Can a band make a comeback album when they technically never went anywhere? If they can, then Opeth most definitely did with November’s The Last Will And Testament. Their first full-length in half a decade, it saw the Swedes charge back to their avant-death metal roots while dodging nostalgia bait, mixing their early, widescreen onslaughts with the 70s prog chug they embraced afterwards.
The result was arguably the band’s most popular release since Ghost Reveries 19 years beforehand, seemingly every corner of their broad-tasted audience finding something to love. Whether you admired the anachronistic blend of vintage prog and cutting-edge metal or just thanked God for the presence of growls again, chances are tonight’s gig at the Camden Roundhouse will feature even more of your favourite thing about Opeth.
This 3,300-capacity building being sold-out only affirms the stature of Stockholm’s finest right now, and they fittingly start with the first song on the album that un-splintered their fanbase. On record, §1 didn’t just introduce The Last Will…’s Succession-but-Victorian concept and its whole song-titles-by-numbers thing; it also weaved between balls and brains to summarise everything this lot do in six minutes. Its darkly ambitious tone is reinforced live, as screens behind, beside and before the stage show clips of abandoned mansions and ghostly shadows.
§7, §3 and A Story Never Told continue the celebration of Opeth’s newest achievement, while in between, the band re-explore their past with vision. Rather than hand out the greatest hits and cater to a nostalgia that, as The Last Will… proved, they have no interest in, they shuffle through classics and deep cuts. Ghost Of Perdition is reliably crowd-popping, getting thousands to roar ‘Ghost of mother!’ in unison, whereas The Night And The Silent Winter rewards the diehards, representing 1996’s seldom-played Morningrise with melodeath verve. There’s no shame around the divisive all-prog days either, Heritage number Häxprocess emerging in a tide of silky guitars and oddball drums.
Almost as entertaining as the music is singer/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt’s banter. Unabashedly dry every time he steps to the mic, he makes no bones about flipping off a fan who claims the Beatles suck, shouting incoherently at howlers in the crowd and admitting which of his own songs have “shit” bits. It’s a welcome dose of humanity between the towering suites and machine-precise lighting cues.
The night ends with a one-two punch reiterating Opeth’s range. Sorceress – the 2016 single that starts with a happy-go-lucky keyboard jaunt – gives way to Deliverance, an oldie partially inspired by the heaviest band on Earth, Meshuggah. “Haven’t we been fucking great tonight?!” Mikael asks before that closing juxtaposition of wonder and punishment.
Yes. Yes you have.
Opeth setlist: The Roundhouse, London – February 26, 2025
§1
Master’s Apprentices
The Leper Affinity
§7
Häxprocess
In My Time Of Need
The Night And The Silent Water
§3
Ghost Of Perdition
A Story Never Told
Encore:
Sorceress
Deliverance
