The official Opeth thread v. In Cauda Venenum

[Randaran]

The recent setlist looks awesome.

I really hope they don't change anything for their upcoming US dates.

[Ben_Jamin]

That's a really good set.

[?]

The recent setlist looks awesome.

I really hope they don't change anything for their upcoming US dates.

They played pretty much the same set in the US last fall, so they might change it up a bit in order to avoid repetition.

[Serah Farron]

Does anyone find A Fair Judgements solo to be one of the best if not the best Opeth solo to date? It's really amazing.

And the outro. That outro is really sick. It's like the ultimate game over or armageddon. Does anyone think that also?

[gazinwales]

Here is my review of the recent show at the Sydney Opera House;

Yes Opeth’s highly anticipated gig at the world famous Sydney Opera House.
Their 4th and final special night of Opeth’s 'Sorceress, Damnation and Deliverance' played during the current world tour.

Until two weeks ago I was not going to this sold out show, but I just happened to arrange to meet a complete stranger (arranged through MP.com forum) on the night, hand over $150AU (the most expensive concert ticket I’ve ever purchased) and viola!

I had no idea about the setlist, though I was secretly praying that the boring retro 1970’s prog rock from the last 3 albums would be kept to a minimum.

I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed the newer material, given that when Opeth played here 2 years ago I walked out halfway though.

The sound was pretty good, but what really stood out was MA clean vocals, they sounded magnificent, the acoustics of the venue made his voice sore to heights that I have never heard before.
His growls however were not so good, buried very low in the mix, it was obvious that he had lost a lot of power, and for most almost inaudible, with the music drowning them out. Whether this was deliberate, I don’t know, but I would guess yes it was?

MA was in fine form, clean vocals, guitar playing and of course his legendary in between song banter and interaction with the crowd.
The rest of the band sounded pretty good, Frederik got a couple of solo’s, Mendez bass was inaudible all night and Axe drumming was ferocious.

All up a great night, possibly the first ever (death) metal band to play the Sydney Opera House, definitely the first death metal growls ever heard in the hallowed halls.

Setlist:

Sorceress
Ghost of Perdition
Demon of the Fall
The Wilde Flowers
Face of Melinda
The Devil's Orchard
Cusp of Eternity
Heir Apparent
The Drapery Falls

Windowpane
Death Whispered a Lullaby
Mikael then joked about Steven Wilson's lyric royalties and played the intro of 'Storm Corrosion'
In My Time of Need
Closure

Master's Apprentices
By the Pain I See in Others
Deliverance

[mike099]

Does anyone find A Fair Judgements solo to be one of the best if not the best Opeth solo to date? It's really amazing.

And the outro. That outro is really sick. It's like the ultimate game over or armageddon. Does anyone think that also?

I am new to Opeth, but I had the Deliverance cd in the truck yesterday and love  A Fair Judgement.  The Opeth music has such great atmosphere.  When I see them in May it will be just me going.  I passed on taking the wife since she is mostly country and classic rock.  Of course I am kind of old and the show starts at 8:30( my bedtime), but will take off work the next day.

[Mosh]

A Fair Judgement has incredible guitar solos. The tradeoff is also very Iron Maiden esque. The outro is probably the closest they've gotten to doom metal? Great stuff.

[KevShmev]

Page 6?  Damn.

I tried listening to Sorceress recently, but in addition to the sound of it pissing me off (bass is way too loud), the songs are just boring. 

On the other hand, I am listening to Pale Communion as I type this, which is just as great as ever.  Love this record. 

[Rattlehead]

I know it's not a popular opinion, but I'm actually a big fan of the last 3 Opeth albums. I've grown to like Sorceress more over the last few months. Seeing them live twice since it came out helped, as all the new songs they played were excellent. The highlight of both shows was definitely Mikael's vocals though. His growling isn't very good any more, but his clean vocals seem to be the best they've ever been to me.

