Opeth's Sydney concert at Big Top
Keeping metal fresh can be quite a task, but as reviews of their albums (at sites such as allmusic or PopMatters) reveal, one band that keeps the bar high and expands upon previous efforts is Opeth. Metal is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but the unique part about this band is that despite heavy distortion and metal growls, Opeth also have something to offer those who would not normally delve into this type of music.
The Swedish progressive metal band played a sold out show at Big Top at Luna Park last Saturday 6 September. This was their fourth outing in Australia and the second time at Big Top.
This was Opeth’s first concert in Australia with new guitarist Frederick Akesson. Guitarist Peter Lindgren left the band in May last year because of a loss of enthusiasm as the band grew. Drummer Martin Lopez left the band in May 2006 due to personal issues and was replaced by Martin Axenrot. It is great that the band has continued despite changes to their line-up.
Opeth began their set last Saturday with ‘Heir Apparent’ off their ninth and newest album Watershed. The track set the mood for the night with a heavy bang of distorted guitars. The band played some more tracks off that album, performed a few of their older songs, then finished the show with ‘Demon of the Fall’, one of the heaviest Opeth songs off their third album My Arms, Your Hearse. They then came back on for the encore with ‘The Drapery Falls’ from their fifth album Blackwater Park.
But don’t let this talk of heaviness put you off. Lead singer Mikael Arkerfedlt’s ability to swap between guttural metal growls and melodious clean vocals is nothing short of amazing. Take the song ‘The Drapery Falls’ from Blackwater Park for example. The song incorporates heavy, clean and acoustic guitars as well as metal vocals and clean vocals. (See video below. Note: this is the band’s old line-up). Many of Opeth’s songs also clock in at around the 10 minute mark.
Opeth’s diverse mix of metal and acoustic, sometimes incorporated into one song as above, is part of what makes them so unique. Both heavy and clean are important to Opeth’s sound. An example of this is the two albums Deliverance and Damnation. The two albums, which were meant to be released together but were instead serparated, show both sides of the band. Deliverance is heavy while the whole of Damnation, which was released shortly after, has clean vocals and very little distortion.
The band performed well and were as strong as the previous two times I had seen them at the Metro and Enmore Theatre in the early 2000s. It was a most enjoyable gig.
