Opeth in Israel

I think most of my readers don’t know this about me, but I am somewhat of a headbanger, and my favorite band is Opeth. A lot has been said about these amazing guys, so I will write about my impressions from their gig here in Israel.

It was held in Tel Aviv, in a very nice location (Hangar 11, Tel Aviv port). Opeth went on stage and kicked in with Heir Apparent. I swear to Satan, the impact of the first 2 notes was so astounding it made the unlikely hypothesis of the rising of His Unholiness himself and his entire entire Army of Darkness look pale and insignificant in comparison. Unfortunately, this effect did not last long, probably because I got used to the sound and everything. But the show was so great nontheless.

Once Heir was done, they quickly switched to Ghost of Perdition. And after some funnies from Mikael they played The Leper Affinity and White Cluster. During Windowpane Mikael almost swallowed his pick and missed a line, which was quite amusing (and brought many cheers from the audience). I guess he should have thought less on tits and more on playing (referring to his report on what they did at the beach before the show).

I enjoy listening to Mikael between songs. He’s so laid back talking as opposed to playing and singing. After another talk they played The Lotus Eater. Then Mikael decided to suddenly change the plans and play something off setlist, so they did Bleak, which was played fairly well, considering Opeth’s claim they did not rehearse it in a while. After that they played April Ethereal and Reverie/Harlequin Forest.

I think one of the best songs Opeth played that night was Reverie/Harlequin Forest. And Hex Omega. They are both amazing live, even though they’re less heavy than, say, Deliverance, which they played after the encore, and was a pretty good finale to a truly awesome night. Right before Deliverance Frederik astounded everyone with an amazing killer solo.

I really enjoy Mikael’s presence on stage. He doesn’t take things too serious or false pretending. All is fun and games with Opeth, because they know they don’t need the pretension – they prove their seriousness and professionalism through their music.

It’s going to be hard for me to get back to listen to Opeth. Every record now sounds so dull and empty in comparison. Ugh, who am I kidding? I couldn’t resist and popped in Watershed a few minutes ago.

P.S. Thanks Israeli Youtubers for putting some clips online. Most of them really suck because you guys have shitty equipment, but I managed to dig the few decent ones.