Opeth
Live @ Alcatraz, Milano 24.11.11

On November 24, 2011, the Heritage Tour of Opeth lands in Milan. The Swedes are accompanied by Pain of Salvation in an evening that promises to be exceptional.

After an afternoon of rehearsals with my shabby band, I take the subway and head to the other side of the city.

Once I arrive at Alcatraz, I find myself in a huge queue in front of the entrance, giving me the chance to finish my sumptuous dinner (kebab… yum).

Finally, at 7:45 PM, I enter the venue, spacious but already almost entirely occupied. Almost everyone is there for Opeth, anxious to discover what has changed with the arrival of the new sound of Heritage.

In less than ten minutes, the lights dim, and to the notes of the "Road Salt Theme", Daniel Gildenlöw's band enters in dribs and drabs. The latter wastes no time and after a brief and cordial greeting, kicks off the show.

As expected, almost all the pieces on the setlist come from the Road Salt albums, with the sole exception of the great classic "Ashes".

PoS are definitely wild, equipped with an incredible energy unfortunately not reciprocated by the audience, probably prepared for the calmer and more composed Opethian progressive mood.

Only later will the spectators let themselves go, overwhelmed by the frontman's charisma: Daniel entertains and has fun (priceless the scene during the song "1979" where he asks "Do you remember?" and from the crowd comes a loud "YES, I DO!", causing general hilarity and drawing a amused smile from the band members), and he has an exceptional team supporting him in the task.

However, while watching Johan shake his imposing dreadlocks and Fredrik accompanying the performance with his soft keyboards, my mind goes back to the announcement of their departure following the end of the tour, and I sadly wonder what the future holds for this band that has been through so much in the last year.

Halfway through the setlist, Daniel shows two t-shirts: the first in support of the anti-piracy cause, the second part of the merchandise featuring the cover of Road Salt II ("The ugliest thing I've ever seen", jokes the singer).

The band frequently changes instruments during the performance, especially Daniel who alternately wields big guitars and Ovation acoustics.
At the end of their brief but intense performance, the applause from the crowd is warm and sincere, and Pain of Salvation leave the stage confident of having given their best for this evening.

After a meticulous change of scenery, the lights dim again and the crowd goes wild. Here they are, Opeth, accompanied by the song "Through Pain to Heaven" by Popol Vuh: the Swedes start off strong with "The Devil’s Orchard", simply blowing away the audience (including the giant in front of me who contorted in a way that prevented me from watching the show...).

The setlist is quite unusual for them: there is no trace of death metal, completely set aside in favor of clean and progressive tracks from the old works, a fitting accompaniment to the Heritage atmospheres.

As usual, the scene is stolen by showman Mikael Åkerfeldt who offers hilariously cabaret-like snippets (from his renewed passion for the discography of the "big boss" Eros Ramazzotti to teasing aimed at the rotundity of good Martin Mendez).

The evening continues with "I Feel The Dark", the beautiful "Face of Melinda", a heart-pounding drum solo by Martin "Legolas" Axenrot during "Porcelain Heart", and the jazzy "Nepenthe".

Then two chairs are brought on stage ("Old men must take a sit", says Mike) and a very beautiful and evocative acoustic set begins that placates the most convinced "metal heads" with the trio "The Throat of Winter", "Credence", and "Closure". Once again, the frontman doesn’t miss the chance to make us laugh by strumming a pop tune together with Fredrik Akesson.

Having picked up the electric guitars again, Mikael mentions some of the band's influences: among them stands out particularly the late great Ronnie James Dio, to whom the band dedicates the frenetic "Slither" (needless to say, the crowd was damn excited at this point).

"A Fair Judgment" (a track that shows a remarkable resemblance to "Sleep of No Dreaming" by Porcupine Tree) and "Hex Omega" close the cycle of the old repertoire. Our guys leave the stage for just a few seconds.

Once back on stage, Mikael thanks us for coming to the concert and hopes to see us again in 2012, then introduces the band members in his usual playful manner. There are some little treats: Akesson delights us with some neo-classical licks like a true guitar hero, while the newcomer Joakim Svalberg tries his hand at some beautiful melodies with mellotron and keyboards.

They close with "Folklore". Our guys bow before a cheering audience, and the evening is over.

Don't be intimidated by the dissatisfied: the choice to do a concert without growl may not be to everyone’s liking, but you can't say that without it these Swedes lose depth, quite the opposite! Opeth have found a new, sophisticated direction to follow without however distorting their true nature.

I leave Alcatraz with my legs weak from the cold, from over two hours spent standing, and of course from the emotion of having seen a show of such scope. An experience I will surely repeat next year!