Opeth

Progressive black metal, anyone? Opeth are probably your safest bet, with almost twenty-five years in the business; they blend a traditional black metal sound, if there’s such a thing, with genuine experimentation; elements of jazz, folk and classical have all been discernible over the course of ten studio records to date, and anybody doubting their propensity for the latter should probably know that their most noteworthy UK show to date came when they sold out the Royal Albert Hall - a gig that was filmed and released on DVD.
A neat feature of that show was that the band played their then-latest record, Blackwater Park, as the set’s first act, before returning to the stage to please the purists by performing - in chronological order - one song from every Opeth record to date. That’s the kind of career-spanning fare you should expect at one of their gigs, alongside furiously complex musicianship and sprawling sets that tend to clock in at around two hours. With their next record, Pale Communion, out in August, the Swedes have lined up a slew of UK dates for October; as one of the most technically gifted metal bands on the circuit, they remain one of their genre’s most intriguing propositions.

Formed in Halifax over 25 years ago, Paradise Lost are one of the most important metal bands of all time to a certain breed of metal fan. While it could be argued that every metal band in existence is a cult act since heavy metal in the pop charts is rarer than an edible diamond and mainstream radio play isn’t much more common. However, the influence of Nick Holmes and Greg Mackintosh’s band means that most metal movements of the past quarter of a century can be traced back to them in some way. And they also have a fan-base that could make Directioners hang their head in shame. Their following is only one part of what makes a Paradise Lost concert utterly unmissable. It’s quite something to see an audience in such rapt attention when listening to a band’s music; it’s something else entirely to watch one of the most thrillingly versatile acts in Metal. With every song comes a switch from either the pulverising doom metal of their early albums, or the electro-rock of their mid period, all the way to their more traditional metal of their recent albums and every single one of them sounds like the most natural thing in the world to them. Although it is to be expected considering the band have one of the most stable line-ups in heavy metal and have done so for as long as they’ve been around. That doesn’t mean that it’s not mind blowing to watch, no, in fact it should be a ritual for any metal fan to see them, just to see how it’s done by the band who could be the authority on Alternative Metal.

Swedish metal band Katatonia, not to be confused with Welsh pop/rock outfit, Catatonia with a C, have their die-hard fans in the house this evening, ready to go crazy, ready to start circle pits here and there all over the room. “Ghost of the Sun” is their opening number seeing the fastest and loudest guitars you’ve ever heard. They employ techniques such as pinch harmonics; sweep picking, and dive bombs, and the crowd this evening, a horde of longhaired metal lovers all dressed in black. As soon as the drop occurs in their opening number, it is as though a grenade has been thrown right into the centre of the mosh pit as people are throwing themselves relentlessly into one another. One of the things that I will hand this Swedish gothic metal band is that every song has a hook. There is always something memorable from each song that you just might find yourself singing in the shower the next day. There is such adoration from the audience as they sing just about every chorus with their fist in the air, punching at every syllable. There are moments of their set that are very loud, with machine-gun blasting double kick drum moments, which are countered every time with a melodic chorus. A successful gig for these Scandinavian rockers.