UNIVERSAL CITY, California - Death metal is devoid of sensitivity. Or, at least, it was. Don't believe it? Look no further than Opeth's forthcoming album, Watershed, which is - brace yourself - a death-metal album all about love and relationships.

The effort - which is the Swedish band's ninth and drops June 3 - is a towering moment of personal catharsis for frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, he revealed to Metal Monarchy before playing as part of the Progressive Nation tour on Friday.

"I've never written lyrics remotely as personal as this," Åkerfeldt said.

The lyrics are so personal, in fact, that Åkerfeldt refused to publish them as is in the CD booklet. Instead, Åkerfeldt's heartfelt tales will be represented in heavily coded fashion.

Despite the drastic change in subject matter, Åkerfeldt is not concerned with the possibility that some Opeth fans may reject the album.

"Of course, I want everyone to like the album," he said. "It doesn't really matter to me, though. Every time we've made an album, someone has hated it. I just got an e-mail from some guy who was upset about the new album. He said that he 'feels abandoned.' The thing is, there's probably someone out there who thinks that that guy's favorite album sucks. It is impossible to write an album for someone else. Even if we custom-wrote an album for that guy, there is a risk that he would hate it. That's why I don't really listen to the fans. I like it when they like what I write, and I'm sad when they don't, but I'm not going to change for them."

[Look below for a track-by-track breakdown of Watershed.]

The Swedish progressive-death-metallers are currently crisscrossing the U.S. on the Progressive Nation tour, headlined by Dream Theater. Touring with Dream Theater is something of a dream come true - pardon the pun - for Åkerfeldt, who grew up listening to their music.

"When Dream [Theater] first came out, they were a revelation for me," Åkerfeldt revealed. "They were exactly what I was looking for. I had just gotten into progressive rock at the time, and Dream Theater added that harder-edged metal sound that I loved into the mix."

Maybe it was the California ethos, but Åkerfeldt seemed extremely calm and collected during the interview. It might have something do to with the band having better chemistry than it has had in years. With new members Fredrik Åkesson on guitar and Martin "Axe" Axenrot on drums, the band is clicking on all cylinders.

"Everybody in the band is relaxed. We had problems in the band for many years. [Previous drummer] Martin Lopez had anxiety issues, and [former guitarist] Peter Lindgren wasn't creatively contributing," Åkerfeldt explained. "The new guys came in with confidence and were eager to work. For once, I didn't need to be in the studio like a hawk at all times. Everyone recorded their parts on their own. I just approved everything, and it came out great."

One might even argue that Åkerfeldt has gotten a little too laid-back. Believe it or not, the frontman had nothing to do with the narrative behind the new video for "Porcelain Heart," Watershed's first single.

"I didn't even read the whole story line," Åkerfeldt laughed. "It looks good, though!"

The video isn't the only thing Åkerfeldt is a bit removed from - he also admitted that he doesn't listen to anything recent, including the two bands opening for Opeth on Progressive Nation: Between the Buried and Me and 3. "I really don't listen to new metal," Åkerfeldt admitted. "I'm not saying that it's all sh--, I'm just not interested in it."

He does, however, listen to a lot of obscure non-metal music, like English singer/songwriter Scott Walker and Greek composer Vangelis, both of whom he claims gave him some inspiration when writing the new record.

Despite his laid-back nature, Åkerfeldt is still very serious about touring, and the band has already lined up several appearances at summer festivals in Europe, to be followed by tours in Australia, Japan and the U.S.

"We're going to be touring a lot for this record. We'll definitely be coming back to the U.S., but we don't know with who yet. Maybe Nickelback," Åkerfeldt joked.

Åkerfeldt also gave Metal Monarchy a track-by-track assessment of each song on the standard edition of Watershed (music geeks take note: the special edition, also due June 3, features bonus-track covers of songs by Alice in Chains, Robin Trower and more):
       
"Coil"
Åkerfeldt: "It's a singer/songwriter type of song. It is a combo of ideas that I had. It's an odd opening track, really. It's a bit softer than normal album openers."

"Heir Apparent"
Åkerfeldt: "It was the first song I wrote for the album. It is one of the heaviest songs on the album. There are nothing but death-metal vocals throughout. It's very disharmonic. At the time I wrote it, the idea was to make a very disharmonic album. It didn't happen, but this song is representative of that idea."

"The Lotus Eater"
Åkerfeldt: "It's one of my favorites on Watershed. The song is very intense. There are a lot of new things happening all at once."

"Burden"
Åkerfeldt: " 'Burden' is a typical power ballad. I wrote it like a tribute to '70s ballads by bands like Scorpions and Uriah Heep. It's a strong vocal song, and very melodic - almost formulaic."

"Porcelain Heart"
Åkerfeldt: "It is the only song on the album that I didn't write by myself. Fredrik wrote the song with me. He wrote the first riff, and we based the rest of the song off of it."

"Hessian Peel"
Åkerfeldt: "It's the longest and most epic track on the album. I love the strings. The name is interesting - it's a metaphor for rough skin."

"Hex Omega"
Åkerfeldt: "It is a very straightforward song. It has a very dark and doomy mood. I played it over the phone to [producer] Devin Townsend, and he said that it was the best song I've ever written. It's a great closing track."