The Last Will and Testament

The Last Will and Testament
Studio album by
Opeth
Released22 November 2024 (2024-11-22)
RecordedFebruary–March 2024
Studios
GenreProgressive death metal[1]
Length50:52
Labels
Producers
  • Mikael Åkerfeldt
  • Opeth
  • Stefan Boman
  • Dave Stewart
Opeth chronology
In Cauda Venenum
(2019)		 The Last Will and Testament
(2024)
Singles from The Last Will and Testament
  1. "§1"
    Released: 1 August 2024
  2. "§3"
    Released: 6 September 2024
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarHalf star[3]
Blabbermouth.net10/10[4]
Kerrang!3/5[5]
Louder SoundStarStarStarStar[6]
Metal Injection9/10[7]
PopMatters9/10[8]
Rock Hard10/10[9]

The Last Will and Testament is the fourteenth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. The album was originally set to be released on 11 October 2024 through Reigning Phoenix Music, but was pushed back to 22 November 2024 due to manufacturing delays.[10][11][12] This is the band's first studio album since In Cauda Venenum (2019), and the first release with drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who in 2022 officially replaced Martin Axenrot after his departure the year before.[13] It also marks the return of death metal elements such as death growls not used since Watershed (2008).[14] Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull appears on five tracks, contributing flute and spoken word.

Concept

The album is a concept album set in the post-World War I era, telling the story of a wealthy, conservative patriarch, whose last will and testament reveals shocking family secrets.

Seven of the album's eight songs consist of the reading of the father's will in the presence of his three children, a twin pair of son and daughter in their 20s and a young, polio-ridden girl. Their father first confesses that the young girl is not related to the twins by blood. Instead, he claims she was born of an affair he had with a handmaiden of the house. Presented with a lie about an affair between the maid and an estranged father, the matriarch of the family agreed to take the girl in. She was subsequently brought up as a blood heir of the family, even after the matriarch's untimely passing. Following this revelation, the father discloses an even greater truth: unlike their sister, the twins are not his biological children at all. He explains that he and his wife had tried to conceive children of their own, but to no avail. Although he puts the blame on his wife's apparent infertility, the father agreed to try one of their servants as a sperm donor. The result of this was the twin pregnancy, which the father attributes to blind luck. As the young girl is his only child by blood, the father names her his heiress and proprietor of the family's legacy. Upon the twins he bestows worthless heirlooms as a reminder of the fragility of heritage, concluding the reading of the will. In the closing track "A Story Never Told", a letter written by her mother reaches the girl, years after her father's passing. It reveals that the mother had lied to the father, the girl was the result of a different affair and the patriarch was not her biological father, as he was sterile all along.[15][16]

Except for the closing track, all song titles on this album consist solely of a section symbol (§) and a number from 1 to 7, rendered as Roman numerals (I to VII) on the physical variants. This was explained by frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt:

The lyrics are like the reading of the testament. That's why the songs don't have titles, just paragraph one... two... down to seven.[16]

Reception

The album received acclaim from critics and fans alike. It was praised as a return to form, akin to earlier efforts like Ghost Reveries and Watershed, while simultaneously expanding upon the prog-infused sound established in the band's recent catalogue, especially since Pale Communion. Ian Anderson's contributions were also singled out for praise.[4][7]

Artwork

The album's cover art, designed by Travis Smith, bears resemblance to The Shining's Overlook Hotel photo, which appears at the end of the film.[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mikael Åkerfeldt.

The Last Will and Testament track listing
No.TitleLength
1."§1"5:56
2."§2"5:33
3."§3"5:10
4."§4"7:00
5."§5"7:29
6."§6"6:03
7."§7"6:30
8."A Story Never Told"7:11
Total length:50:52

Personnel

Opeth

Additional Personnel

[18][15]

Technical personnel[18][15]

  • Stefan Boman, Joe Jones and Opeth – engineering
  • Stefan Boman, Mikael Åkerfeldt and Opeth – mixing
  • Miles Showell – mastering
  • Kit Cunningham – drum technician
  • Travis Smith – cover art
  • Mikael Åkerfeldt – art direction
  • Terhi Ylimäinen – photography
  • Amanda Martinez & Independent Kostym – clothing
  • Klara Rönnqvist Fors – dramatic consultation

