Opeth’s Mikael Misses Daughters While Touring

Normally one who dislikes touring, Opeth guitarist/vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt had a good day while waiting for a show to start in Pittsburgh, PA.

"I kind of like the shows, but just sticking around and waiting all day for the shows is unbearable," Akerfeldt said during an interview with Noisecreep. "I f*cking hate it to be honest with you. I wish it was possible to just fast forward the days until the show.

"Today I had a good day. I was in a record store for a couple of hours looking and vinyl. I bought shitloads. I don't even know what I bought; all sorts of stuff I felt I had to have. It was a great store. Just wall-to-wall vinyl and just packed with stuff. It was great. It was fantastic."

Akerfeldt, whose band is pushing the 2008 album 'Watershed,' isn't fond of touring because he misses his daughters, Melinda and Mirjam, both of whom are younger than five. But the girls are always in his heart.

"I try to buy lots of toys and clothes for them," he said. "But I don't enjoy traveling. I like seeing new places, of course. I like the shows. But I'm a dad. I have two daughters back home and obviously I don't want to be away from them. This job forces me to be away from them all the time. Part of me hates it, and part of me loves it."

After Opeth's U.S. tour wraps up May 27, the band will return to Europe for the continent's summer festival season. Akerfeldt admitted that he likes those shows, but again, the free time kills him.

"They're fun," Akerfeldt said. "There's just a lot of traveling and a lot of drinking. You play for 45 minutes to an hour and you drink shitloads of beer. Sounds like fun but I don't know. It's a little bit of a waste."