While some bands leave years in between live/DVD releases or, indeed, avoid them all together, other bands have attacked the format with gusto (Dream Theater, in particular, seem to release a new live offering every album). Whether you see this as presenting fans with an opportunity to savour their favourite artist’s performance all over again or a shameless cash in will largely affect your position regarding the new Opeth offering, although given that this is a recording of a very special performance indeed that may seem rather churlish. Certainly there is an argument that Opeth’s live offerings have had some element of contractual obligation about them – ‘Lamentations’ appeared on the late, very much lamented Music For Nations imprint, ‘the roundhouse tapes’ on Peaceville and now Roadrunner (never ones to miss an opportunity) have unleashed this. Whatever the reason, however, this is the live set to own if you’re an Opeth fan.
Released in three formats – a straightforward double DVD set, a rather nicer double DVD/triple CD set and an exquisite double DVD/quadruple Vinyl we shall review the latter because we like pretty, shiny things and we’re also all Opeth fans at SonicAbuse. Opening the box is like finding the key to a treasure chest. Inside you’ll find two DVDs, oddly housed in a gatefold jacket to make them fit nicely inside the case; four slabs of heavy-weight, 180gm vinyl which have been mastered to perfection, also housed in gatefold sleeves with differing artwork; a lithograph of some very Deep purple-esque artwork (complete with the number for this limited edition set) and an LP-sized booklet printed on high-quality paper with a wealth of images from the gig. All of this comes housed in a large, heavy-duty box with the Opeth logo embossed on gold foil upon the front. For the fan of the band this is the ultimate Christmas present, but be warned, it comes at a hefty price.
Whichever version you decide to plump for, however, you won’t be disappointed. The DVDs prove to be excellent – the best that Opeth have offered to date. This is partly down to the sound design which offers up a rich 5.1 listening experience for those with fancy gear and an equally well balanced stereo set-up for those without. The quality is overwhelming with the drums, in particular, sounding absolutely amazing and each instrument has been balanced and mixed so that the quality, while on a par with the albums from which the tracks are taken, also sounds that much rawer with the whole band sounding energised, particularly on opening track ‘the leper affinity’ which sounds faster, louder and better than ever before.
For those that don’t know, the true catch of this DVD is the double set that Opeth played at the Albert Hall. This set is divided across the two discs, with the natural break in proceedings meaning that the content doesn’t look hastily cut in two as it does on the Pearl Jam at the Garden DVD. The first set is the band’s landmark ‘Blackwater Park’ album in its entirety, the Holy Grail for Opeth fans, played with grit and determination by a band who never disappoint in the live environment anyway but who, on this occasion, seem to have been kicked up a notch by the fact that they’re playing the Royal Albert Hall. The second half of the concert is no less special, with Opeth blasting out their back catalogue – one track from each album – with equal vigour. While there are fans out there already arguing over the songs chosen (and who will undoubtedly continue to do so until they get a girlfriend or collapse in front of their computer with a blood clot) the set list is excellent and anyway you can’t please everybody all of the time so get over it.
Rather than go into the music, which is all played with passion and precision and has been reviewed countless times in album form anyway, the important detail is the actual presentation of the show bearing in mind you can already count on the content to be excellent. Here the new DVD soars above the band’s previous efforts because so much more thought has gone into the editing of the DVD and the stage show itself. Fans of the band will already know that visually Opeth offer little more than some hairy guys head-banging, and with ‘the Roundhouse tapes’ they even veered away from that much movement. That’s not to say that ‘the Roundhouse tapes’ is a bad DVD, far from it, but visually it was rather underwhelming. Nevertheless, the extra money that Roadrunner can bring to bear has paid off and the show looks, as well as sounds, the part. Firstly the lighting is much more intricate than on previous efforts. The show is excellently lit, with rich colours and various effects making the whole thing look special in decided contrast to the minimal effort son the last two DVDs. Also the band, apparently acknowledging their lack of visual appeal, has opted for a large screen behind the stage which shows various images as the music progresses. While it doesn’t quite fall into the NIN category of light shows, it still makes the whole thing that much more interesting to watch. The other element that has boosted the DVD side of things is the camera work which is uniformly excellent and doesn’t resort to adding fake grain or filters, rather the operators are talented individuals who make each shot look special without the need for trickery. This is, therefore, the best visual document of Opeth to date and you’ll find that it warrants substantial replays before the impact begins to fade.
Overall, whichever set you go for the DVD portion of this special Opeth release is excellent and certainly the best the ban have yet offered. With crystal clear sound, crisp visuals and a couple of nice extras (a documentary and interviews with the band) there’s hours of entertainment and the barebones package will not disappoint. The more special configurations will also please with both CDs and vinyl offering the entire gig. As a vinyl junkie I would opt for the vinyl option as it somehow feels right with Opeth – their warm tones belong in the analogue age and you somehow feel as if this is the version of which Mikael would approve (if you care about such things). Moreover the vinyl option offers the best possibility to appreciate the effort and attention to detail that’s gone into the artwork and no true Opeth fan could be without this beautifully presented box set. Whichever way you go, this is an excellent document of a very special night and it’s a credit to both band and label that such care has been put into its release.
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