We caught up with Opeth bassist Martin Mendez just before Christmas to talk about all things “The Last Will And Testament’ album and the tour which will visit Australia in November. If you have seen Opeth before you will be well aware of just how powerful they are live. This tour promises to be nothing but incredible with two nights already sold out at the iconic Sydney Opera House. Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, be sure to secure your tickets to what will be the progressive metal tour of the year.
Andrew: Good evening, Martin. How are you?
Martin: Very well, how are you?
Andrew: I’m great. Welcome to Australia and welcome to The Rockpit.
Martin: Thank you.
Andrew: It’s a great pleasure to be talking to you. Your last record or the band’s last record, ‘The Last Will and Testament’, what a record is all I can say. It’s an incredible piece of work.
As somebody that’s listened to the band through your entire career, it circles back to ‘Watershed’ for me musically, but encompasses everything along the way, if anything, this album is probably an amazing introduction for someone that is new to the band, ‘The Last Will and Testament’ is the record that I’d recommend they start with. For someone like me who is a fan, it really is an incredible album. ‘The Last Will & Testament’ has something really compelling about it, was that something intentional that you set out to do as a band, or is it just the way it felt and flowed?
Martin: It was pretty much the way it felt, really. We always try to develop our sound and try to do something different from previous albums. This time, I think, we took back elements like the growls and stuff like that, but it’s pretty much a combination of the whole career. It stays true to the idea behind the Opeth sound, but in a new way which is nice. I think the cooperation and input of the new drummer was a special thing for us and that inspired us to move on this album and allowed us to have more heavy parts and stuff like that. So yeah, thank you for your words, we’re happy with the record and proud of it; it’s nice to receive those kinds of comments.
Andrew: You’re more than welcome. The other big news and the other reason for chatting is that in November 2025 we get to see the band and this show come to Australia. It’s been a while between drinks; six years, I believe. Tell me about the last six years of Opeth. Obviously, there was COVID thrown into the mix, which messed with all of us globally. What’s been defining in the last six years for the band?
Martin: in 2019 just before the pandemic we released the album called ‘In Cauda Venenum’, and that was the last album in that more prog inspired kind of era. We spent 2019 and as much of 2020 as we could touring for that album. Just how huge the gap in touring would become from the pandemic was hard to navigate. We stopped touring for the album and by 2022, we played as much as we could, but it all seemed a little uncertain still. It was time to take a break and write the new stuff and record it. So that’s pretty much what we’ve been doing, touring, composing and recording.
Andrew: The overall tone set by the album’s title is quite a dark overtone when you think about it, the songs themselves all work well together and flow well together. When writing this record, what was the mindset behind writing this record? There is a feel and concept to the songs. I haven’t had a chance to dive into the lyrics yet, so I have only been able to gather my thoughts on my initial observations from listens.
Martin: ‘The Last Will & Testament’ is a concept album lyrically and that’s something that I guess Michael had in mind when he was writing and putting together the whole thing. Musically speaking, it’s a different album compared to our other albums. The composition of the songs is different. Structures are shorter compared to the past. We usually have very long songs and now it’s more compact, shorter songs. We had this story to follow, and I think that we managed to put the songs in a sequence that really fit with the lyrics and the whole story behind it. It’s a complex album, but it’s more compact in a way compared to what we have done in the past.
Andrew: When it comes time to write for an album, how does the band go about writing? Is it primarily Michael, obviously you’ve been with the band for 25 or 26 years now. How does writing work as a band?
Martin: In our case, Michael writes the songs, and he usually records the demos and then sends them to us. We listen to the songs and then once everything is finished. Personally, I get like a version of the demo without the bass, then I start learning the songs, and start putting together ideas to add to the songs, and once I have everything, I present the guys with everything I have done in the studio. That’s pretty much the way we work; we don’t rehearse much as a band. I think the week before we came into the studio, had a few rehearsals just to get more of the songs inside the body in a way and make sure all of the structures are right. The way I work is I get the demos from Michael and then I spend like a month or two months just listening to the songs, learning the songs and trying to write the bass lines for them, then I go into the studio, show the guys what I have done, and then record it.
Andrew: Some of the songs just have some incredibly complex passages to it. I love that, I love the journey that not only you go on lyrically, but musically. I think without a doubt; this is the finest performance I’ve heard from the band on a recording. How does that translate live? Have you had much of a chance to play shows supporting this album already?
