It’s been an afternoon gilded by sunlight and we’re at the Piece Hall – a magnificent Grade I listed building in Halifax that’s more like a Roman forum than your average Carling/02 sponsored concert hall. The surrounding streets have been awash with gig goers for the past few hours, and beneath the historic looking colonnades, a palpable sense of excitement has filled the air as fans gather in the sun-drenched courtyard.
This is Opeth’s only UK show of the year and whilst there was a run of dates in early 2025 as part of The Last Will and Testament tour, excitement is still running high off the back of another fabulous record so this should be an absolute sell-out. With the brilliant blue sky, green hills, and the venue’s soaring church steeple in the background, it appears to be the perfect setting to complement the artistry that tonight’s bands strive for – in what is a stacked lineup of highly influential acts across progressive metal and gothic rock.
Katatonia are up first – continuing their long relationship with tonight’s headliners. Singer and founding member Jonas Renske’s voice is immediately clear and crisp, as they lead off with track ‘Thrice’ from latest album ‘Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State’. “Let go of the final shackles!”, he somberly repeats as the song reaches its conclusion. I can see some fans singing along but in truth half of the crowd are yet to get inside – and are still queuing as gates have only been open for the past twenty minutes.
His passionate and dusky delivery continues as they plunge into more progressive terrain – including ‘Dead Letters’ and ‘Old Heart Falls’ – Renske himself referring to the latter as a “prog metal anthem”. It’s atmospheric and lulling with shimmering, melodic guitars that beautifully navigate the fragile dichotomy between darkness and light. Their style-shift over the years has followed a similar trajectory to Opeth’s (arguably Paradise Lost’s as well), moving away from heavier, growling doom metal to softer, more melodic exploratory rock. They’ve not played anything that’s earlier than 2006 this evening, and as a result it’s been a slightly more tranquil set overall. Gloom and lethargy have always been large parts of Katatonia’s sound, and their choice of songs has suited the languid summer evening thus far.
It’s been almost 40 minutes and to their credit it’s felt much shorter than that as Renske dedicates set closer ‘My Twin’ to his “fellow satanist”, Nick Holmes from Paradise Lost. “I’ve forgotten the lyrics” he quips – a flippant comment to reflect his love/hate relationship with their most ‘commercial’ hit. The crowd has grown much more by now, and widespread singing and clapping along helps draw the set to a successful close.
PARADISE LOST
Hailing from nearby Bradford, Paradise Lost hit the stage to nigh-on a hero’s welcome. ‘Serpent on the Cross’ from 2025’s ‘Ascension’ gets things going and it’s immediately commanding, pacier, and more riff-based material than we’ve had to this point – along with growls! It’s also a great advert for the new album. Next up is ‘One Second’ – from 1996’s album of the same name – and it’s a classic example of their brand of gothic rock, befitting the stunning gothic spire positioned behind them.
In his trademark black shades, singer Nick Holmes possesses an effortlessness on stage that Renske didn’t quite seem to have earlier. He’s very much on home territory however, joking about changes to the local swimming baths and declaring that “Halifax is now called Lloyds” – a joke that might not travel well around the world (and they are filming this set) but has the crowd here in stitches.
The band proceed to take us on a journey through their fabulous eclectic history. There’s ‘The Last Time’ and ‘Hallowed Land’ from 1995’s ‘Draconian Times’, the even earlier hit ‘As I Die’ with Nick explaining they wrote it in nearby Dean Clough when they had “better hair and asses”, and a rapturous version of ‘Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us’ which has become a powerhouse set staple. Bassist Steve Edmondson largely paces forwards and back on stage, and each time I spot guitarist Aaron Aedy, he’s always smiling and playing up to specific parts of the crowd. Lead guitarist and composer-in-chief Gregor Mackintosh seems to be in another world; lost in the music, and throwing his body into each of his lurching riffs.
Later on they include their cover of Bronski Beat’s ‘Small Town Boy’ – replacing 1980s synthesizers with heavy, down-tuned guitars and Nick’s deep, dramatic vocals. Jimmy Somerville he isn’t – but the set has given him ample opportunity to display his full range of vocal talents – from brooding, barked growls to mournful serenades. He even occasionally demonstrates a more classic-metal singing voice that ever-so-slightly reminds me of Judas Priest’s Rob Halford. Waltteri Väyrynen from Opeth comes out to replace Jeff Singer on drums for 2020’s ‘Ghosts’, and then they finish with ‘Silence Like The Grave’ – another stellar track from the new album. It’s a bold move given they’ve left out fan-favourite ‘Say Just Words’, but it’s still a winning one as the song goes down brilliantly with the crowd, and they leave to a heroes’ farewell just like their entrance.
