Mikael Åkerfeldt has never been shy about following his instincts, even when they're driven by something as simple as aesthetics. In a new interview with Prog Project, the Opeth frontman revealed that the band's label Moderbolaget was created for one surprisingly blunt reason: he didn't want the Nuclear Blast logo on Opeth albums.
Åkerfeldt explained that while Opeth were signed to Nuclear Blast Records, he struggled with the label's name and iconic biohazard-style logo appearing on their meticulously crafted releases. "We started it as a… It's a silly story, actually," Åkerfeldt said. "Because we were signed to Nuclear Blast Records. I always thought 'Nuclear Blast' sounded so silly. I didn't want it to say 'Nuclear Blast' on the record."
In an attempt to sidestep that, Åkerfeldt founded Moderbolaget. "Okay, let's start our own label, Moderbolaget, which means 'parent label', you can say." But of course, at the end of the day, we still had the Nuclear Blast logo on the record, so it didn't matter. But that's really why we started it."
While the origin story may be rooted in mild annoyance, Åkerfeldt said the idea was also inspired by legendary bands who took control of their own releases. "It's also looking at bands like The Beatles, who had Apple Records, and Led Zeppelin, who had Swan Song," he said. "It's not 100% serious, but technically, we could sign other bands."
Asked whether the label has plans to sign other artists, Åkerfeldt laughed off the idea — at least for the moment. "Well, not really, but we could," he said. "Maybe that could be my retirement plan. Be a record boss, mogul, buy a suit, and smoke cigars."
Anyway, Opeth and Katatonia are set to tour North America next month. The tour kicks off on February 5 at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ and wraps up a few weeks later on February 25 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, BC. The tour is a part of Opeth touring in support of their latest record The Last Will and Testament. Get your tickets here.
2/5 Montclair, NJ The Wellmont Theater
2/6 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
2/7 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore Philadelphia
2/10 Detroit, MI Masonic Jack White Theatre
2/11 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
2/12 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
2/14 Dallas, TX The Bomb Factory
2/15 Houston, TX Bayou Music Center
2/16 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theatre
2/18 Colorado Springs, CO Pikes Peak Center
2/20 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl
2/21 Riverside, CA Riverside Municipal Auditorium
2/22 Sacramento, CA Channel 24
2/24 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
2/25 Vancouver, BC Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
