Opeth mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt is widely celebrated not only for his musical prowes, but also for his richly expressive and often enigmatic lyrics. Known for weaving unusual and evocative language into his songwriting, Åkerfeldt approaches lyrics as an art form in itself.
In a recent interview with Sinusoidal Music, Åkerfeldt opened up about his enduring love of words and his drive to make Opeth's titles and lyrics as visually and sonically striking as the music itself.
"Well, I kind of stopped that process now with the last album because [they're all named paragraph numbers]. I mean, to me, it's just like… the aesthetics when you look at a song title, they've always been important to me. I've always been drawn to those maybe not-so-common words. I'm like a bit of an Anglophile in that sense.
"I got so much inspiration from film, albums, and other bands. Just pick up an Iron Maiden record, for instance. Or just the name 'Iron Maiden' — like, what's that? That's awesome. Little did I know it's a torture device. I just kind of looked at beautiful words and checked out the meaning."
Åkerfeldt also reflected on a lyrical misfire in Opeth's "The Night And The Silent Water Lyrics" that reads "Lonely cesspools / Relics of the moon-dogged lake / Whisper, 'All your words are misgiven." saying it's not quite what he meant.
"Over the years, I've made a few mistakes where I thought a word meant something, and it meant something completely different. I remember I wrote some lyric that was supposed to be beautiful lyric — I can't remember which song—but the lyric was like: 'lonely cesspools.'
"And the label at the time was like, 'Lonely? Like, lonely cess… like, lonely holes of shit?' I was like, 'No, is that what—?' You know, it was kind of… I don't know. It was just not what I wanted to write, so to speak.
"But yeah, I just like to experiment with language. And there are no rules. Not even grammar. I don't really pay attention. Like, I want it to be correct, but I allow myself to fuck with the grammar — to make it look or sound weird. You know, freedom. Artistic freedom."