Martin: So far, we’ve done only one tour for this album, and we went to North America. We played the two singles from the album in the set. Paraphragma 1 and 3, and they work well. Of course, we always need to adapt some things to the live performance because sometimes there’s a lot of things going on. In the song, Paragraph 3, for example in the middle of the song, there is a part that the guitars needs to tune down a big step from where they are and then we need to adjust a little bit that pause when I’m breaking with the bass and we need to do it a bit longer to give them the time to really tune the guitars, and then they need to turn it up again quickly to continue the songs. Otherwise, the songs are pretty much the same. We manage to play as close as possible to the record.
Andrew: The new tour, will it have production that’s based around the theme of the album?
Martin: This tour we aren’t playing the whole album but the stage show will have a theme relating to it. With every tour we try to cover material from as many albums as possible. We have all these screens and production behind us and we try to adapt the images and the thing to every song really to each song. We try to renew the production every time we go out. So there will be a focus on the new album of course.
Andrew: You’re playing some iconic venues while you’re out here in Australia. You’re playing the Sydney Opera House, Palais Theatre in Melbourne, which all have incredible histories to them, as does the Astor Theatre in Perth. In the past the band has played prestigious venues like the Royal Albert Hall. Are there any venues or places that you’ve played that have just taken your breath away.
Martin: All those places you name are amazing. The Sydney Opera House is just iconic place, I used to see it in pictures and then suddenly I’m playing in there. It’s like crazy, the Royal Albert Hall also was a huge thing for us. A legendary place for sure and Rock City, New York. I’m so grateful to be a part of this band and what we have achieved because we are not a commercial band, but we have managed to play concert in these places, which is amazing, and that’s a life memory. It’s going to be forever now until I die, because it’s a great thing.
Andrew: The band has always been known for delivering a great live show and this tour is I’m sure is not going to be any different. The band typically plays a two-hour long set that encompasses the band’s entire career. How important is it for the band to go and journey right back to the beginning?
Martin: It’s very important to please everybody. It’s fun to play something from every stage of our career as also. I love to play the old songs as well. For us when we go out on tour, that’s the only reason we are there, we try always to give a hundred percent, our best and we’re very perfectionist, but also, we’re very human. We understand if something goes wrong, we are a very light band. We don’t play with a click track; it’s just live music as it should be. It’s important for us to deliver the best quality performance, I think we’re getting better and better as we play each new show. We have year after year, record after record always strived to be better in some way. We as a performance and as a live band, I think we sound better than ever right now. We’re inspired to keep going, to keep doing this.
Andrew: You’ve been one of those bands that, since I was first introduced to you guys, which I think would have been around 2010, I think, was when I first really discovered you guys, was exposed to you guys and the journey that you’ve taken musically from the progressive to the really heavy sort of, death metal side of things. It really is quite a beauty in light and shade. Is there a particular style that you prefer playing? Obviously, it’s a mix and that mix is what makes Opeth, Opeth. Is there a style of music that you prefer to play? That’s that sits on either side of that?
Martin: Not really, because that’s the beauty of playing in a band like Opeth, when you can switch from pretty metal and brutal kind of music to a very mellow and sensitive song, and that’s one of the challenge also in this band, you have to be able to go from this really hard to from nowhere to very calm and still sounding interesting and good, I think that’s a challenge. That’s the beauty also, because I really enjoy playing like the most mellow stuff we have and I love it when people, when the audience sings along with us to the ballads. Then we go with a death metal type of song where you see the faces of those that love that style from us really enjoying also the energy, and that’s the beauty of this band and I really enjoy every moment.
Andrew: The album itself has a few interesting guest artists. You have Ian Anderson on there contributing flute and some spoken word. Joey Tempest from Europe provides some backing vocals and, Dave Stewart who did some string arrangements for you guys.
Martin: Dave has worked with us in the past. He has already done some string arrangements and orchestration on the last few albums. Yeah, Michael knows him from a few years ago, and I know he’s a very big fan of his work as well. So yeah, we try to work with people, interesting people that we think are interesting, people that can add something great to the music. It’s not just names; these people are bringing so many rich textures to the music. But yeah, they are big names of course, and Ian Anderson is a dream to have him on the record. But the job he does on the record is amazing. He adds so much for the music and the whole story. It’s a pleasure to share our recorded music with these people now.
Andrew: Simplifying the titles of the tracks on the album too. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, but ending the album with ‘A Story Never Told’ a song with a title. What was the mindset behind that was, a story never told. When you, when, I guess when you look at the record and the track listing and you go, okay, what’s going on here, why the, why, the change in, in, in mood in the way that the tracks have been title.
