Words by Samantha Wolstenholme
It would not be too adventurous and hyperbolic to assert that Opeth are one of the few bands who have truly transformed the metal genre as a whole and written their own chapter in heavy music history. Throughout their 35-year career, they have chartered a unique, fearless path into creative waters untouched by many other titans of extreme or progressive metal, boldly jumping from dissonant death metal chaos, to acoustic neofolk sweetness, to psychedelic 70s prog rock and back again. They came full circle with the 2024 release of their fourteenth studio album ‘The Last Will and Testament’, whose blatant, envelope-pushing dissonance and soul-tearing growls marked the album a return to form for many lifelong fans.
Now the Swedes are returning Down Under for the first time since 2019 with an exclusive seven-show tour featuring a mammoth two-hour, career-spanning set. But these shows aren’t your regular, garden-variety gigs – the venues in each city have been handpicked to facilitate an experience of opulence. Tonight’s show in Brisbane is taking place at Fortitude Music Hall, following back-to-back concerts at none other than Sydney Opera House. The ground floor of the venue has been decked out with allocated seating, and with its imposing stage and grand chandelier glittering above us, I’m getting strong “night at the theatre” vibes as I’m personally escorted to my seat by an usher. I attended Opeth’s Sydney Opera House concert back in 2016, and nearly a decade later, as a seasoned metalhead who is accustomed to dive bars and muddy festival moshpits, I still don’t feel fancy enough for metal in this setting. But this curious sense of imposter syndrome soon fades away when the riffs kick in.
Leading local progressive rock powerhouse Caligula’s Horse formally open the proceedings with a sonic odyssey that can only be described as luminous. The stage is dappled in blue light, and clouds of fog gather as dark orchestrations resound through the room, setting the scene for the melodious, anthemic opening number Dream the Dead. The live mix is balanced to perfection – Josh Griffin’s toms and kicks are booming and crisp, Sam Vallen entrances with his superb shreds and sparkling guitar tone, and Jim Grey’s vocal power and dexterity are a standout. As always, Grey showcases impeccable skill in deftly weaving between vocal registers, and maintains a striking contrast between his delicate falsetto and crystal clear belts.
This year, the band are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of arguably their breakout album ‘Bloom’, and the seamless transition of the title track into Marigold packs a punch live. When the breakdown of the latter hits, several punters who are sedately seated close to the stage indulge in some light chair moshing, and the band similarly lets loose, particularly Dale Prinsse who really flexes his bass chops in this track. The Ascent, which Grey announces they are performing live for the first time ever across this tour, is chunky, groovy and gutsy, with a colossal belted chorus and many sensational Sam moments. The guitar nerds in the crowd are probably losing their minds at this point, which Grey acknowledges with a wry “We get it, you love Sam”. The majestic Mute closes out this 45-minute set that consists of precisely five songs — “for the nerds”, Grey remarks. Beginning as a prog ballad that tugs at the heartstrings, it morphs into a huge, shoegazey, Devin Townsend-esque power outro that shoots us up and into the stars.
An ambient, almost primordial soundscape, complete with an eerie chant, announces the commencement of Opeth’s anthology of masterpieces. Opening track §1 from the latest album is beset with a creepy neo-Victorian video backdrop for optimal atmosphere, and Mikael Åkerfeldt’s highly amplified growls demonstrate that he’s still got it even after 35 years. If I thought it felt weird to be seated during a Caligula’s Horse set, that pales in comparison to the truly singular cognitive dissonance of watching a man in a felt cowboy hat scream at me as I perch comfortably in my designated theatre-style seating. This sensation only intensifies as the band launches into the ferocious Master’s Apprentices amid demonic red light, which is met with roars from the crowd as the growls and filthy main riff satisfy our deviant thirst for old-school death metal. This track really has aged like fine wine, and side note, I still can’t believe it’s in standard tuning — that’s how heavy it is. The trio tandem shred-off between Åkerfeldt, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson and bassist Martín Méndez during The Leper Affinity is a thrilling treat to watch, while every punctuating chug during breakdown sections hits like an avalanche, and Joakim Svalberg’s stunning piano outro captivates with complex, glittering sonic colours.
The quintet have loosened up significantly since I last saw them live; they seem to be having a lot more visible fun on stage as their fans watch quietly from our seats. Åkerfeldt, widely known for his bone-dry, understated humour, addresses this, saying the seated layout was a “management decision”, to make them appear “sophisticated…but we’re not”, and encourages the crowd to hop up and move around if we wish. Åkerfeldt advises that tonight, we are delving deep into the band’s “genius catalogue” of music, as a means of announcing the next track §7, which is “probably not genius, maybe a bit shit”. I must disagree, though, because with its Phrygian and tritone-driven riffs, this number is reliably groovy while being fresh and experimental.
This is soon followed by The Devil’s Orchard from the somewhat controversial ‘Heritage’ album, “a song that we believe no-one wants to hear…but we like it”, complete with a psychedelic video backdrop reminiscent of 2016 retro horror film ‘The Love Witch’ and some revelatory jazzy drums courtesy of Waltteri Vayrynen. I do enjoy how frequently Åkerfeldt is slyly calling out fans’ polarising opinions on Opeth’s various eras of sound. Conversely, next up is To Rid the Disease, from the much-beloved clean album ‘Damnation’, which unfolds hypnotically layer by layer, languid and unhurried, with a latent note of tragedy, its vocal harmonies shimmering in the air. Åkerfeldt is then handed a green guitar, which he announces is specifically for songs from the ‘Ghost Reveries’ album, then mayhem ensues as the band barrels into my personal favourite Opeth song, The Grand Conjuration. A standing front row mosh rushes to the stage, fuelled by the frenzied double kicks and strobe lights, and the middle walkway between the seating starts packing out with punters as Vayrynen windmills majestically during the thunderous breakdown.
There’s an insane guitar solo from Åkesson during §3, another banger from the recent record, and then fans are rewarded with another lauded deep cut in the form of Demon of the Fall, which is a six-minute atonal death metal tornado of a track. The green guitar returns for what Åkerfeldt advises is the last track, much to our chagrin, though he does take the time to provide a mini guitar theory lesson about how to write typical Opeth riffs, or “how to play shit guitar”. He’s so self-deprecating that a career as a metal frontman really does feel like destiny for him — either that or stand-up comedy. Ghost of Perdition ostensibly ends the set and is absolutely colossal, rousing a crowd-wide singalong during the melodic bridge. Growing chants for an encore are rewarded, as the band reappears and completely knocks our socks off with the mighty Deliverance. At this, the standing mosh at the front dissolves into chaos, and as the seemingly endless outro chugs into eternity, all of us are transfixed.
During one of his many hilarious banter breaks of the night, Åkerfeldt remarked at how consistently surprised he is to see so many people turn up to Opeth tour shows over here. I find his humility striking, because he obviously underestimates the indelible impact his band has had in the heavy music world, and how many diehard metalheads count Opeth as a formative band in their personal journey with music. Tonight’s performance demonstrated this in no uncertain terms. Two hours flew by in what felt like just a few minutes, yet I felt every note of every Opeth song that materially contributed to my own artistic development sink in, deep into my core. I hope they continue to visit our sunny shores as regularly as they do — though maybe next time, ditch some of the seats and let that circle pit reign supreme.
Thanks to DRW Entertainment + Metropolis Touring
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