Opeth

By Request, Part 1 - Orchid:


  • Total voters
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Axe is a great drummer; however, his time in the studio for Opeth was entirely forgettable. He was great live; way more precise than Lopez but lacking that free flowing flair that Lopez had. Verdict: bring back Lopez.
 
Maybe he changes his mind. After Slash/Axl and Weikath/Kiske reunions, literally anything is possible. And him and Mikael didn't even really fall out as far as I know.
 
Bringing back Lopez (and Lindgren for that matter) in time for their 30th anniversary shows would be pretty cool.
 
Lopez is at least still in the music business, Lindgren has gone to IT and stopped playing music altogether when he left Opeth.
 
New songs from In Cauda Venenum (Connoisseur Edition)!

Pöbeln / The Mob

Cirkelns Riktning / Width Of A Circle

Frihet & Tyranni / Freedom & Tyranny
 
New songs from In Cauda Venenum (Connoisseur Edition)!

Pöbeln / The Mob

Cirkelns Riktning / Width Of A Circle

Frihet & Tyranni / Freedom & Tyranny
Thanks a lot!!! soft but cool songs
 
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I saw Opeth last night. It was the last show of the tour so I’m not going to spoiler tag.

It was weird because last time I had seen them was a week before Covid shut everything down at the same exact venue. Was a weird back in time moment.

I’ve probably done a lot of complaining about Opeth’s recent live shows on here, as they were once an amazing live band. While I thought last night was a better show than what I’ve seen in the past, a lot of the problems remain. The live mix is garbage. The drums were mixed so low and I couldn’t even hear the cymbals! Guitars have a lot of mid range to them and are really muddy. There’s not enough gain in the distortion effects that they’re using these days, so the old songs sound a lot more subdued (on the other hand, the new songs sound quite a bit heavier). The energy level is almost non existent.

Anybody who complains about Maiden setlists should take a look at what Opeth does. The last three times I’ve seen them have all been more or less the same. Every song they played last night I had seen before (in most cases at almost every show). They have such a big catalog, even just from their new albums there’s a lot more they could choose from besides the obvious choices of the respective singles.

On the positive side, they did sound better than last time. Mikael’s growls were better (he even did a little growl on Devil’s Orchard, that was interesting and weird). Deliverance, which has recently been played at a snail’s pace, felt closer to the original tempo. The new drummer is fine, I think he’s just a hired gun until they find an actual replacement. He pretty much just stuck to the original recorded parts, fills and all.

Whether I see Opeth live again is really going to depend on the Setlist. I’m going to need more than half the songs to be ones that I haven’t heard live before, because otherwise it’s just not worth it. I would even be fine if they retired all growl songs and went deep into the newer stuff or growl-less old material rather than trotting out the same obligatory classics like Deliverance. The band is on autopilot for most of those anyway. Opeth is a niche enough band that they really could play anything and fans would love it, so I don’t see why they stick to the same “hits” besides laziness. They probably don’t even have to rehearse that much.
 
I'm also sick of Deliverance. It's a great song, but always playing a specific 13-minute track during an 80-90 minute show isn't necessary. I've seen Opeth close to 10 times, and every show but one (Heritage tour) they played Deliverance. Give me Blackwater Park (a song Mikael apparently isn't keen on playing anymore) over it any day.

The last time I saw them was February 2020, and aside from Deliverance, the set was pretty killer...
  1. Dignity
  2. The Leper Affinity
  3. Heart in Hand
  4. Reverie/Harlequin Forest
  5. Nepenthe
  6. Moon Above, Sun Below
  7. To Rid the Disease
  8. The Lotus Eater
  9. All Things Will Pass
  10. Sorceress
  11. Deliverance
That's a pretty nice mix of old and new, with my favorite choices highlighted. By the time Deliverance had rolled around, I had had enough. Nothing super old, though, which was a bummer. I'd kill to hear Karma live.
 
I saw that show too, it was definitely a better setlist but the old songs didn’t sound great. Moon Above and Nepenthe were great though, exactly the kind of thing I would like to see from the band more often.

Didn’t know Mikael doesn’t like playing BWP anymore. Too bad, it’s a great song and would be pretty refreshing if it was swapped with Deliverance every now and then.
 
Didn’t know Mikael doesn’t like playing BWP anymore. Too bad, it’s a great song and would be pretty refreshing if it was swapped with Deliverance every now and then.
He hasn't stated anything regarding it, but it's been four years since they've last played it. In my opinion, it's a perfect replacement for Deliverance to close out a set.
 
A second leg of the Opeth/Mastodon coheadlining show is coming to the US/Canada:


Apr 21 - Montreal, QC - Place Bell
Apr 22 - Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Apr 23 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora
Apr 24 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
Apr 26 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met
Apr 28 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
Apr 29 - Detroit, MI - The Masonic
Apr 30 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave/Eagles Club
May 01 - St. Paul, MN - The Myth
May 03 - Saskatoon, SK - TCU Place
May 04 - Calgary, AB - Grey Eagle Events Centre
May 05 - Edmonton, AB - EDM Expo Center
May 07 - Vancouver, BC - Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre Theatre Bowl
May 08 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater
May 09 - Portland, OR - Keller Auditorium
May 11 - Riverside, CA - Municipal Auditorium

Honestly, based on the setlist for the previous tour, I have no interest in going. I don't care about Mastodon and I've seen them at least 3 times. Plus, doesn't look like Zeal & Ardor is opening this one which would have been a draw for me. Meh'peth.
 
Unless they pull some rare treats out of their vault (which is unlikely for what will most likely be an 8-song set), I’ll pass.

My guess as to the set:

1. Something from the newest album
2. Cusp of freaking Eternity, because that’s obviously a better song than Ghost of Perdition
3. Something from Blackwater Park to please the 30+ crowd, but definitely not the title track, because that would be too cool
4. The Lotus Eater, or something from Heritage (because the albums before Blackwater Park don’t exist anymore)
5. Windowpane or Hope Leaves (feat. Mikael in ghost costume and/or pointy witch hat)
6. Demon of the Fall
7. Sorceress
8. Deliverance
 
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