OPETH
The stage is set for the main event with a video backdrop depicting an antique living-room scene from new (concept) album ‘The Last Will and Testament’. A framed portrait, presumably of the recently deceased ‘Patriarch’ character looms large, and there are additional hanging projector panels displaying ancient windows that help bring the old mansion to life, adding to the spooky ambience. Every now and again a curtain blows and it feels like we’re in a queue for the haunted house at a theme park rather than a metal concert. Did that picture just wink at me?
The band enter and get things underway with §1 (“paragraph 1”). As well as plugging the new album, it’s a terrific set opener with a methodical, pounding rhythm that builds momentum within the arena as well as the song itself. ‘Heart in Hand’ is up next – or rather ‘Hjärtat vet vad handen gör’ – as they’re playing the Swedish version. It’s initial muscular, chugging guitar parts propel the energy within the audience still further. It’s not raucous by any means, and I can’t see any mosh pits, but the crowd are obviously enthralled and audibly appreciative. Opeth are the thinking metalhead’s band after all! The song’s later flamenco-influenced acoustic guitar passage is intricately picked by Mikael Akerfelt, providing a striking and magical contrast to the earlier heavy rock beginnings.
On stage the band have set Walt’s drums slightly to the right at the back, with Joakim Svalberg on keys opposite him on the left. Bassist Martín Méndez and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson stand just outside and ahead of each of them. It’s created a semi-circular campfire-like arrangement – with Åkerfeldt the flame burning brightly in the middle – and of course sporting his customary black fedora. ‘Godhead’s Lament’ follows and the MAGA movement (Make Åkerfeldt Growl Again) will surely be pleased – with wicked guttural roars underpinning the early parts of the song that give way to soaring clean vocals later on. Once complete, it’s now his first opportunity to flaunt his signature mid-set wit and charisma, teasing, “I was told by the boss you’re going to chant “Yorkshire!” but it will sound like “You’re shit!” – unless that’s what you really are saying!” Indeed, it is actually ‘Yorkshire Day’ today and the crowd respond in kind; he has them in the palm of his hand already.
With such a vast discography of seminal releases and a wealth of rich and enduring material to draw from, it’s no surprise that the classics are coming thick and fast now. The vintage 70’s-esque ‘The Devil’s Orchard’ is accompanied by trippy visuals of hands-with-eyes like a psychedelic version of The Wicker Man and perfectly suiting the dark aesthetic of the song. As last line “God is Dead” echoes through the air, I notice that the sunlight has gone and darkness has dropped almost on cue; did they actually time that to the very line!? ‘Windowpane’ follows with green and blue visuals matching the soft delicate beauty of the song, and then we reach a point that seemingly a large portion of the crowd have been waiting for; ‘The Grand Conjuration’. They’ve been invested all night of course but suddenly small dance circles spring up all around – like individual forms of artistic expression. The music is channelling through each of them and it’s like we’re at a mass prog retreat! It’s an epic of a song with haunting troughs and ecstatic peaks that still manage to maintain an overall forward momentum across its 10+ minute lifecycle.
Like a massive lava lamp, orange shapes shift and burst across the screen during ‘Hex Omega’ – closing track from the ‘Watershed’ record – written to provide a crushing, emotional finale to the album’s story. It has a similar impact here as it becomes clear we are drawing towards the end. After a very quick dash off stage before the encore, Åkerfeldt explains they wanted “to play the rock star game longer” but that they are on a tight schedule and so it’s straight into ‘Deliverance’ to close the night. It’s a perfect example of their style and art form; incorporating thunderous death metal intensity, tender acoustic grace, and complex, technical arrangements. When people ask you to define “progressive metal” there can surely be no better example than this. As with any definition of “progress”, it goes further and it does more. The song, the set, and the entire show have more than exceeded expectations tonight.
Set list
1. §1
2. Hjärtat vet vad handen gör
3. Godhead’s Lament
4. §7
5. The Devil’s Orchard
6. Windowpane
7. The Grand Conjuration
8. The Drapery Falls
9. Hex Omega
10. Deliverance (encore)
Review by Dave Yarwood,
Photos by Rob Lindesay @rock.the.lens
