This seems like an unlikely thing to say, but it’s a good time right now for progressive-death metal.
The genre is flourishing. New artists are emerging that are not afraid to experiment and innovate. Locally the scene is nourished by labels like The Birds Robe Collective who are touring the gig’s opening act sleepmakeswaves.
Click here for photos from the show.
But before all that genre expanding, boundary pushing, complex innovation was Swedish progressive death metal rockers Opeth, who played The Enmore Theatre on Sunday (3 May).
sleepmakeswaves captured the mood perfectly with their fiery, melodic, post-rock prog feels. Playing tracks from their new album, 'Love Of Cartography, they created a dreamy, frenzied energy for what was to come, as well as giving a potent, stand-alone performance.
sleepmakeswaves - Image © Kim Rudner
The gig saw Opeth perform songs spanning their expansive, 11-album discography, as well as showcasing tracks from their latest studio album, 'Pale Communion', which combines elements of doom metal, folk and lashings of '70s, prog rock.
The Opeth sound is at times serene and ambient, but with a depth and sinister edge intensified by frantic moments of ghost notes and abstract drumming. The band deftly wove an intricate, sonic web that was eerie and oppressive while also richly melodic.
Opeth - Image © Kim Rudner
The complexity of their music was coupled with their fusion of genres: folk, death metal, black metal, jazz, doom metal and symphonic classical. Their signature, prog-death metal seamlessly transitioned to lush, warm, acoustic passages and progressive rock reminiscent of another time.
Opeth - Image © Kim Rudner
Sunday’s gig showed that sleepmakeswaves are definitely a band carving a distinct impression on the heavy prog rock landscape. It reinforced that Opeth have been traversing genres for the last 25 years, and have managed to create a sonic landscape that embodies a progressive musical vision that is uniquely their own.
Click here for photos from the show.
