Swedish progressive metal titans Opeth are celebrating the first anniversary of their acclaimed 2024 studio album, The Last Will And Testament, with a cinematic visual treat for their fanbase. To mark the milestone, the band has premiered a new animated music video for the track “§3” (also known as “Paragraph Three“), designed to immerse listeners further into the record’s intricate storyline.
Created by the team at Absynthe Moon Media, the film serves as a visual interpretation of the concept crafted by frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt. The video returns viewers to the album’s central setting: the reading of a patriarch’s will in the 1920s. The animation vividly captures the shifting dynamics, deceit, and “identity fractured by lies” that plague the characters as their legacies unravel.
The Last Will And Testament was originally released on November 22, 2024, via Reigning Phoenix Music and Moderbolaget. The concept album was written by Åkerfeldt, who consulted on lyrics with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (The Heard, ex-Crucified Barbara).
The production of the album features a mix of returning collaborators and industry veterans. The record was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman (Ghost, The Hellacopters), with engineering duties shared by Boman, Joe Jones (Killing Joke, Robert Plant), and the band. Mixing took place at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm.
Adding to the album’s grandeur, string arrangements were handled by Dave Stewart (Egg, Khan) and conducted at London’s Angel Studios. The visual aesthetic was once again curated by artist Travis Smith, who created the cover art—his 11th for the band—while Miles Showell (ABBA, Queen) managed mastering and vinyl cutting at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.
The Last Will And Testament is Opeth‘s darkest and heaviest record in decades, while simultaneously being their most fearlessly progressive. This concept album centers on the reading of a wealthy, conservative patriarch’s final will, which unveils shocking family secrets. The narrative, brimming with haunting melodrama and unpredictable music, focuses on the patriarch’s confessions, the reactions of his twin children, and the mysterious polio-ridden orphan girl raised by the family whose presence at the reading raises immediate suspicion.
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