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Opeth - The Roundhouse Tapes CD (album) cover

THE ROUNDHOUSE TAPES

Opeth

 

Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

4.10 | 224 ratings

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Prog Leviathan
Prog Reviewer
2 stars While on paper this live offering by Opeth feels like an obvious success, the end result is actually a little sketchy. Either Opeth's gigantic and intricate metal doesn't translate very well into a live setting, or Roundhouse Tapes misses the mark in presenting it, because for each compelling moment of raw, dark, soul-crushing power comes just as many ten minute stretches of blandness.

The album opens with a classy and mysterious vibe, exploding with the older song "When" followed up the by the excellent "Ghost of Perdition". The performance of "Ghost" is easily my highpoint of this album, being one of my favorite Opeth songs. The rest of the setlist is very hit and miss, since the band emphasizes tracks from throughout their career. Songs from the group's early three albums pale in comparison to their newer work, so most everything that follows "Ghost" falls flat. Although, even "Bleak", and "Blackwater Park" don't muster up any live magic either.

I didn't find anything here that I couldn't find on a studio release-- in fact, I think the energy, playing, and intensity is stronger in them than on this live album... so what's the point? Sure we can snicker along to Akerfeldt's dry humor, but beyond that there isn't anything new brought to the plate; these songs are played straight-faced, with none of the nuance or ephemerality that makes a great live perfromance. On top of that, the audience is annoying (you can actually here some of them carrying out conversations during the quite moments of "Windowpane" and "Silent Water").

Here's to waiting for a live Opeth release which doesn't fall short of presenting this excellent band.

Setlist 2 Instrumental Performances 4 Stage Energy 3 Live Experience 2

Prog Leviathan | 2/5 |

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