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It was very busy on the Arena Boulevard in Amsterdam that night. Linkin Park played a show at the Ziggo Arena and the mighty Opeth rocked the Heineken Music Hall. Both venues are just a few hundred meters away from each other which means that it was peak time on the boulevard.
I haven't experienced a moment when the meaning of 'mainstream' became so obvious. The mainstream walked towards the Linkin Show event, while a pretty small group walked against the flow - all with Opeth in their mind and in their heart. What a symbolic situation.
Based on that I was curious if Opeth could get Heineken Music Hall filled. And they did. The show wasn't sold out but the venue was quite packed. Opeth fans are loyal.
When I arrived Alcest from France entered the stage. I have to admit that I have missed the band so far, but what I heard was really good stuff. Starting in the black metal / death metal sector the band developed towards a sphereful post-rock sound. The four-piece used the moment as support for Opeth. A clear sign herefore was the huge amount of listeners in front of the stage. It was great to see/hear the band playing. With a lot of humbleness the French guys build wall of guitar sounds combined with sensitive melodies that have been great. I was very much under the impression of Alcest and I think that the band has an additional fan from now on.
Than it was time to give a ‚varmt välkomen’ to Opeth. The guys from Stockholm, Sweden had their first headliner show in the HMH. But as Mikael Åkerfeld stated, it was actually the second show, since the opened earlier for Dream Theater at the same venue.
However, now it was time for them as being the headliner.
The setlist of course focussed in parts on the last record „Pale communion“ – a really great album by the way. Starting with two tracks from the newest record Opeth had a fantastic entry into their show. But what really made the night special was the fact that they also went back in time and unpacked old highlights. The heaviest one was „April ethereal“ from the 1998 release „My arms your hearse“. As Åkerfeld said himself, a song that is inspired by black metal. And if you listen to the way the song is build a lot of black metal shines through. Very cool stuff and honestly I have to say that I miss those songs nowadays a bit in their sound.
As also James Hetfield mentioned it a while ago, there was ‚new stuff and old stuff’. Talking about Hetfield, Åkerfeld also played around a bit with ‚old’ Hetfield trick „Oh yeah“. It’s funny to see that this thing really works so well. Åkerfeld got an immediate immense reaction from the fans.
He is anyhow a good entertainer. The charismatic guitarist singer/guitarist loves to be in contact with the fans. With always a joke on his lips he recognised a fan texting, told that he washed his hair just before the show with shampoo and conditioner and so on. Good to see that very creative musicians don’t take themselves and their music too serious. There always needs to be a sense of humor too.
That the band „was cursed by technical problems on this tour“, stated by the bandleader, wasn’t obvious till the end. The sound was actually very good and nuanced. Åkerfeld had a small problem with his guitar halfway the show - no big thing. Shit happens. But exactly when the Swedes wanted to start with „The grand conjuration“ from the 2005 album „Ghost reveries“ his guitar had a real breakdown. The band bravely continued before the frontman stopped them. It seemed that the sender was the problem, because when the guitar was plugged in (by a real cable) things worked again very well. And it was up to decide for the audience if the band should continue where they stopped or if they should start from scratch. Easy decision – start from the beginning again. The result was a brutal but still very dynamic version of the song with growls per excellence combined with the fragile soundscapes.
After more or less 2 hours the final chords have been played. With „Deliverence“ Opeth rounded of a successful evening. Upfront Åkerfeld wasn’t sure if he and his band could fill the venue. But they did. Opeth has a big and loyal fanbase that seems to grow constantly. And everybody who was part of the show understood why. If you haven’t been there you missed something.
By the way, when I left the HMH the earlier mentioned ‚mainstream’ came back from the Linkin Park show and they also looked very happy. However, Opeth was the much better choice for me.
Setlist Alcest:
- Opale
- Là où naissant les couleurs nouvelle
- Autre temps
- L’eveil des muses
- Percées de lumieère
- Délivrance
Setlist Opeth:
- Eternal rain will come
- Cusp of eternity
- Bleak
- The moor
- Advent
- Elysian woes
- Windowpane
- The devil’s orchard
- April ethereal
- The lotus eater
- The grand conjuration
- Deliverance (Encore)
Location: Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
Date: 07.11.2014
