Opeth - 13 Nov 2011 (Brixton Academy)

 

Sunday night was a night of prog-metal at the Brixton Academy in London, UK. Two massive bands came together to rock London and promote their new albums; Opeth with Heritage and Pain of Salvation with Road Salt Two. First on stage were Pain of Salvation who delivered a good set but unfortunately didn’t impress. The sound was not at its best and this really affected how the band came out. It seemed as if the ambience was hard to establish in the academy and, despite the good show and set that Pain of Salvation delivered, it felt as if the crowd didn’t really adhere. Of course the audience was predominantly an Opeth audience so I believe it was something that could had been foretold. Pain of Salvation played songs from their new album, Road Salt Two, as well as tracks from their previous albums. While talking with the band’s front man Daniel Gildenlow, he announced to us that the band would most probably be back sometime around February for a headline tour in the UK and it will definitely be interesting to see how the band performs in front of its own crowd. Time for the headliners of the show. After a somehow controversial new album by Opeth, I assume that most of the fans where looking forward to see how the setlist would be arranged. Well surprisingly, for some, Opeth performed songs which included only clean vocals, just like on the new album. The gig was slightly disappointing and failed to entertain to the degree which Opeth gigs usually do, despite the jokes made by Akerfeldt and a quite embarrassing version of George Michael’s Faith played by Akerfeldt and sang by the public. Just like with Pain of Salvation, the atmosphere was quite disapointing. However, we got the chance to hear some tracks which we don’t normally hear while it is fair to mention the drum solo of Martin Axenrot during Hessian Peel which showcased a nice technical ability. We also got to witness a small acoustic set by Opeth who performed the God of War III track The Throat of Winter, among others, on acoustic guitars. Regarding the matter of Akerfeldt's vocals, it is creating an uncertainty since during the gig, it was quite visible that Akerfeldt has lost weight, and this made us wonder if there is actually something physically wrong with him. On the other hand if there was, he probably wouldn’t be on tour. So, let’s hope that all is good and that this is just the era of the quiet Opeth which after all, is not that bad!

Opeth:  18/20

Sound: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Presentation: 5/5
Performance: 5/5

Pain of Salvation: 16/20

Sound: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5
Presentation: 5/5
Performance: 5/5

Posted by Nick