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Rating: I don't betray my "metal" origins and respond with a yes! to the proposal made some time ago by Inghe: I arm myself with a ticket and together with my brave De-Friend I head towards the city that once belonged to many "rascals" to attend the concert of the band that at the moment, and I got confirmation, easily sweeps away death-metal-progressive competition. There's no need to introduce Opeth as most will already know them or at least will have read their name on some "heavy" magazine worth respecting. Upon arriving in the city, I immediately try to reach the Flog, which despite being the place I frequented and felt most familiar with for years, always seems to relocate itself: I think it's time to start taking those memory pills! Let me go back: two friends join us at the Lavoria exit on the Fi-Pi-Li, one of whom is a great connoisseur of past and present "growl" music scene and a die-hard drummer, and thus it's an understanding at "first glance".
The Flog is immediately packed at the entrance, which starts to worry me: metal concert + metal people + crowd =?... the answer is yours. Semi-frozen from the almost glacial temperature, we slip into the pizzeria next to the auditorium and enjoy a nice pizza: the crowd has now reached its maximum level and while it starts to rain, the first chants rise: OPETH! OPETH! OPETH!. We are outside, a quick smoke and off we go.... we are already inside again, but this time within the Flog with ears already bleeding from the sound of Burst, the support band that produces an incredible sound but an (voice?) almost unbearable voice. Nonetheless, they manage to warm up the atmosphere, and after about 15 minutes, Inghe joins us in post-parent-teacher meeting conditions, and then they enter. All attention is on Mikael Akerfeldt guitar and voice as well as the mind of the group who, wrapped in total darkness, raises his hand and shows the symbol of eternal faith to metal. It kicks off with "Drapery Falls" from "Blackwater Park" and it's immediate delirium: the band unleashes a cold, grim sound, and his voice is diabolic, terrifying, all with minimal effort and chilling ease. You can immediately understand these guys mean business and we're facing people with real skills, but I expected that. Follows "Ghost Of Perdition" from the latest masterpiece "Ghost Reveries" and my expectations turn into certainties: they are truly great! The front-man's eerie ability to move between diabolical growl and pure melody moments where the voice becomes so clear almost feels like a joke. The rest of the band performs perfectly all the tempo changes, stops, and even in the most intense moments manage to maintain an extraordinary composure. The concert proceeds and swings between moments of total darkness and more amusing ones, like when towards the end of "Hope Leaves" (not entirely sure it was that one) the power goes out and all amplification!! Akerfeldt also proves to be a good entertainer despite his somewhat intimidating figure: he talks, jokes and offers riddles to the audience. With Inghe now half-asleep together with Opeth, we head towards the end of the concert, occupied by the duo "Damnation" - "Deliverance", namely the contradiction in terms: calm - anger. The concert ends but the Swedes give us an encore: "Deliverance" even heavier and more diabolical.
With swollen and aching ears, we bid farewell to Inghe and the others, get in the car, and in the meantime, it has started to rain.
The next morning I wake up and I am happy.
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