Opeth will take an extended break once they wrap up their current Latin American tour, which concludes November 11th at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City. Bassist Martín Méndez revealed the plans in an interview with Brazil’s 89 A Rádio Rock. “This is the last run for this album. So after this one, we will take a pretty long break,” he said.
Asked whether the break would be for rest or for working on new material, Méndez replied: “Both. I think we need to relax first, and then recover, get some new energy, and then start thinking about new music.” The band has not specified how long the hiatus will last, and no shows are currently announced beyond Mexico City.
The tour, the second Latin American leg in support of ‘The Last Will and Testament’, opened November 1st at Santiago’s Movistar Arena in Chile and continues with Buenos Aires’ Teatro Gran Rivadavia on the 3rd, São Paulo’s Espaço Unimed on the 6th and Bogotá’s Teatro Royal Center on the 8th before the Mexico City finale. Unlike their previous run through the region, when they supported other bands, the Swedes are playing their own, longer headlining set this time. “It’s gonna be longer compared to the last [Latin American tour we did], [when] we were supporting great bands,” Méndez said.
‘The Last Will and Testament’, Opeth’s 14th studio album, was released in November 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music and Moderbolaget. The concept record is the first to feature drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who joined in 2022. The lineup is completed by frontman and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson and keyboardist Joakim Svalberg.
The break follows Åkerfeldt’s candid comments about touring. In a February interview with Blabbermouth, he said he doesn’t “particularly enjoy touring that much.” “Touring, for me, is like working in a factory. It doesn’t feel ‘musical’ to me,” he explained. “I love the creative work. I really want us [to] spend more time writing music, as opposed to repeating old music.”