Swedish Prog Metal legends, Opeth returned to Glasgow for the first time since 2019, taking to the stage at the iconic Barrowland Ballroom as the last stop on their “The Last Will and Testament” Tour to mark the release of their 14th studio album. Supported by Swedish heavy metal band Grand Magus, the band put on a most pleasant and unforgettable performance that I will be remembering for a while to come.
The night kicked off with Grand Magus, a leather-clad, three-piece heavy metal band from Stockholm, Sweden. Having last played in Glasgow at Audio in 2020, they were familiar with the Glasgow crowds and engaged with them brilliantly. The set kicked off with their song “I, The Jury” and immediately the vibes of the show were set, with punchy drums, mighty guitar riffs and a bass that could rattle your teeth.
The lead singer and frontman Janne “JB” Christoffersson expressed his surprise at the number of people willingly out on a Sunday night. He remarked “Sunday in Glasgow is like Friday anywhere else” to which the audience cheered in agreement.
Having recently released their own concept album “Sunraven”, a record inspired by the tale of Beowulf, the next song played was the title track from that album. Briefly stopping to introduce the song, Christoffersson cracked a little joke, stating “Birds aren’t real anyways…someone scientific told me this”, which earned laughter from the crowd, which was silenced and replaced by cheers as the first riffs of “Sunraven” began. Immediately the crowd got into the groove of the epic and catchy rhythm and chorus of the track, me included. I have never knowingly listened to Grand Magus before, but I will certainly be doing so now having seen them live.
The set was concluded with the title track from their 2010 album “Hammer Of The North”, which featured one of my favourite moments of the night, when the audience joined in singing along to the chorus with a very soaring, epic chant that filled the entire ballroom with sound. The Band concluded the set, but the crowd wasn’t done with them yet, repeating the chant from earlier, the band were left slightly speechless on stage as the entire Barrowlands sang at them. It was probably one of the most epic sights I had seen at a gig in a while and certainly put the Grand into Grand Magus.
Then it was Opeth’s turn to take the stage and the excitement in the crowd was palpable. The lights dimmed and we were greeted with the opening track of “The Last Will and Testament”, “§1”. The sound effects of someone opening a large and grand door played out as the band walked on stage to thunderous applause. Immediately I could tell this was going to be a special show. The unique and experimental time signatures and speed shifts that are at the heart of prog metal were displayed beautifully here. The vocals of frontman and lead singer Mikael Åkerfeldt were a sight to see, seamlessly switching between beautifully harmonic clean vocals and demonic growls.
Having played from their newest album, the next two songs were throwbacks, with the songs “Master’s Apprentice” from the “Deliverance” album and “The Leper Affinity” from the “Blackwater Park” Album. In a unique structure, the evening’s setlist was almost broken up into a sort of 3 act structure, with songs from “The Last Will and Testament” acting as a type of intermission between acts.
Once the crowd had settled down a little, Åkerfeldt took to the stage to give a little intermission chat to the audience, stating simply “How Pleasant…” a phrase that would be used very, very…..very frequently throughout the show. He went on to say “Not only is it pleasant to be back in your beautiful city, but to play for your beautiful people” Åkerfeldt then briefly went on to talk about the new album, “The Last Will and Testament”. He stated at one point, “Some reviewers have said “A Return To Form”…Fuck those guys”, a clearly defiant expression at the dislike that he has for the idea that Opeth haven’t been themselves with recent records, which have seen a definite lack of harsh vocals. While it is true that the screaming has been minimal in recent records, it would be foolish to believe that Opeth have never been anything other than themselves.
After this little intermission and the use of the adjective pleasant another half dozen times, give or take, we were back into the swing of the show, with Act 2 of the set starting with “§7”, the penultimate track on the new album. A uniquely varied track, mixing Opeth’s iconic death metal growls and more ethereal soft melodies, intercut with moments of spoken word that play a role in the story of the concept album. This one was evidently a real crowd favourite as the whole audience were headbanging along with the groove. The inclusion of wind chimes played by drummer, Waltteri Väyrynen, during the bridge of the track gave it an almost dream like atmosphere that really stuck out to me.
Evidently the energy of the crowd was a surprise to Åkerfeldt, who asked the crowd “Are we always this pumped up on a Sunday?” to which the audience responded with the signature “HERE WE, HERE WE, HERE WE FUCKING GO!” chant. Looking more than a little confused, Åkerfeldt replied with “What I hear is Hairy Fucking Goat”. This chemistry with the crowd really elevated my enjoyment of the show, it felt more…intimate in some way, there wasn’t any sort of disconnect between band and audience like at some shows.
Up next, they played the very beautiful “Häxprocess“, probably the most elegant song of the night. What amazed me in a good way was that the audience was dead silent for this whole song. Åkerfeldt thank everybody once the song had concluded, saying “I love when we play that song and you can hear a pin drop, thank you for being respectful”. It’s clearly a special song for the band and the audience knew this too. This beautiful and ethereal vibe continued with the song “In My Time of Need”. It was this song that showed me just how important Opeth’s music is to some people. For not only were there multiple people crying silently in the audience, myself almost joining them, but everyone sang along to the chorus beautifully. It was another moment from an already memorable gig that I think back to repeatedly now.
To conclude Act 2, they played “The Night and The Silent Water” from their 1996 sophomore album “Morningrise”. Act 3 began with “§3”, the most popular track from the new album and it showed, the crowd kept up the energy, banging their heads and rocking along top to the very catchy rhythms. This energy was somehow improved upon for the following song, “Ghost of Perdition” one of the most popular Opeth songs of all time. Once this song finished and the crowd relaxed, Åkerfeldt stated with a faux sombre voice “Unfortunately my friends, it’s beer o’clock, or rather single malt o’clock”.
As a fitting end to this perhaps unintended 3 act structure, Act 3 ended with the final and only named track from the new album, the sorrowful, yet beautiful “A Story Never Told”.
Having earlier predicted that the crowd would be clamouring for an encore once they finished the main set, the audience did just that, the “Here We Fucking Go!” kicked in with the accompaniment of foot stomping that echoed around the ballroom like a marching army. After a couple minutes, the band returned, beers in hand to satiate the audience’s hunger for more.
The Encore consisted of two title tracks. “Sorceress” from their 2016 album of the same name and “Deliverance” from their 2002 album. “Sorceress” was a surprisingly funky song that didn’t have the crowd moshing so much as dancing, the incredible guitar playing from lead guitarist, Fredrik Åkesson made this song very memorable as he took centre stage and didn’t just play guitar but absolutely shredded it. For the final song of the night, it was clear that the band had truly saved the best for last. Not only did they give it their all one last time, perhaps rejuvenated by the consumption of those sacred beers they enjoyed during the intermission, but the audience also returned that energy, opening up the largest, if not the first proper mosh pit of the night. To my great surprise, I even saw multiple people crowdsurfing during the death metal growls of the chorus. This energy was somehow maintained for the entire 13-minute-long song, and the sheer heat from the constantly moving crowd really built up. It served as a truly fantastic and memorable conclusion to the performance.
Despite being around since the early 90s, Opeth show no signs of slowing down. Having recently performed a killer set at last year’s Bloodstock Festival and releasing their 14th studio album to mass critical acclaim, it is clear that Opeth still have an incredible amount to offer the prog and death metal scene. I expect that the band will continue to grow and will be performing for many years to come. You can bet that the moment they announce either their 15th album or their next live performance in Glasgow, I will be instantly putting down whatever financial contribution necessary to enjoy it.
Photos and Review by John Morton
