Opeth @ The Palace, Melbourne(25/11/09)

Mon 30th Nov, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Touring Oz for the second time since the release of their most recent studio offering Watershed, Opeth have made a habit of selling out shows in Melbourne. If Wednesday’s show wasn’t a sell out it would have gone very close. The queue out the front of the Palace snaked around the adjacent alleyways all the way back to Chinatown and it was clear that all punters were there for another live dose of Swedish music diversity at the hands of Opeth.

Aussie metal journeymen Contrive provided well intentioned support following several high profile local support slots for international acts in recent years. After hearing big things about their recent recording efforts, their live sound was a little disappointing and stage presence left a bit to be desired. While they provided gallant musical efforts in maintaining the crowd’s interest in their set, the guitar sound lacked some definition and there was relatively little vocal interaction with the crowd. The sound quality improved with the duration of their set and a guest appearance by the Opeth keyboardist provided a welcome distraction. Let’s hope the early 2010 release of their second studio album The Internal Dialogue proves to be a success for them after many years of commitment to the metal ethos.

Opeth are a veritable live music powerhouse and the quality of their sound was immediately evident. Noted for their impeccable song construction ability and technical proficiency, the crowd was clearly anxious for them to start and there was very little standing room left when they kicked things off. While not strictly linked to a studio release, this current tour of Oz and Japan was a welcome surprise for fans who had seen them last year and didn’t think that they would be back for several years.

Mikael Ã…kerfeldt is a frontman of the highest order and he certainly doesn’t disappoint. Casually conversing with the crowd about the longevity of the band and James Hetfield’s song writing ability, Ã…kerfeldt seemed completely relaxed and in his element.

Their set focused primarily on Watershed with other tracks thrown in from several other albums for good measure, although their back catalogue is so long and comprehensive that it would be hard to please all fans. That being said they played for over two hours and definitely provided the punters with their money’s worth.

While all of their live tracks were great to witness, stand outs on Wednesday included the beautifully constructed Windowpane, The Leper Affinity, The Lotus Eater and the epic final track Deliverance for an encore.

The live show was simply awesome and a testament to Opeth’s tireless and prolific song writing that has been ongoing for close to 20 years. I can’t wait for them to come back.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE GIG HERE