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THE ARCHIVES
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Morrigan's Pit has closed down as of November 2006. The site and its articles will stay online as an archive until September at least, but probably longer.
The Archives
2002-2006
» CD REVIEWS
» INTERVIEWS
» LIVE REVIEWS
» SPECIALS
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OPETH - EXTOL
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Zeche Carl - Essen (D)
September 15th 2005
http://www.opeth.com
http://www.extolweb.com
Many people on their way back home from work + me on my way to a gig in Essen often equals me ending up in traffic jams. The Germans with their cars and motorways are regularly giving reason to annoyance - and I'm part of it. To top it off I was a little late too and so when I arrived in the Zeche Carl, EXTOL were already on stage and somewhere in the middle of their set. Until I had made my way through the masses and found a place to stay (as many other shows of that tour it was sold out) the song (I believe it was "The Things I Found") was already over. The next song was "Pearl" from the current album "Blueprint" and it was good to see the Norwegians got plenty of light for their show. I've heard all sorts of comments ranging from good to bad about these guys as support for Opeth, I personally think they fit pretty well on the tour. And at least here in Essen they were rather well-received too. The following song was already the last one. As I'm not too familiar with Extol I have no clue about the title but the band again provided lots of energy and banged their heads like maniacs. Then the band thanked the crowd for coming and since Extol is a Christian band, vocalist Peter final words were "God bless you all".
After a short a break it was time for OPETH who came on stage during an intro and then started their set off with the new track "The Baying Of The Hounds". Lights have been rather spartan, especially compared to the colourful lights that Extol had. I will also have to repeat myself by saying that the band doesn't move much around on stage but in return the music is just being perfectly delivered. I was standing somewhere in the back and so I could even enjoy them with a very good sound. And again the essence of that night is: Åkerfeldt rocks! That voice! :) Not only am I still somewhat stunned by his vocal abilites though. He became a frigging great frontman as well. It's been two years since the last time I saw them (see my other reviews) and he was already joking around a little back then too - but here in Essen he really emerged as an entertainer. Or as he put it himself: "We've been selected to entertain you tonight". They surely did. The venue is an old coal-mine and in the hall there's a small place similar to a balcony you can reach over a ladder. Mikael asked whether this was the VIP section which is hilarious considering that it's such a tiny spot next to some tubes and he frequently came back to the VIP section during the whole show. After the next song "When" Mikael advised the crowd to simply skip school or work the next day which was answered by a voice in the crowd "I'm unemployed!". After "Deliverance" it was time for a slow-down in the set where Mikael asked the fans to sing along. "If you don't sing we're gonna make the next album sound like Scooter".....and well, we sang the chorus for "In My Time Of Need" almost on our own. Just please spare us a Scooter-like album, hehe.
As soon as the following song "To Rid The Disease" was over someone in the crowd was getting impatient with the mellow Opeth stuff and shouted for "more heavy shit" which made Mikael clarify that "we don't play shit, we play quality music". As always, someone requested "Black Rose Immortal" and guitarist Peter and Mikael started to play, didn't really remember how to and thus didn't get any far. Instead next was "our first hit single. We knocked off Britney Spears from the German charts a couple of years back": "The Drapery Falls".
Well, well.....I keep telling about Mikael only but the other guys never said a single word. Bassist Martin is more or less always disappearing behind his hair and newest Opeth member Per Wiberg was either headbanging like crazy behind the keys or providing backing vocals. Drummer Martin Lopez who had to stay home because of illness was replaced by another Martin on this tour, Martin Axenrot (from Bloodbath among other bands).
The next song ("The Grand Conjuration") was "a tribute to the Scorpions" (wtf?) followed by "Face Of Melinda". Then when Mikael said it was time for the last song the crowd started to chant "Opeth, Opeth" and was soon joined by the band that started to play along. Hm, let's call this the "Opeth-Jam" ;)
After "Blackwater Park" the Swedes left the stage and it actually took them quite a while to return to the stage. It was only now that Mikael briefly introduced band and parts of the crew and then announced the encore "Demons Of The Fall".
Great gig, I'm definitely going to see them again ;)
setlist Opeth:
The Baying Of The Hounds
When
Deliverance
In My Time Of Need
To Rid The Disease
The Drapery Falls
The Grand Conjuration
Face Of Melinda
Blackwater Park
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Demons Of The Fall
submitted by Cora 16.09.2005
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