20.05.2025 Opeth

Graspop Metal Meeting

Dessel (Belgium)

After Jinjer, I made my way back toward the Main Stages in a relaxed fashion. But not to see Slipknot for the third time (even though they had just started their show as part of their 25th anniversary tour). Instead, I headed once again into the large Marquee tent. This was where the greatest champions of progressive metal, second only to Dream Theater, were about to take the stage: Opeth from Sweden had arrived.
It seems to be one of their favorite festivals, as this was no less than their seventh appearance at Graspop Metal Meeting. Founded back in 1990, the band can look back on a history of more than 35 years, during which an incredible fourteen albums were released (though to be fair, the early ones were still rooted in black metal). They opened with something new: “§1” and “§3” from their 2024 release "The Last Will And Testament". Even here, the sheer perfection with which Mikael Åkerfeldt and his bandmates Fredrik Åkesson on guitar, Martin Méndez on bass, Joakim Svalberg on keyboards, and Waltteri Väyrynen on drums, worked their way through the songs became immediately apparent. It was pure joy to watch them, and as is typical for Opeth shows, there wasn’t much movement on or in front of the stage. Much like at Dream Theater concerts, the audience listened in reverent silence. Unfortunately, Slipknot were playing loudly at the same time on the South Stage, prompting Åkerfeldt to dryly remark, “Is it Slipknot again?” (The speakers of the South Stage unfortunately point directly toward the Marquee tent, which stands right across from it.) But they simply ignored it, continued without batting an eye, and didn’t care in the slightest about whatever else was going on outside.
Aside from the new material, they focused mainly on older classics such as “In My Time of Need” from 2003’s "Damnation" and “Master’s Apprentice” from the 2002 album "Deliverance". The stage was bathed in fog and red, blue, and violet lights, while atmospheric video clips played on the screen behind them. It was an all-around fantastic show that, sadly, came to an end far too soon after just a little over an hour with “Deliverance”.
It has now been 13 years since I saw them live for the first and, until now, only time back then outdoors during the day at Wacken Open Air. But today’s performance in the tent in Belgium was far more impressive. What I simply don’t understand is how a band of this caliber, headlining the largest tent at Graspop, is only given a one-hour slot (though at least they cheekily went five minutes over). On top of that, they constantly had to compete with Slipknot’s overpoweringly loud show on the South Stage. You could tell the band wasn’t entirely happy with the circumstances. But their incredible precision and Åkerfeldt’s bone-dry humor in his short interludes (“I am of course the leader, the mastermind, the musical genius in the band!” he said with a slight grin) more than made up for it. Alongside Jinjer, this was my second highlight of the day. And even though it was a complete contrast to Jinjer’s show, the same holds true here: if Opeth are playing anywhere near you, you absolutely need to experience them live at least once.