After a well-received performance at the 2025 Monsters of Rock festival, Swedish band Opeth is returning to Brazil for two concerts: Thursday at Ópera de Arame in Curitiba and Friday at Espaço Unimed in São Paulo. Guitarist Fredrik Åkesson says the shows will be longer than the band’s festival appearance, lasting about two hours and drawing on its extensive catalogue.

Opeth will also perform material from its latest album, 2024’s “The Last Will & Testament,” the group’s 14th studio release. The band, formed in Stockholm in 1990, is known for progressive metal songs influenced by classical music, blues and folk. Åkesson says he finds it difficult to define Opeth’s sound, describing it instead as a blend of the band’s interests and ideas from vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt.

“The Last Will & Testament” is a concept album set in the aftermath of World War I. Its story follows a wealthy man whose will exposes disturbing secrets about his family. Ian Anderson, the flautist and leader of Jethro Tull, appears on five tracks, playing flute and providing narration. Åkesson, who has admired Jethro Tull since he was 12, described recording with Anderson as surreal.

Åkesson, 54, has been in Opeth for 19 years. Before joining, he spent several years with Swedish hard rock band Talisman. He says Opeth’s increasingly elaborate records have kept the work challenging by encouraging him to try different things.

The current lineup features Åkerfeldt on vocals and guitar, Åkesson on guitar, Martín Méndez on bass, Joakim Svalberg on keyboards and Waltteri Väyrynen on drums. “The Last Will & Testament” was Väyrynen’s first Opeth studio album.

Åkesson grew up in Upplands Väsby, north of Stockholm, and began taking private guitar lessons as a teenager. In his early twenties, he studied music theory and the history of popular music. He has cited Yngwie Malmsteen’s 1984 debut album, “Rising Force,” as a defining influence, alongside classic rock and British metal acts including Rainbow, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and Saxon.

Sources: Folha Ilustrada.