[KevShmev]

I'll take your word for it.  The end of The Wilde Flowers is a good example of how much the song of the album sucks. The overpowering bass makes it sound like nothing but noise, and honestly I am at the point where I am not putting up with CDs that have significant sound issues unless it is a really great album.  Which that album is not.

[Rattlehead]

That seems a bit harsh, but I guess we can agree to disagree. I've never considered myself an audiophile and I am not a musician, so I guess ignorance is bliss. The album doesn't sound perfect to me but I don't have that much of an issue with the sound.

[?]

Opeth announced a show at Finlandia-talo in Helsinki, which is not your average metal venue. I wonder if Mikael has a checklist of all these prestigious places where he wants to play before calling it quits.

Speaking of that, am I the only one who has a feeling Opeth might not be around for too long anymore or at least not as active as right now? Mikael seems so bored in interviews, and he's talking about how much he misses his kids on the road and how he wants to start a record store. Maybe he's just going through a rough time and it'll get better, but I wouldn't be surprised if Opeth announced a hiatus/breakup or started to wind down a little bit.

[ChuckSteak]

Mikael went through a divorce recently too, didn't he?

I also have the same feeling. He really seems bored.

[Mladen]

Mikael went through a divorce recently too, didn't he?

Whoa, really?

[Zydar]

Mikael went through a divorce recently too, didn't he?

Whoa, really?

https://thequietus.com/articles/20946-opeth-mikael-akerfeldt-interview

"Although markedly different from those albums, Sorceress has something of the mood and tone of that work, driven by Åkerfeldt’s personal experience, including a recent divorce, more than a reflective, authored distance."

[Mladen]

I had absolutely no idea. 

[KevShmev]

Sounds like it's time for another Storm Corrosion record.

[Mister Gold]

Sounds like it's time for another Storm Corrosion record.

Honestly I bet Mikael would be happy as hell to make an album like that again. Not sure if Steven would be up for that style now, seeing as how his latest solo material seems to have shifted to a more modern prog style than the "old school" throwback style he was dabbling with when he made Storm Corrosion and then The Raven That Refused to Sing.

[Mosh]

I wouldn't have a problem with Mikael taking a break from Opeth and doing other things. He's mentioned folk albums before and I'd love to see him do more music with SW. There's really a lot more he could be doing and, frankly, the death metal stuff isn't sounding great live lately. Combine that with Sorceress being one of the weaker albums they've done and it seems like Opeth risks going stale. I'd like to see Mikael go in a different direction for awhile.

[KevShmev]

I wouldn't have a problem with Mikael taking a break from Opeth and doing other things. He's mentioned folk albums before and I'd love to see him do more music with SW. There's really a lot more he could be doing and, frankly, the death metal stuff isn't sounding great live lately. Combine that with Sorceress being one of the weaker albums they've done and it seems like Opeth risks going stale. I'd like to see Mikael go in a different direction for awhile.

I get the feeling that he only plays some of the death metal live nowadays because he knows it would piss off too many fans if he didn't.  He's not giving the metal fans any new death metal stuff, but they are at least still getting some of it live, and he has to know that a percentage of fans would drop from the crowds if he stopped playing them altogether.

Sounds like it's time for another Storm Corrosion record.

Honestly I bet Mikael would be happy as hell to make an album like that again. Not sure if Steven would be up for that style now, seeing as how his latest solo material seems to have shifted to a more modern prog style than the "old school" throwback style he was dabbling with when he made Storm Corrosion and then The Raven That Refused to Sing.

SW is pretty good at bouncing from sound to sound in a short period of time. The new Blackfield album is nothing like his recent solo albums, for example. 

Besides, there is no rule that says a second Storm Corrosion album would have to be similar to the first. 

[?]

Mikael went through a divorce recently too, didn't he?

Whoa, really?

https://thequietus.com/articles/20946-opeth-mikael-akerfeldt-interview

"Although markedly different from those albums, Sorceress has something of the mood and tone of that work, driven by Åkerfeldt’s personal experience, including a recent divorce, more than a reflective, authored distance."

