Opeth @ SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow (31st October 2019)

with: The Vintage Caravan

Hosted by: Triple G Music

Words / Images:

Ross Donald

It was Halloween night in Glasgow, and instead of undertaking my usual tradition of binge watching some of my favourite horror movies, I decided to spend £30 to see Opeth, a band I’ve wanted to see for quite a while now. I did have a chance to see them at Download earlier in the year but clashes with other bands stopped that from happening. Plus, I didn’t really want to hear them play around 3 songs on a half hour set, so I’m glad I waited for a proper performance from them. The SWG3 has been a solid choice for gigs before, but would it work on this night?

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Up first though, the support band for the evening were Icelandic rockers The Vintage Caravan. They weren’t a band I was familiar with, and while I could have checked them out months before the gig, I decided to keep it as a surprise for myself. While I’m glad I did that as it was a nice surprise, I kind of wish I’d gotten to know some of the tracks a bit better as it would have really enhanced the experience. I’ve been to a lot of gigs this year, but I don’t think any of the other more ‘unknown’ support bands I’ve seen have been quite as good as these guys. 

Like most support bands, they started off with a smaller audience, but more people gathered around as the set went on and the applause and cheers only became louder and louder, all for good reason. It’s hard to describe their music exactly, but it was almost like a mix of classic rock and modern alternative rock. It reminded me of a time missed quite dearly in rock music when you could have a bit of fun while shredding some riffs. All without sounding like they’re ripping off the classics (looking at you, Greta Van Fleet)... 

The song choices here were great, as there were so many toe-tapping jams with many guitar solos (and even some bass ones too). While The Vintage Caravan were on for around 45 minutes, it never felt like a drag at all. Since the gig, I’ve gone on to check out their latest album, Gateways, and it’s very good. Definitely a band worth checking out and I would recommend seeing them live if you can. If you like a bit of lovely rock ‘n’ roll, then you’ll have a good time here.

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After a bit of a break, it was time for the main event and from the get go, Opeth definitely did not disappoint. First off, the stage setup was gorgeous. They had a giant screen set up behind them for unique videos during each song. Lighting effects surrounded the stage as well, which did remind me a little of Electric Wizard’s set in the same venue earlier in the year (only with a lot less naked women and sacrificial murder...). 

The set was introduced with ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ from the new album In Cauda Venenum to set the mood and build anticipation. The band then entered the stage (with frontman Mikael Akerfeldt wearing a particularly nice hat) and blasted us with ‘Dignity’- one of the heavier cuts from the new record. After that great opener, the crowd barely had a chance to breathe before the band blasted right into ‘The Leper Affinity’ from the much loved 2001 album Blackwater Park. This prompted quite the crowd reaction. 

And unfortunately, this was where my only real issue with the gig came from as well... The volume from the lead mic wasn’t the best. Whenever the music was a bit heavier, it became it a bit difficult to really hear Mikael. This was a shame when he went into his signature and sorely missed death metal vocals and you could tell that he’s still fantastic, but a little more volume would have went a long way. Of course the song was brilliant though and led nicely into the lead single from the new album ‘Heart in Hand’, which is probably the best song on that record and it also sounded lovely in a live capacity. 

It was after this track that Mikael took to talking with the audience (something which he would continue to do throughout the night), and this led to some nice comedic moments as he took the piss out of drunken fan shoutouts and announced his distaste for deep fried Mars bars. I do think the talking segments did go on a bit long though, as the band came dangerously close to breaking curfew by the end. After this segment we were thankfully treated to another heavier track with ‘Reveries/Harlequin Forest’. While I do enjoy the softer tracks a lot, the heavier ones just show the band at their absolute best and I only wish there were more of them. 

Next up was ‘Nepanthe’, from the band's 2011 album Heritage. While I’m not the biggest fan of this song as it’s just a little too soft for my liking, the live experience definitely enhanced the track in my opinion as the instrumentals were visualised as the stars here and I almost felt mesmerised watching. 2014's 'Moon Above, Sun Below’ didn’t fare quite as well. While the song itself did sound pretty decent, it goes on way too long at around 10 minutes, and isn’t their best track overall. Quite rare to say that about a long Opeth track, but there we are. Thankfully, the set picked up again with ‘Hope Leaves’ from 2003's excellent Damnation (an album which is just full of their best softer songs). Another fine moment here. 

At this point, it had felt like a while since we had heard something heavy, but that was soon rectified with the rack from 2008's Watershed, ‘The Lotus Eater’. This received a massive roar of approval from the crowd and the circle pits really got going. There was even some crowd surfing which started during this song. Next up was ‘All Things Will Pass’, the final track played from the new album. As one of the better tracks on the album, the final 3 minutes or so in particular were particularly memorable live. And with that, the set seemingly ended. Of course only for the band to come back for the encore pretty quickly as the curfew quickly approached. 

Thankfully the band brought out 2016's self-titled track‘Sorceress’, which is one of my personal favourite tracks by the band. Bringing out some chunk riffs, the crowd came unglued once again with more circle pits and crowd surfing. Ending the set after this then, was the epic final track, 'Deliverance' (from the identically titled 2002 album). I’m sure the song had to be cut short due to the curfew though, as there were only about 10 minutes left to go while this is a near 14 minute track. I didn’t catch the whole song though as I left a little early to grab a cab before it became too busy, so I can't say for certain on that note. But from what I heard of the song though, it did sound as great as the rest of the set already was.

Overall, I had a blast at this show due to the awesome support band in The Vintage Caravan, and of course, Opeth bringing the goods as the headliner. In saying that, there were issues with the sound overall, and I think the set could have used one or two heavier tracks to balance out the tracklist. Hell, on the gig before this one, the band played ‘The Moor’ to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Still Life... I, alongside the crowd around me were begging for the band to play something from this album, and I think the track could have replaced ‘Moon Above, Sun Below’ to make the set pretty close to perfect. 

With all of that in mind though, Opeth are still one of the best live bands out there and the performance of this show certainly proved it for the most part.

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Thanks to Ross for this review of Opeth at the SWG3, and thanks to you for reading! Feel free to leave a comment below or help support RWEI by giving us a like/follow on the socials (if you would like). As always, we're open to submissions and contributions as well if you would like to get in touch. 

Cheers!