Opeth - Lamentations (Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003)

Starring:Opeth, Mikael Akerfeldt
Studio: KOCH RECORDS
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Lamentations, a two-hour live 2003 performance DVD, shows off Swedish quartet Opeth's music--which, to simplify matters, can be described as an unwieldy but convincing amalgam of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rush, and Metallica at their most introspective and uncommercial--to its great advantage, both for fans as well as those unfamiliar with it. Opeth is the rare band that has escaped the narrow confines of the label "heavy metal," a progressive, intensely musical outfit, the group's increasingly subtle music-making has kept the same denseness and complexity of its earlier efforts. Performing the 2003 album Damnation in its entirety, Opeth has mastered a groove-based, moody type of hard rock that's often content to lope along through textured chord changes and instrumental breaks, with acoustic guitar at the forefront. The rest of the concert consists of a half-dozen older, more pummeling tunes that are more conceptually complex and impressive in their always-revealing soundscapes.

Amazon.com

Lamentations, a two-hour live 2003 performance DVD, shows off Swedish quartet Opeth's music--which, to simplify matters, can be described as an unwieldy but convincing amalgam of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rush, and Metallica at their most introspective and uncommercial--to its great advantage, both for fans as well as those unfamiliar with it. Opeth is the rare band that has escaped the narrow confines of the label "heavy metal," a progressive, intensely musical outfit, the group's increasingly subtle music-making has kept the same denseness and complexity of its earlier efforts. Performing the 2003 album Damnation in its entirety, Opeth has mastered a groove-based, moody type of hard rock that's often content to lope along through textured chord changes and instrumental breaks, with acoustic guitar at the forefront. The rest of the concert consists of a half-dozen older, more pummeling tunes that are more conceptually complex and impressive in their always-revealing soundscapes.

Also on the disc is an insightful one-hour-long documentary about the recording of both Damnation and its predecessor, Deliverance; the concert and documentary are shot in anamorphic widescreen, and the audio choices are Dolby Stereo, 5.1 Surround and DTS. --Kevin Filipski

Customer Reviews:

Live and Kicking Ass.......2007-04-10

This has got to be one of the best DVD's I've ever seen. Akerfelt and the group are in tip-top shape.I did want to hear stuff from "Still Life and My Arms.." but I can't have everything,the selection was good anyhow.

The atmosphere is dense with high expectations and Opeth delivered some of the best Prog Death metal ever. These guys are more than they are given credit. No band can even touch their abilities to rock.

This is too too bad that Opeth are not the same band as the drummer and the guitar player have left in 2007. Hope the new guys can fill their shoes!!

great performance.......2007-02-09

Opeth is one of the newer bands i started listening to. I wanted to start from the beginning, so bought their first album. I loved it and continued to buy their entire catalog. Then this DVD came out.

This disc is amazing. They had already proved themselves to me on CD, and i loved the fact that they didn't have a collection of a dozen or so 5 minute radio friendly songs on their albums. They had 10 to 15 minute epics! They aren't content to entertain with short little songs but to take you on an adventure.

So when this DVD came out, I was anxious to buy it and was not disappointed. The entire Damnation album is performed here along with a song called Harvest from an earlier album. There's a great 70's prog rock vibe to this whole thing that i just loved.

The second half of the show is all heavy stuff. Master's Apprentices is played so powerfully that you can't help but get into it. The only real problem i have with this DVD is that no older songs were played.

Many of the songs here are done very well. The Drapery Falls and The Leper Affinity are especially good. The best song here is A Fair Judgment, a great mix of quiet and forlorn music and vocals with heavy, bone crushing guitars and pounding drums. The end of this song is played slower than normal and always has me banging my head in slow motion, if that's possible. HAHA!

The documentary is a nice look behind the scenes and shows them in the studio doing their thing. The interviews are very striaghtforward, but sometimes hard to hear since the sound quality is not the greatest and some band members have accents, which makes it even harder. Too bad this wasn't close captioned. But all in all this is a great document of a very awesome band.

Not as heavy as you'd like, but still A-MAZ-ING.......2007-01-16

I'm gonna make this 1 brief: the making of doc was ok. the concert performance was amazing. like i said in the title, it's not nearly as heavy as most Opeth fans would like, but it is still a very moving performance. they performed most of DAMNATION and then went into the set of heavy tunes, ending with A FAIR JUDGEMENT, one of my all time fav Opeth tracks. Bottom line, if you or someone you know is even the slightest bit of an Opeth fan, BUY THIS NOW!!!

Opeth Live Video Recording! What could be better? Nothing........2007-01-04

Opeth are amazing live, and this DVD captures it. Who needs all of the other extras that are commonly packaged with the main product? Opeth fills the bill with their performance alone. The visual presentation along with the music is an experience not to be missed. That being said, the included documentary of the recording of the albums 'Deliverance' and 'Damnation' is quite entertaining as well. Especially when Steve Wilson comes to help Mikael Akerfeldt produce the albums.

I can say that after having seen so many other metal bands in concert, Opeth are by far one of the most talented bands you can see perform live. You don't need fire-bursts and cannons to energize you when the band takes the stage. Akerfeldt's voice is nearly as amazing live as it is on the studio albums, but with the added peculiarities and nuances of a live performance. This DVD is one you can sit down and watch, or put on in the background as you cook, clean, or entertain guests (supposing they like music based in metal and includes a variety of sounds and elements that are not generally considered "metal").

If you don't have this release and are an Opeth or a metal fan, you are missing out. Pick it up along with all of their studio albums. You (probably) won't be disappointed.

They couldn't have done any better than this dvd.......2006-06-22

When I first bought Lamentations I was getting into the music and buying Opeth's albums, then I found out that Andy Sneap mixed the audio (note that he also mixed Deliverance), I knew that this would be very special. I've been a fan of a lot of records that he's mixed. You name it: Arch Enemy, Nevermore, Exodus, Opeth, 36 Crazyfists, Skinlab, Machine Head, As I Lay Dying, Trivium, Killswitch Engage, Living Sacrifice, Caliban, etc. Then this dvd. It went way beyond my expectations. As I'm typing this, I'm also awaiting the release of Arch Enemy's new dvd Live Apocalypse, also mixed by Sneap. That is gonna kill.

So if you listen to Opeth, you must get Lamentations.

Average customer rating:

View the Masters at Work!

Lamentations: Live at Shep
Starring: Opeth
Manufacturer: Music for Nations
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Customer Reviews:

View the Masters at Work!.......2004-06-26

I bought this DVD over the net the other day. This is one of the rare kinda shows where the setlist is divided into a "clean sound" songs and a "heavy sound" songs. Opeth excel in both the departments. The song selection is very good. The first part is mainly from their last release "Damnation." The sound quality is very crisp and clear. Mike Akerfeld was at his usual best and the rest of the team were amazing. Mike is equally good and comfortable when he "sings" as he is with the "growl."

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