Fear, Emptiness, Decibel: Watch Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt Shop for Albums

Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

For this month’s Converse X Decibel, we braved the turnpike from Philly to Fords, New Jersey to hang with stage banter demigod/Opeth ringleader Mikael Åkerfeldt. Mike’s been good for a candid and insightful interview all three times we’ve slapped his band on a Decibel cover (the last two only his cherubic, carefully mustached mug—eat shit, Martin Mendez!). This time we accompanied him to the delightfully low-key indie record shop Vacation Vinyl, and we didn’t even have to buy him shit (I don’t think, at least) to get him all chatty.

So, while you’re waiting for the follow-up to 2011’s head-turning Heritage, light some incense/funny cigarettes and watch Åkerfeldt discuss his longstanding vinyl/cassette obsession, his favorite subgenres, his master plan to someday open his own vinyl hole in the wall, and even one time when he traded a Predator poster for a Sodom album. Thoughts on who prevailed in that Austria/Germany conflict?

The July 2013 issue of Decibel features Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Immolation, and an awesome Royal Thunder flexi disc. You can purchase it here. But why not just get a full subscription to ensure that you never miss an issue?