Opeth at Zepp Tokyo, December 6th 2019

Thirty years have passed since that infamous night (for some) when Jethro Tull beat Metallica for Best Metal Album of the year at the Grammys. It was the first year that category was introduced at the awards ceremony. I remember watching it live and the shocked expressions from the presenters when instead of reading And Justice For All form the envelope, they read Crest of a Knave. At the time I owned both albums, I liked them both and thought they both rocked. Jethro Tull’s was another late eighties prog band type of record, like Yes’ Big Generator; while Metallica’s was of course a landmark. Thirty years later Metallica is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Jethro Tull isn’t. On the other hand the flagship current band of the extreme metal genre sounds more like Jethro Tull than Metallica.

Opeth released an album this year, In cauda venenum, their first sung entirely in Swedish. It’s the latest in a string of prog inspired albums that started around ten years ago with Heritage. They abandoned the growl vocals but not the distorted guitars. This latest album is quite possible the one leaning more towards metal out of their series of progressive rock records. 

Their world tour took them to Japan with stops in Tokyo and Osaka. They played at Zepp Tokyo a big impersonal venue in Odaiba. I didn’t realize it was a seated show and got my ticket quite late, which meant my seat was in the back, which was a bummer. But not as much as the atmosphere at the venue. Lots of people blabbering throughout the show, cheesy audience intervention with people blurting random words in English thinking they’re being funny. I sound bitter because that’s how the environment felt during those 125 minutes that the show lasted. To be honest, it was a small nuisance. Luckily for me the people around me were nice and didn’t have to endure that firsthand. I’m talking about people who were in the vicinity.

Of course the main aspect of the show is the music and, as expected, the execution was flawless. The current lineup delivered faithful and at times improved versions of some of their classics and latest tunes. I loved the tension that Nepenthe provides in its slow build up, much better live than on record. Same can be said about the three songs performed from the latest album, the opener Svekets prins, Hjärtat vet vad handen gör  with its catchy earworm type of melody and the set closer Allotting tar slut. They all sounded immense, with the latter one being an epic.

The lighting and how it synced with the music was something to behold. I was reminded that it was a while since I last saw a bigger budget show with this kind of presentation. We got the death metal growls with The Leper Affinity, among others, and lots of funny stage banter from Mikael Åkerfeldt  Some of the stuff might have been scripted, but some wasn’t, like the story of when he met Ronnie James Dio at bar in Tokyo. His lengthy observations were also an essential part of the show. 

The last song of the encore was Deliverance and was my first experience seeing it live. As good as it is on record, those pounding riffs toward the end reach a whole other dimension when performed live at a concert’s climax. 

Even though I prefer a more extreme approach in metal, there’s no denying of the musicianship and skills of this band. It was an overall enjoyable show. 
  
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