. So far the following dates have been revealed:

Sep. 19 – Worcester, MA – Palladium
Sep. 20 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre
Sep. 21 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Sep. 22 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Sep. 26 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
Sep. 28 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom
Sep. 29 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend
Oct. 06 – Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
Oct. 08 – Winnipeg, MB – Garrick Centre
Oct. 16 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
Oct. 21 – Pomona, CA – The Fox Theater
Oct. 25 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theater

Source: Blabbermouth.net