2025 Swedish Grammy winners Opeth, a band that has always been at the forefront of innovation and ideas when it comes to live concert spaces, will play several special concerts in unique venues over the summer of 2026.
For the UK exclusive the Swedish progressive metal titans will play the iconic Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire, a venue that in recent years has seen huge success in a series of summer concerts but with only a few rock / metal bands such as Korn, Deftones, Extreme, and The Smashing Pumpkins.
On Saturday 1st August, Opeth will bring a UK exclusive for 2026 to Piece Hall, with the full supporting bill to be announced later in the year.
Artist pre-sale: Tuesday 7th October @ 10am (BST)
O2 Priority pre-sale: Wednesday 8th October @ 10am (BST)
LiveNation/Ticketmaster pre-sale: Thursday 9th October @ 10am (BST)
General on-sale: Friday 10th October @ 10am (BST)
Info and tickets here.
Opeth’s 14th album, “The Last Will and Testament”, was written by Åkerfeldt, with lyrics conferred with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (The Heard, ex-Crucified Barbara). “The Last Will and Testament” was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman (Ghost, The Hellacopters), engineered by Boman, Joe Jones (Killing Joke, Robert Plant), and Opeth, with Boman, Åkerfeldt, and the rest of the band mixing at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm. The strings on “The Last Will and Testament” were arranged by Åkerfeldt and Dave Stewart (Egg, Khan) and conducted by Stewart at Angel Studios in London. Not one to miss a beat, visual artist Travis Smith returns to the fold, crafting his 11th cover, a haunting ‘photograph’ reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick’s infamous “Overlook Hotel” photograph. Miles Showell (ABBA, Queen) also revisits mastering and vinyl lacquer cutting at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Åkerfeldt rolls out the red carpet for storied flutist and Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson. Not only do Anderson’s signature notes fly on “§4’ and “§7”, he narrates on “§1”, “§2”, “§4”, and “§7”. Joining Anderson, Europe’s Joey Tempest lends a backing vocal hand on “§2”, while Åkerfeldt’s youngest daughter, Mirjam Åkerfeldt, is the disembodied voice in “§1”.
“The Last Will and Testament” is gripping from start to finish, jaw-dropping inside and out, representing some of Opeth’s finest material to date. Just as Opeth welcomed many into its distressed arms over the years, the Swedes again deliver on the promise that great music always tells a compelling story – this time with growls we had not heard since the 2008 “Watershed”.
Lineup:
Mikael Åkerfeldt – Vocals, guitars
Fredrik Åkesson – Guitars, backing vocals
Martin Mendez – Bass guitar
Waltteri Väyrynen – Drums and percussion
Joakim Svalberg – Keyboards, backing vocals
Weblinks:
www.opeth.com
www.facebook.com/Opeth
