Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt thinks prog music has “become a bit regressive”: “Now progressive means fast guitar solos”
Once upon a time, “progressive” meant breaking boundaries, mixing styles, and bending the rules of rock and metal. These days, according to Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt, it’s often more about how fast you can shred – and the prog-metal veteran isn’t buying it.
In a recent chat with Prog Project, Åkerfeldt opens up about his frustration with how the term “progressive” has evolved, noting that the genre has drifted from its adventurous roots and become something of a cliché.
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“I’m not sure if it’s so important for me to feel that we are progressive, because I don’t really know what it means anymore,” says Åkerfeldt [via Blabbermouth], who juggles the roles of Opeth’s lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter.
“Back in the day, I think that it was easier to define a progressive band because they were mixing styles and stuff like that, but now progressive means fast guitar solos, and it’s become a sound and maybe not so progressive.”
He adds that the genre’s overall direction has him scratching his head: “I think progressive music, especially in rock and metal, has become a bit regressive,” says Åkerfeldt.
“And it’s also, I don’t know if I can decide if we are progressive or not. I think it’s up to the audience to decide, but for me, it’s become less and less important to be labelled progressive because I don’t know what it means anymore.”
When asked whether he tries to consciously be “progressive” when writing Opeth’s music, Åkerfeldt is clear: “No. I don’t wanna repeat myself. Many of our fans want us to maybe repeat what we did in the early 2000s, but I’m not really interested in that. I like for us to progress, but not necessarily just so we fit into the progressive rock/ metal genre.”
For Åkerfeldt, the focus is always on creating music that moves forward in its own terms. Drawing on a wide range of influences and a deep passion for his craft, he says, “when I write music, it’s easy to, I think, make progress for our own music, because I have so many different kinds of influences and I’m very passionate about my music and stuff like that. So I try, but at the end of the day, I just wanna write emotional music.”
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