IN LIVE CONCERT AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

Coming up to their 20th anniversary of forming Opeth understandably wanted to celebrate the occasion. What had initially been going to be an evening in the pub gravitated into something much more spectacular. Quite how they got from an evening in the pub to a gig at the Royal Albert Hall I'm not sure but here it is in all its glory for your viewing pleasure.

I have the 2 DVD/3 Cd version here which is nicely packaged in a mock Deep Purple Concerto For Group And Orchestra style cover. Even the discs have been designed to look like a mock Harvest (Deep Purple's record label) design. The Cd's are just an audio only replica of the DVD's by the way so only you can decide if it's worth the additional expense. I'm sure anyone reading this already knows what Opeth's prog metal sounds like so I won't go into details on that. If you don't I suggest you read some album reviews here on PA. What I will say is that this is a fantastic performance, the best of the 3 DVD's they've released so far which is beautifully filmed with high quality definition with a sound to match. Apart from almost 3 hours of the live concert an interview with Mikael Åkerfeldt is also included as well as a documentary of life on the road. The latter is your typical road documentary that's been done numerous times before by numerous bands and is the kind of thing you watch once and then never again. More interesting is the interview, which while once again is not the stuff of repeated viewings does offer some interesting insight into the band from a set of questions posed by fans.

Onto the important part, the music. It will be no surprise to fans of the band that Opeth opted to play the whole of their acclaimed Blackwater Park album for the occasion, a record considered by many to be their very best. This takes up the first DVD and they turn in fantastic versions of all with the title track being a particular highpoint. After this the band took a break and the second DVD comprises of the rest of the show which gives us a chronological history of Opeth's albums where they play one track from each beginning with Forest Of October from Orchid through to The Lotus Eater from 2008's Watershed. All are pulled off in fine style but having a preference for the later more prog orientated stuff over the early death metal, I enjoyed the Still Life (excellent version of best track The Moor here) onwards material the most.

Overall then an excellent concert that I'm sure will be regarded as a milestone in Opeth's career being at such a prestigious venue. Fortunately they turned in a performance in keeping with the magnificent surroundings and these DVD's are sure to be enjoyed by all lovers of the band. Essential viewing for Opeth fans.