Article and Photos By: Joshua Guerra
Austin, TX — With the release of their latest album Sorceress, Opeth embarked on their North American tour in support of the album with special guest, The Sword. Metal heads of all ages lined up outside the venue with lines wrapping around the building as fans anxiously waited for show time. The venue was pretty packed for opener The Sword, as they took the stage first. The Sword hail from Austin, Texas and it was no surprise that they got a lot of support from the hometown crowd after every song.
Their sound was very heavy as an opener for Opeth should be and it energized the crowd as they rocked out to the songs performed by the band. The band recently released an acoustic-like album called Low Country with some songs from their album High Country. It brings their heavy sound to a very intimate soft sounding melodies that fans have never heard before. From their album High Country the band performed “The Dreamthieves,” “Seriously Mysterious,” “Empty Temples,” “Buzzards,” and “Mist & Shadow.” The crowd seemed interested and engaged during the performance as The Sword gave them a night to remember and got them ready to watch Mikael Åkerfeldt and Opeth to perform.
Opeth is known for their heavy metal-like sound along with those very soft vocals behind heavy riffs and mellow guitar solos. The band recently released Sorceress back in September so they had plenty of new material to perform for their fans on this North American tour. They began the night off with their first single “Sorceress,” from their latest album. They followed with their 10-minute song “Ghost of Perdition,”which begins very heavy then transitions into soothing vocals and guitar cords, then goes back into the heavy sound of Opeth.
The unique thing about this band is that they combine different sounds in their songs where you think it has become a totally different song as the songs progress. Åkerfeldt is just one brilliant songwriter and vocalist and has perfected the metal growls and soft singing all in one song. They performed many fan favorite songs from their older albums which fans have enjoyed such as, “Face of Melinda,” “In My Time of Need,” and “The Devil’s Orchard.”
They ended their set with “Hex Omega” that transitioned into audience requested songs along with a Black Sabbath and “The Grand Conjuration” compilation. Coming out for an encore due to a roaring crowd they ended the night with 13-minute song “Deliverance.” Opeth will continue their North American tour for the rest of October before heading overseas to play in other countries.