Charts

Chart performance for The Last Will and Testament
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 29
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20]5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21]22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22]51
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[23] 10
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24]12
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[25]4
French Albums (SNEP)[26]52
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27]3
Greek Albums (IFPI)[28] 44
Italian Albums (FIMI)[29] 41
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[30]44
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[31] 45
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[32]13
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[33]6
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[34]79
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[35]7
Spanish Albums (Promusicae)[36]57
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 4
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38]3
UK Albums (Official Charts)[39]42
UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)[40]5
UK Rock & Metal Albums (Official Charts)[41]3
US Billboard 200[42]140
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[43]20
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard)[44] 28

References

  1. ↑ DiVita, Joe (2 August 2024). "Opeth Bring Back Death Growls on First Song Off New Concept Album 'The Last Will and Testament'". WBUF. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  2. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-last-will-and-testament/opeth
  3. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "The Last Will and Testament - Opeth". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Opeth - The Last Will and Testament". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  5. ↑ Beebee, Steve. "Album review: Opeth – The Last Will & Testament". Kerrang!. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  6. ↑ Everley, David. "Opeth - The Last Will and Testament album review". Louder Sound. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  7. 1 2 Blum, Jordan. "Album Review: OPETH The Last Will and Testament". Metal Injection. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  8. ↑ Begrand, Adrien. "Opeth's The Last Will and Testament". PopMatters. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  9. ↑ Hackländer, Stefan. "Opeth – The Last Will and Testament". Rock Hard. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  10. ↑ "Opeth – New Album Details Revealed". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  11. ↑ "Opeth Shares New Single, Reveals 'The Last Will And Testament' Album Details". Blabbermouth.net. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  12. ↑ https://blabbermouth.net/news/opeths-the-last-will-and-testament-album-pushed-back-by-six-weeks-due-to-delays-in-manufacturing-process
  13. ↑ "Opeth Enlists Ex-Paradise Lost Drummer Waltteri Väyrynen". Blabbermouth.net. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  14. ↑ "OPETH's MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT On His Decision To Bring Death Metal Growls Back: 'I Wanted It To Happen When People Had Stopped Caring'". MetalAddicts.com. 3 August 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 "Opeth Shares a New Single "§1" - New Album Coming Soon". Ghost Cult Magazine. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  16. 1 2 ""Screaming, for me, is almost like rapping": Mikael Åkerfeldt talks..." Kerrang!. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  17. ↑ Ewing, Jerry (2 August 2024). ""It feels like a dream." Opeth reveal new concept album The Last Will And Testament will be released in October". Prog. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  18. 1 2 Robin, Laurent (9 July 2024). "Albums". Opeth – Official Website. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  19. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 1 December 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  20. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Opeth – The Last Will and Testament" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Opeth – The Last Will and Testament" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Opeth – The Last Will and Testament" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  23. ↑ "Lista prodaje 50. tjedan 2024" (in Croatian). HDU. 18 December 2024. Archived from the original on 22 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  24. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Opeth – The Last Will and Testament" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  25. ↑ "Opeth: The Last Will and Testament" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  26. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Opeth – The Last Will and Testament". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  27. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Opeth – The Last Will and Testament" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  28. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Combined) – Εβδομάδα: 48/2024". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  29. ↑ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 48 (dal 22.11.2024 al 28.11.2024)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  30. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2024-12-02" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  31. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of November 27, 2024". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  32. ↑ "Album 2024 uke 48". VG-lista. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  33. ↑ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 22.11.2024–28.11.2024 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  34. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Opeth – The Last Will and Testament". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  35. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 29/11/2024 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  36. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Opeth – The Last Will and Testament". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  37. ↑ "Veckolista Album, vecka 48". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  38. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Opeth – The Last Will and Testament". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  39. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 29/11/2024 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  40. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 29/11/2024 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  41. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart on 29/11/2024 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  42. ↑ "Opeth Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  43. ↑ "Opeth Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  44. ↑ "Opeth Chart History: Top Rock & Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
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