He actually got divorced as far back as 2011: https://teamrock.com/feature/2016-10-04/love-loss-and-learning-to-move-on-the-story-behind-opeths-sorceress

Poor man, that year must've been rough for him - he had to deal with his marriage falling apart and the vocal backlash following Heritage.

[goo-goo]

Would ove for Mikael and Opeth to bring back the heavy and death metal sound back with clean vocals.

[nobloodyname]

Poor man, that year must've been rough for him - he had to deal with his marriage falling apart and the vocal backlash following Heritage.

Perhaps his wife disliked Heritage as much as some fans

[KevShmev]

Okay, I gave Sorceress another whirl and remembered that the majority of the album sounds fine.  It's bizarre how they cranked the shit out of the bass for three songs (title track, The Wilde Flowers and Chrysalis), and then everything else sounds fine.  Weird.

[Rattlehead]

I haven't seen a lot of praise for Strange Brew, but I think it's one of their best songs from the last 3 albums. It took me longer to digest this album than Heritage and Pale Communion, but it's really clicking with me now and I think it's pretty underrated based off of the reactions I've seen.

[fadetoblackdude7]

I haven't seen a lot of praise for Strange Brew, but I think it's one of their best songs from the last 3 albums. It took me longer to digest this album than Heritage and Pale Communion, but it's really clicking with me now and I think it's pretty underrated based off of the reactions I've seen.

Strange Brew is a great song. Definitely the best off of Sorceress

[Mladen]

Strange brew took me a while. Still not one of my favorites on the album, but I appreciate some dark elements of it, such as the chilling intro and an extremely unsettling ending. Not to mention Mikael's aggressive vocal moments are remarkable.

[KevShmev]

I think the bonus tracks, The Ward and Spring MCMLXXIV, are two of the best from the whole thing. From the proper album, Strange Brew is good, but I probably like Will O The Wisp, The Seventh Sojourn and Era the most.

[Mister Gold]

Been on an Opeth kick lately, and I think My Arms Your Hearse just stole the top spot from Still Life for me.

I think part of it might be the shorter running time and (relatively) more compact epics. I love SL and BWP, but there's a certain tightness to MAYH that they don't have. Not to mention that incredibly spooky, unsettling tone the album and its concept has. It might not be the poetic Shakespearian tragedy that SL's narrative is, but the story would make for one hell of an Edgar Allen Poe tale.

And in contrast, I'm also really quite enjoying Damnation too. Great album to listen to during a rainy day.

[rumborak]

Okay, I gave Sorceress another whirl and remembered that the majority of the album sounds fine.  It's bizarre how they cranked the shit out of the bass for three songs (title track, The Wilde Flowers and Chrysalis), and then everything else sounds fine.  Weird.

The way I see it, I think they were just going for that dirty, sticky sound. A bit of an homage to really old records where the technology wasn't quite there yet.

[SoundscapeMN]

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/opeths_akerfeldt_working_on_project_with_devin_townsend_every_band_member_must_be_a_lead_vocalist.html

Opeth's Akerfeldt Working on Project With Devin Townsend: Every Band Member Must Be a Lead Vocalist
"That's been missing in music now, I think - people comfortable with singing lead vocals."

[ChuckSteak]

Nice. I hope something good comes out of it.

[pogoowner]

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/opeths_akerfeldt_working_on_project_with_devin_townsend_every_band_member_must_be_a_lead_vocalist.html

Opeth's Akerfeldt Working on Project With Devin Townsend: Every Band Member Must Be a Lead Vocalist
"That's been missing in music now, I think - people comfortable with singing lead vocals."

LOL at them shoehorning a Mike Portnoy mention into that article. He is not a lead singer by any stretch of the imagination.

[Onno]

Wow, that would be awesome!

[SwedishGoose]

Maybe Gildenlöv as the other swede?