The Day I Fell In Love
It was a cold April’s night back in 2008 and I was in the Barrowlands waiting for Opeth to take to the stage. They were on a sponsored tour with Arch Enemy who I had been eagerly anticipating for many months beforehand. At the time I was only familiar with a few of Opeth’s songs as I had just discovered them a week or so prior.

I was about to be given a lesson in true progressive death-metal brilliance.

They opened with the songs ‘Demon of the Fall’ and ‘The Baying of the Hounds’ to the immediate appreciation of the crowd. It was then that I knew I was about to witness something special. Each lingering guttural growl from vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt’s voice mixed seamlessly with the complex guitar arrangements and chilling interludes that seemed to be a common feature with each and every song.

Fifteen minutes later, and with my neck and back already sore from being elbowed more times than by The Rock on WWE Smackdown, they moved onto a song called ‘In My Time of Need’. In every way possible, this song was the complete opposite to the former. It was a beautifully compiled melody with soft guitar sounds and clean vocals throughout. I was shocked at how effortlessly they transitioned from death metal riffs and harsh vocals to completely clean-sounding progressive rock in a mere matter of minutes.

Let me take a quick second to explain something about Opeth. I can fully appreciate and understand that their music isn’t for everyone. With average song lengths around the ten-minute mark and the sheer multitude of genres included in them, they can be very difficult to follow if you are not a devoted fan. You really do need to take a week off from doing anything else whatsoever to fully appreciate just how talented and diverse they are.

After ‘In My Time of Need’ finished, Akerfeldt joked around with the crowd, before announcing that the next song is a tribute to his favourite death metal band; Morbid Angel. This tribute was met with a huge applause as drummer Martin Lopez immediately opened the song ‘Wreath’ with a ferocious blast-beat intro that nearly burst through my ear drums. I could feel the force of the double-base drums vibrating through my chest as the brutal guitar riffs sent shivers down my spine. It was a fucking incredible feeling. It was like a combination of the best sex and the best steak ever, all combined to tickle every one of my senses.

This continued all the way through until they concluded their set with a song called ‘The Drapery Falls’; the only song from their set that I had actually heard before. For the first time in my life, I was in love.

When I left the hall later that night, I was so faint and weak at the knees that I could hardly walk properly. Although thinking about it, that was probably just the dehydration and exhaustion.
( Fat Fred too weird to live, too rare to die, Wed 3 Feb 2010, 3:38, 4 replies)

You have excellent taste, sir
Opeth are my absolute favourite band in the world, and The Drapery Falls is their best song. It's what I want played at my funeral.
(oball needs Satan more than he needs me, Wed 3 Feb 2010, 4:04, closed)

Opeth are superb
but I miss Lopez. Watershed isn't great.

rafter
baz
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Wed 3 Feb 2010, 9:15, closed)

Had never heard of Opeth until today
But have just bought In My Time of Need on iTunes.
Thanks for introducing me to their music. Have a click.
( Snappyuk gets BIGGER with free sample., Wed 3 Feb 2010, 14:35, closed)

No problem at all sir, glad I can help out. If you enjoyed that song I recommend you check out 'Burden' and 'Harvest' as well. Great for just chilling out to.
( Fat Fred too weird to live, too rare to die, Wed 3 Feb 2010, 22:23, closed)