Opeth, High On Fire, & Baroness at House of Blues!!!

    

Saturday night in the French Quarter, among the crowds that swagger
through the streets in a staggering haze, was a music line up of
some of today's most innovative and progressive metal bands. The
anticipation was thick inside the House Of Blues, where Stockholm's
own Opeth were to play to a near sold out crowd in New Orleans.
Opening that night's force of audio brutality, was Savannah Georgia's
founded band Baroness. In support of there 2007 release Red Album,
this group delivered a sharp set! This band blended the attitude and
artistic accents that forged a sound of heavy vocals, rhythmic
distortion and post punk melodies. The Audience received them
positively. They left us all craving more after they blazed through
their set in a hypnotic jam. I saw great things to come in this bands
future.

             

Next to storm the stage was Oakland California thrashers High On Fire.
This band has gained a fair amount of attention in the underground scene,
and they have frequented the New Orleans area in the last year. With
amps cranked, this band crashed the stage in a thunderous march. This
power trio consists of Matt Pike, from the doom group (Sleep) on guitars
& vocals, Des Kensel on drums, and Jeff Matz on Bass. In support of their
album Death Is This Communion, released 09/18/2008 on Relapse Records,
the band played fiercely and got the crowd into a frenzy as Matt screamed
"New Orleans is my favorite city!" The band's sound drew from their
influences such as Motorhead, Celtic Frost, and Slayer, and gave it their
own dose of volume induced terror. While using a 9-string guitar tuned
to drop c, the solos rounded out the crushing bass, reminiscent of Toni
Iommi and Jimi Hendrix. Matt was quoted as saying that Jazz influenced him
to improvise his solo's. The band was all in unison when hammering out each
riff & scream.

           

Next, the back drop for Opeth presented itself on the stage. The roar of the
crowd was immense and I knew that the energy was about to be raised even
higher.  Members Mikael Akerfeldt (guitars, vocals) Martin Mendez (Bass), Per
Wiberg (keyboards), Martin Axenrot (Drums) and Fredrik Akesson (Guitars)
walked out on to the House of Blues stage to their signature intro blaring
through the P.A. Each member was decked out in the new tour t-shirts. Opeth
opened the set with the track Heir Apparent, the epic song from there new
album Watershed. Opeth's approach to music is refreshing, mystic and rebellious
against critics' attempts to define them. This is not your average
Death/Black/Prog or thrash band! While Opeth encompasses all of these styles in
one shape or another, the overall achievement made by this band is a collective
landscape of sounds that could range from 1970's rock, to Psychedelic 60's, to
the first wave of black metal. Compositions orchestrated over the power of double
bass beats, such as those by Norweigan legends Darkthrone, are prime examples.

Opeth's charisma also plays a vital role in their stage show. They are true masters
of their craft and never gave less than 100% from the start of the show until the
finish; head banging, moving about the stage, and briefly smiling as drummer Martin
would nail every time signature change to sheer perfection. Opeth's set showcased
their catalog of heavy melodic masterpieces such as The Grand Conjuration, (from the
2005 album Ghost Reveries) and other eerie classics such as Demon of the Fall and
Hope Leaves (from the folk influenced Damnation, released 2003).

Mikael's crowd conversations were another highlight of the evening. He has a very
polite tone and can get a roar from a thousand people by asking quietly. He said
that Opeth loved NOLA, and they would have to come back. We also found out the boys
had the next day off and were planning to visit some bars in the French Quarter.
The set ended with an encore, The Drapery Falls, from the Blackwater Park album.
I had been waiting to see Opeth for years. And whether it was their first or 20th
time, it seemed as though all were mesmerized. While the guys did not even seem
to break a sweat the entire night, they were giving many metal bands a run for
there money. As the sounds from the Marshall amps faded into the night, we wondered
how much partying would be had by the band on Decatur.

For more information on these bands please see the links below:

myspace.com/yourbaroness

myspace.com/highonfireslays

www.highonfire.net

myspace.com/opeth

www.opeth.com

Article by: Ryan McKern

myspace. com/ryan_mckern

Photographs by: Vera Ellen

myspace.com/veraellen1