Musical Ramblings: Opeth goes live

Opeth
The Roundhouse Tapes

This new two CD set from Opeth documents their live concert from November 2006. The interesting thing about this release is that while they were touring behind their most recent studio album Ghost Reveries, the band chose to play a song off of each of their previous albums, which go all the way back to 1995. This choice became a double-edged sword because it may alienate those who enjoy Opeth's work up to Blackwater Park or those who are only familiar with Ghost Reveries or perhaps Damnation and Deliverance. I think it's an interesting way to release a live album and do some kind of career retrospective.

If you own the Lamentations CD, which was taken from the Lamentations DVD without the stellar 5.1 mix, you know that the band sounds good live. The difference with this live release is that it sounds a little more muddied or has a tad more bass than Lamentations. It's nothing that ruins the experience, but I found myself wanting a wee bit more crispness.

That's just nit-picking, though.

The crowd is alive throughout the CD and they actually help capture that live experience through their participation in a couple of the songs. Hearing them sing along during Ghosts of Perdition is enough for you to visualize yourself at the concert amongst the other drunken metal fans.

Some more good news comes with the announcement that this CD package will also be getting the DVD treatment sometime in 2008. The DVD will feature a 5.1 mix (thank goodness) and mix in some behind the scenes/touring footage. If you like just buying one format of a live album, you may want to hold off.

Opeth fans, this is a solid release. Don't be too shocked when you read that the Blackwater Park track is almost 20 minutes long. For some unfortunate reason the band does this little impromptu melody and then they go into introducing band members. Close to seven minutes wasted on the actual track. If you're new to Opeth, this is a good introduction, but it doesn't touch their studio magic.