Opeth’s last studio album was 2005’s Ghost Reveries. It received great critical response, and was named the best metal CD of the year by this site. The band is currently in the studio working on their next album. In the meantime, Opeth is releasing The Roundhouse Tapes, a 2 CD live collection that was recorded on November 6, 2006 at the Camden Roundhouse in London. A DVD release of the show is slated for early 2008.

Opeth has had some lineup changes in the past couple years, and frontman Mikael Akerfeldt fills us in on those, the new live album, and the progress on their next studio effort.

Chad Bowar: How did you choose the Camden Roundhouse in London as the venue for this live album?
Mikael Akerfeldt: I was unaware of that venue, but the Roundhouse is a classic place used in the ‘60s and ‘70s by all my favorite bands. It had been closed for quite some time, but it reopened and we had the chance to play there. We were the first metal band to play there. It’s a pretty big place. It holds about 3,000 people. It looks cool, they used to turn the trains around in there. We could bring in the production we wanted for that show. It’s also in London where we could draw a big crowd. We recorded the last DVD in London as well, but it’s a documentation of a live gig, so it really doesn’t matter where it is shot. We had a great show and it looks great.

The show was recorded on the Ghost Reveries Tour. Did you do your regular set, or did you change it because the show was going to be a live CD and DVD?
The set was pretty basic.

We just got the information the day before the gig that we had a strict curfew. We had to cut our set short by two songs, which was disappointing to us. But it is still an hour and 30 minute set. We chose songs to cover as many albums as we could in that amount of time. The last DVD we did there were recording restrictions in the contract so we couldn’t record all the songs. We wanted to make sure we covered earlier albums this time around. We also brought in a big screen behind the stage and extra lights to make us look better.

The CD is being released now, and the DVD is coming out early in 2008. Will there be any extras on the DVD version of the concert?
The concert is the main thing. There will be interviews with the entire band and each band member as well. There are interviews with the fans before and after the show. It’s pretty fun to watch. Overall it’s a pretty good package.

How come the CD/DVD is on Peaceville Records instead of your current label Roadrunner?
That’s one of our old labels. We put out records in the past with them. We had a clause with Roadrunner that we could record and release a live album and DVD and choose who we wanted to release it. It became a bidding war for the rights to release it. We needed the financing to make the production a reality. We were talking to several labels, but Peaceville on top of everything had great ideas for the packaging, which is quite important to us. Everything that we’ve ever put out we have to do it as cheap as possible. Peaceville wanted to make it look really luxurious. We were on the same page from day one. It was really easy to work with them.

You’ve had some lineup changes since the last album. What led to guitarist Peter Lindgren’s departure, and how did you find his replacement Fredrik Akesson?
We became friends with Fredrik a few years ago. I knew he was a great guitar player. He is quite well known in Sweden. I knew his past bands. At the time I got to know him he was in Tiamat. He then moved on to Arch Enemy. He was the only guy I asked when Peter left. He was just out of Arch Enemy and free. He had been wanting to get into Opeth for a long time, and this was the perfect opportunity because Peter was getting jaded with the whole thing, especially touring. He has a wife back home and so many different interests, and he lost interest in the creative side of being a musician. He didn’t contribute much writing-wise. He has a lot of education in engineering and physics and has a masters in science. So he’s doing that now. I know he still loves music, but it was all for the better, both for him and the band. I don’t want to work with people that can’t commit on the same level as the rest of us. We are all basically a bunch of bums who love playing music. We don’t have anything else.

What’s the status of the next studio album?
Last night I finished the last piece of music for the record. I’m working on one additional song because I want to have additional material. I’m going to record one cover song that I know of, and maybe another one.

What musical approach are you taking on this album?
It’s much more complicated. For some reason the structures of the songs are complicated in structure and playing-wise. It doesn’t sound complicated, but it is, and I don’t know why that is. Every time I come home from rehearsal I just pass out on the couch because it takes so much playing these songs. I’ve been writing for quite a long time. It’s exactly where my head is at, musically. There is no confusion. This time I’m secure and confident in this album.

Do you have a title or release date yet?
I’m slow with the lyrics and lyrical concepts. I haven’t come up with any titles yet, but I think it is going to be released in April of 2008.

How long do you think the recording process is going to take?
5 weeks is our goal. Last album we spent three months, which was horrible. We weren’t in great shape before. The band wasn’t in the best shape it could be, so we had lots of problems in the studio. This time around I’m anticipating it is going to be much easier for everyone. All the songs are done. Everybody knows what to play. We’ve been rehearsing for three weeks.

Who is going to produce?
I am going to be the producer. We have an engineer that we worked with on the last record. We talked to Steve Wilson from Porcupine Tree about working with us again. He was really keen on doing it, but they were on tour and we couldn’t wait.