Martin: I think that the whole story, it’s a concept album and the numbers are this symbol is we call a paragraph, it’s put together like a legal document, like a testament, like a real testament document. It’s written that way and the last song is like a letter that they left for the family, so it is one thing, the testament as a legal document, and then it’s a letter, telling the last things, in the story. So that was the idea behind it, to make it like a real document,
Andrew: I think it’s a nice touch. It’s just nice to see somebody think outside the box when it comes to doing these things. It really does complete the story, is set post-World War I. Is it based upon anybody’s family background or legend?
Martin: I don’t think it’s inspired by any real situations. But, in a way it’s a pretty common situation, maybe. Not exactly but in like a rich family, this kind of family issues, family, things are going on when something like this happened, somebody dies and then, people get yeah, travel and then you can fight with each other because of, yeah, testaments and stuff like that. I think Michael wanted to do this type set in a post war period, but it could be like a modern kind of story, it could be set today, there’s not really time for this for this kind of story, but it’s made up, I don’t think it’s, anybody’s personal story.
Andrew: It’s just interesting to know whether there’s a historical event or a personal landmark thrown into these kinds of stories.
We don’t see you until November. What does 2025 look like for the band leading up to Australia?
Martin: We have a lot of touring going on. It’s going to be Europe now in February, and then we going to South America after that in April. Then we’re doing summer festivals here in Europe. I’m not sure in between festivals in Australia, but otherwise, Australia and New Zealand is going to be the next thing in November. It’s going to be a lot of touring. That’s the plan.
Andrew: How do you find touring? Are you a fan of it? Are you a fan of the long hauls that you do behind albums?
Martin: Nowadays it’s different, back in the day it was insane the kind of touring we did, we could be out for eight weeks and then come back home for a few days and then again for six more weeks and then so on and on for two years. But nowadays we have like a maximum time of three weeks out there, which is a very nice length because you don’t get burned in a way. I love to play live. I really love it. It’s one of my favourite things, being a musician. Playing live, performance, and recording as well. But playing live is a special thing, I really love it. Touring is not just playing live; it’s only two hours a day. It’s a lot of waiting, a lot of traveling, a lot of stuff, being away from home. So, it’s not easy, it’s hard, especially as we’re getting older, we have families at home, but as I say, three weeks is a good amount of time, I think to still enjoy it and not get tired of it,
Andrew: In which environment do you think the band is best live? Is it in a theatre style of environment or is it at a festival? Obviously, they’re both two completely different beasts, but is there one that, that you connect with better than the other?
Martin: Obviously in a theatre you get a nicer atmosphere. Festivals, I’m fine to play, usually a lot of things are completely different in a way that it’s more rushed, you have less time to, to prepare, when it comes to prepare the stage. It’s one band, finish and then you have to rush to put all your stuff and do a line check, it’s not a sound check and then you never know if strong wind the kind of affects the sound and sometimes it’s different stages playing at the same time and you can hear music from all the stages so I mean being a theatre and you get like the ultimate experience, I think sound wise and visual wise.
So, I think, and of course I get more contact with the audience when you’re closer and you feel more intimate, I really like that feeling,
Andrew: Is there a favourite gig that you’ve played over the entire time that you’ve been in Opeth? Is there one show that’s, that stood out above every other one?
Martin: I don’t think so, really. I really enjoy every show, especially now, the last couple of years. I really, I’m so grateful for every show I play, and I play as it will be the last one pretty much, I really try to enjoy it as much as possible I try to perform as good as possible and to have the best experience, and that pretty much you can have that experience anywhere, you know. If you’re focused and you have good response from the audience, of course, some venues are better than others some wise, but I don’t think I have one special show. I really try to enjoy every show as much as any other.
Andrew: Now we’re almost out of time and it’s just flown by again. It’s crazy how quickly these interview spots go. Is there something that you’d like to tell the Australian fans or say to the Australian fans regarding these upcoming shows?
Marin: We’re just looking forward to coming back to Australia and we love to play there. Beautiful people, beautiful weather. We really enjoy the time every time we’re there and it’s going to be nice. It’s going to be nice concerts and yeah, I just hope to see you there, we will have a great time together.
Andrew: Thank you so much for your time, Martin. I really do appreciate it. I want to wish you, on behalf of The Rockpit and all our readers, a very happy and safe holidays, and we can’t wait to see you out here next November. Until then, stay safe, have fun, and all the very best to you and the guys.
Martin: Thank you so much, man. Thank you.
Andrew: No worries.
Martin: Thank you. Take care. Bye.
