It was an exciting night in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 30, as not only were the Dodgers trying to win the World Series (which they did), but the Swedish progressive metal kings Opeth were in town at The YouTube Theater as part of their brief North American Fall Tour with fellow Swedes Tribulation.
This sixteen-date, three-week tour had these two bands playing songs from their forthcoming albums: Tribulation has Sub Rosa In Æternum being released this past Friday (1), and Opeth has The Last Will and Testament being released on November 22. This was sure to be a memorable night with these two metal powerhouses.
Tribulation hit the stage at 7:30 pm and kicked off with a new song, “Tainted Skies,” off the forthcoming release. This was one of three new songs played, and the material has a bit more of a gothic tone to it mixed in with their flavor of black/heavy metal. Vocalist/bassist Johannes Andersson’s vocals flowed out flawlessly, and the band was fairly active onstage, but the Los Angeles crowd seemed a bit preoccupied as almost every fan was watching the Dodger game on their phones. Regardless, Tribulation gave all a wonderful preview of their new material that mixed in nicely with the older songs. They ended the set with the up-tempo “Melancholia” off their 2015 album The Children of the Night. Aside from the Dodger distraction, Tribulation succeeded in getting the heavy metal blood flowing and the Los Angeles crowd primed for Opeth.
Tribulation
Photo Credit: Chris Loomis
Now, at 8:45 pm, when Opeth walked on stage and began playing, it was about the time the Dodgers game concluded, and they won the World Series, so the crowd was both cheering for the start of the show and that their team was World Champions. The band kicked into the first song off the new album titled “§1” – all the songs on The Last Will and Testament do not have titles as it has been stated that the lyrics are like the reading of the testament, and that is why the songs don’t have titles – just paragraph numbers – 1,2,3, etc. The song is typical Opeth progressive mastery and has the return of the beloved Death Metal vocals and growls. Definitely a killer song to open the show with. “The Leper Affinity” followed, and Opeth took LA on an extreme rollercoaster ride of progressive metal over the next almost 2 hours.
Mikael Åkerfeldt is one of the most likable personalities in metal as he has a genuine softspoken way about himself coupled with some very dry humor as he speaks to the crowd in between songs. He was on point on this night with the beautiful, clean lyrics mixed in with the demonic growls and hitting everything in between, all while belting out the rhythms on guitar. Åkerfeldt’s guitar partner, Fredrik Åkesson, was very energetic onstage as he traded off licks with the bossman.
Martín Méndez on bass is the longest-tenured band member (joined in 1997) aside from Åkerfeldt, and he is such a pristine, sharp player as his bass playing, along with the drumming skills of Waltteri Väyrynen, are a critical ingredient to the Opeth sound. The band is rounded out with Joakim Svalberg on keyboards, who adds that super progressive sound to every song. Åkerfeldt seemed to have a conversation with someone in the audience, yelling things after almost every song. Again, his calm nature and dry sense of humor were as entertaining as the music.
The regular set ended with 10+ minutes of “Ghost of Perdition,” then a two-song encore, the beautiful “Sorceress” with its driving guitar riffs and beautiful clean vocals, followed by the last song, the brutally guttural “Deliverance.” Åkerfeldt thanked Los Angeles for a lovely, memorable evening, and that concluded the show.
This tour concluded the next night 10/31 (Halloween) in San Francisco but with The Last Will and Testament to released in 3 weeks, there is a good chance North America will see Opeth again on another headline tour in 2025 – fingers crossed.
Opeth
Photo Credit: Chris Loomis
Setlist:
§1
The Leper Affinity
The Grand Conjuration
Demon of the Fall
Eternal Rains Will Come
In My Time of Need
Face of Melinda
Heir Apparent
§3
Ghost of Perdition
Encore:
Sorceress
Deliverance
