Sweden’s death metal meets prog rock Opeth are probably an acquired taste. If the first time you listen to Opeth’s music, you think ‘What on Earth is that racket’, then your reaction won’t have been dissimilar to mine. But listen a few more times. Once you get beneath the surface you’ll begin to appreciate their dense and multi-layered sound. Their eight studio albums are filled with songs typically lasting ten minutes or more, which have little as straightforward as identifiable verses or choruses. Piledrivingly heavy sections frequently give way to gentle semi-acoustic sections. Vocals vary from death metal ‘Cookie Monster’ style to some quite mellow ‘clean’ vocals. And it all meshes together perfectly to create something almost symphonic in scope.
Last time Opeth came to Manchester, their show in the smaller Academy 2 sold out before I could get hold a ticket. On their return, they played the larger Academy 1, and I made sure I got a ticket early. I wasn’t going to miss them a second time.
Support was Yorkshire doom metallers Paradise Lost, veterans of sixteen years and eight albums. Due to the show starting 15 minutes earlier than advertised, I spend two or three minutes too long in the pub (talking to a couple of Mostly Autumn fans, as it happens; they get everywhere!), and missed the beginning of their opening number. They delivered a consummate and professional 45 minute set before an appreciative audience, concentrating on their earlier, heavier material, although the very Goth ‘One Second’ album got a good airing. It almost seemed that they were the headliners at times, which is a sign of a good performance. The only thing that annoys me about their sound is their insistence on using programmed keyboards on quite a few songs. Please, guys, since the keys are such an integral part of the sound, get yourself a flesh-and-blood keyboard player and make it 100% live!
Opeth took the stage at nine, and for the next two hours proved that their reputation as a great act is fully justified. They can indeed reproduce the full majesty of their material live, and the songs come over incredibly well in a live setting. They had that very rare combination extreme tightness and ferocious energy levels, something you very rarely get in the same band. The guitar sound was crystal-clear, the often very complex twin guitar harmonies coming over perfectly. The intense heavy sections turned the hall into a sea of flying hair, then the quiet reflective parts came in just in time to get your breath back. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s lead vocals were quite low in the mix, especially for the ‘Cookie Monster’ parts. This actually works quite well, and I think the mix was intentional. He was certainly clear enough when he sang ‘clean’.
Not satisfied with being a great guitar player and composer, Mikael Åkerfeldt is also a superb frontman with a great sense of humour. Between the songs he regaled us with tales from the band’s early history, made the audience play ‘guess this tune’ by playing various intros, and told us how the drummer allegedly turns into a psychopath when under the influence of Coca-Cola.
While they played quite a bit of their latest opus, “Ghost Reveries”, the setlist also drew heavily from their early albums “Orchid”, “Morningrise” and “My Arms, Your Hearse” rather than other more recent releases, which meant that I didn’t know a good proportion of the set; it sounds like I’ve got some CD buying to do!
Overall, superb show, up there with the best I’ve seen this year. This is a band I’ll be seeing again next time they come to town.