| The Last Will and Testament | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Opeth |
| Cover: | Opeth_The_Last_Will_and_Testament.jpg |
| Caption: | Cover art by Travis Smith |
| Recorded: | February – March 2024 |
| Studio: | Rockfield Studios (Monmouthshire, Wales) Angel Recording Studios (London) Hammerthorpe Studios Flowcreations Studios The Tower Studios (Stockholm) |
| Length: | 50:52 |
| Label: | Moderbolaget Reigning Phoenix Music |
| Producer: | Mikael Åkerfeldt Opeth Stefan Boman Dave Stewart |
| Prev Title: | In Cauda Venenum |
| Prev Year: | 2019 |
The Last Will and Testament (stylised as The last WILL and TESTAMENT) is the upcoming fourteenth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, set to be released on 11 October 2024 through Reigning Phoenix Music.[1] [2] It will be the band's first studio album since In Cauda Venenum (2019), marking the longest gap between studio albums in their career, and its first release with drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who in 2022 officially replaced Martin Axenrot after his departure the year before.[3] It also marks the return, at least to some extent, of death metal elements such as death growls since Watershed (2008), as well as being their first fully conceptual album since Still Life (1999).
The album is a concept album set in the post-World War I era, unfolding the story of a wealthy, conservative patriarch whose last will and testament reveals shocking family secrets. The album begins with the reading of the father's will in his mansion. Among those in attendance is a young girl, who, despite being an orphan and polio-ridden, has been raised by the family. Her presence at the will reading raises suspicions and questions among the twins.[4] Nearly all songs on this album start with a section symbol and a number next to it in their title, except for the closing track "A Story Never Told".