They Are The Champions!

OPETH
Von Hertzen Brothers
01.03.2012, 'Blue Box' club, Sofia

words by Nikola Shahpazov, photos: Elena Nenkova

Writing about OPETH is much too hard. And it makes no difference whether you’re reviewing ‘Heritage‘ or saying they didn’t sell out with their major label debut 'Ghost Reveries‘. But doing a live report is even harder.

OPETH are a perfect team of born winners that’s even better than the once famous AC Milan (with that mighty fine Basten-Gullit-Rijkaard trio), superior even to Stoichkov’s thunderous left footer.

All these football allusions have their place here not only because I spent the concert next to a guy with a yellow t-shirt of the Swedish national team but because Mikael and his team are true champions in a very, very tough league.

They have, in fact, been reigning champions since 1998 even though back then (and even years later) many people didn’t realize that. For ‘My Arms, Your Hearse‘ was a grand achievement inside European underground circles with its highly ambitious lyrical and musical concept completely dwarfing other Swedish death metal bands.

OPETH are true champions because the continued their flawless performance and never stopped scoring even after the big bucks started pouring in (around the release of ‘Blackwater Park‘) – Mikael never compromised the idea of heavily conceptual and progressive metal and rock.




Things aren’t much too different when these here Swedes play live. I was able to see OPETH in concert three times before this March 1st. Different years, different tours, different setlist each time.

One might think that on the fourth OPETH gig I would more of an interested cynic than an overenthusiastic fan. Still, Mikael & Co. leave you very little choice – they demand emotion, they demand enjoyment.

I can only think of two other Sofia gigs that left me with the same impression – Behemoth’s mighty live in 2007 and Anathema’s first concert here (two years ago, once again organized by Tangra Mega Rock crew). These concerts were so perfect in every sense that after them there’s plenty to talk of but there’s very little you can tell the ones that missed out.

So I would be blunt and short – the first OPETH gig in Sofia was fabulous. Just as fabulous as their live in Kavarna some six months ago but fabulously different too. We hoped it would be as good and thanks God – it was.

The Finns Von Hertzen Brothers are a late inclusion to the bill that we could have gone without. Not that they don’t play well enough (some people in the gathering crowd seem to be their serious fans) but their 30 minutes cannot come even close to what’s next.





OPETH storm in with ‘The Devil’s Orchard‘ and continue a prog rock trip through the years and their grand records ‘Heritage‘,‘Damnation‘,‘Still Life‘ and even ‘My Arms, Your Hearse‘ – this first part of the gig being treally, really close to the “all prog and no metal” tour they did last autumn and winter.

Still, we’re aware Mikael isn’t fond of sticking to the very same setlist for too long a time and that takes us to the second part of the gig that bursts out with OPETH’s trademark technically perfect death melodic metal.



‘The Grand Conjuration‘ and the closing encore ‘Deliverance‘ are real neckbreakers while the “somewhat sentimental”

‘The Drapery Falls‘ is another great chance for the youngsters in the audience (and there’s quite a few of them) to learn just what good music is before the commercial whirlpool suck them in.

And no, no obstacles were great enough to ruin this night of supreme Swedish metal.

P.S. Happy birthday, Tangra Mega Rock! The celebrations have started in a fantastic fashion!

SETLIST AND GALLERY