Opeth Nix Soundwave, Look To Early 2015 Australian Tour

UPDATE 04/03/15: Opeth have announced an Australian tour for May 2015! Details here.

Opeth‘s Mikael Akerfeldt says his band will not make an appearance at Soundwave 2015 and are instead eyeing early 2015 for a headline Australian tour. Speaking to Music Feeds, Akerfeldt said he’d prefer to do shows on the band’s own terms than with a “machine” like Soundwave.

“I’m very excited about going to Australia, I love Australia. It’s my favourite country in the world,” Akerfeldt told Music Feeds. However, the frontman said he turned down Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah‘s offer to make Opeth’s Australian return via the Soundwave 2015 roster.

“I said no to that, actually,” he explained. “We can do our own shows there… I like festivals and we’ve done a few touring festivals, but it’s like some type of weird… It’s not about us, if you know what I mean. When we travel that distance, I wanna be able to give the Opeth fans what they want.”

“For us to play Soundwave, maybe it would build the band a little bit, maybe we’d come across to music fans who aren’t familiar with us, but I’m not really interested. I wanna please our fans,” Akerfeldt continued. Maddah had said that he would only book the band, whose new album, Pale Communion, is out 22nd August, if he could give them a set time that was over 80 minutes long.

“I don’t think we’re in a position to get an 80-minute set,” said Akerfeldt. “In the context of a festival like Soundwave, we’re not gonna be headliners, I don’t think. There’s always bigger bands and specific types of bands headlining… So I don’t think we would be granted that time on stage.”

“I don’t think our fans would show up if we didn’t have a respectable length to our set. Even if I understand the whole kind of promotional tool that that festival would be,” he added. “The ideal thing really is to play in front of people who don’t know who the fuck you are and try and make new fans.”

“But I kind of lost interest in building the band. I wanna go out and do great shows on our own terms, as opposed to being thrown into a whole fucking machine in the style of Soundwave,” the frontman concluded. However, Akerfeldt did say that there’s still a chance they could make the bill.

“I did say no to that festival, but maybe somebody’s gonna twist my arm. And we worked with AJ before and I know him. We’ll see what happens, but my preference… is always to do our own shows,” he said. Asked when that would be happening Akerfeldt replied, “Early next year, I think.”

“We love Australia, we always have,” the frontman explained. “Ever since the first time we were there… travelling that distance for some reason feels like you’re travelling away from the fan base [laughs] Travelling away from things that are [certain] and finding that people like you there.”

UPDATE 20/08/14: The Soundwave Festival 2015 lineup has arrived! Full details here.

Watch: Opeth – Cusp Of Eternity

@Nighthawkin_ I have invited them but have heard nothing back. It is almost too late

— AJ (@iamnotshouting) July 31, 2014

@A_Maximalist @OfficialOpeth would only do Opeth on SW if I can give them 80+ min set. You need 80 mins to get it!

— AJ (@iamnotshouting) July 19, 2014

@77meat i think they are just about due for a SW. As long as I can give them a long set. Otherwise pointless.

— AJ (@iamnotshouting) May 13, 2014

Soundwave Festival 2015

Day One

Adelaide – Saturday, 21st February, 2015

Melbourne – Sunday, 22nd February, 2015

Sydney – Saturday, 28th February, 2015

Brisbane – Sunday, 1st March, 2015

Faith No More

Soundgarden

Incubus

Lamb Of God

Ministry

Antemasque

Gerard Way

Mayhem

New Found Glory

Fear Factory

Hollywood Undead

Atreyu

The Aquabats

Area 7

Godflesh

Crown The Empire

The Interrupters

Icon For Hire

Emily’s Army

Patent Pending

Fireworks

The Bennies

The Color Morale

Monuments

Nothing More

Deathstars

Ne Obliviscaris

The Treatment

Day Two

Melbourne – Saturday, 21st February, 2015

Adelaide – Sunday, 22nd February, 2015

Brisbane – Saturday, 28th February, 2015

Sydney – Sunday, 1st March, 2015

Slipknot

Slash

Marilyn Manson

Fall Out Boy

Judas Priest

Godsmack

All Time Low

Papa Roach

Of Mice & Men

Escape The Fate

Apocalyptica

Lagwagon

Tonight Alive

Crossfaith

Butcher Babies

Confession

The Swellers

Conditions

Coldrain

King 810

Dayshell

This Wild Life