If the devil sang love songs, he'd sing with a voice similar to Mikael Akerfeldt's, the lead singer of Swedish death-metal band Opeth. Their songs are laden with a mixture of wrath and ire that flash back to emotional elements of despair and hopelessness, yet also burgeon with yearnings for love, forgiveness and respect. Progressive death metal masters, Opeth, produce some of the most emotional sounding melodic songs of doom out there.
I've been listening to Opeth for a few years now and always feel that my soul is nourished better by their melodies than any other modelers of gloomy music around. I was excited to discover the recently released 2-CD live recording, The Roundhouse Tapes. This is one of the most unusual and delightfully surprising live albums I've heard in a number of years. Recorded at London's famous Roundhouse on November 9, 2006, the band surveys their 12-year recording history, including tracks from their debut album, Orchid, and the classic favorite album Still Life.
What is deliciously striking about this album is that there are only nine songs on it. How many live albums have you listened to in which the musicians cram as many memorable tunes onto it as they can. The shortest song on this live album, "Windowpane," is just over 8 minutes long. Four of the songs are over 10 minutes long and "Blackwater Park" is almost 20 minutes long!!! Another thing that is amazing about this live performance is how close to the original versions the live renditions are. This is a selling point, I believe, rather than a detraction. To realize how polished this band's performance is in error-free live performances of their songs is a testament of their incredible musicianship; especially after having been on the road for a year and a half. I've listened to this album over 20 times now and when I listened to it with head phones on and could clearly hear members of the audience singing along to.
What really makes me wish that I had been at this concert (or any other live performance of Opeth's) is the comforting way that Akerfeldt talks to the audience in between songs. I've never heard anyone during a live performance speak so calmly and matter-of-factly to an audience before. Especially strange is that this is during a death-metal concert where you'd anticipate the energy of the performers (and the singer especially) to be rather maleficent. He talks with the audience, basically introducing each next song, but with a casualness that is disarming. As if we were sitting in the living room of his castle back in Sweden listening to this performance. I almost picture him sitting on a settee with his feet on an ottoman, smoking a pipe and wearing a smoking jacket, his voice is so debonair and sophisticated.
Opeth's sound has matured over the years with the integration of elements of jazz and progressive rock into their orchestrations. Their sound is very rich and mature now. Oh, and the ultimate highlight of the album is an almost 19-minute long rendition of “Blackwater Park.”
This is a great album to own if you are a fan of Opeth, but it is also a great album to listen to as an introduction to their remarkable sounding catalog.
Akerfeldt comments at the beginning of the third track, "This song has some lyrics that are absolute black metal nonsense. Just listen to the title and enjoy the song, ‘Under the Weeping Moon,’ thank you…" Most death metal bands will start and finish a song with insane death roars. Opeth though, burn you with death roar intros and in most songs surprise you with a turnabout midway into sweeter, enticing vocals and softer, yet more complex melodic interludes, sometimes using acoustic instruments.
The Roundhouse Tapes is out now on Peaceville.
More on Opeth here: www.opeth.com
Opeth – "Bleak" – Roundhouse Tapes
