OPETH honor us with their presence? There is no stopping then! All the stops get pulled out to log in on one of just two shows in Germany. No sooner said than done. I decided for Cologne, because you can call it just around the corner, more or less, Berlin was off the beaten track. Getting to Cologne was unlike harder. Because all paths are lead over the highway 1 and it has chosen to rain. Great! Although headed out very early a fucking traffic ruined my entire time schedule. I actually had planned to hook up with two another NH mates for chat and diner prior the show. No way. Ok, I got in on the last second, sort of, had first to discuss that photo pass thingy and directly jumped into the photo-pit…

:: pics ::

…where :: AMPLIFIER :: was on the verge to kick off their show warming up the expectant crowd. I never have heard of this Manchester trio before, but with Opeth on stage you can be sure that they always share the bill with an excellent opener. In support of their just released sophomore Insider (their first full-length actually) these cats offered an interesting mix of prog rock with a quite earthy note that brought Tool and Cave In to mind. Of course AMPLIFIER neither reaches the first nor the latter one. For that they are much too catchy. But technically they are as good as the headliner and added by a proper dash of groove live on stage. Well, well done but I missed something special, you know, je ne sais quoi. As for me, AMPLIFIER could not convince me entirely but as for the crowd it seemed to be pleased and released the band from the stage after hardly an half hour with a good response.

After a short break myself I quickly got near to the photo-pit again. With the show beginning I would not have had any chance to get through the crowd. Though, it was not sold out. However, perfect place to finally meet up with the NH mates Reverend and Moonchild who were around with a friend from Switzerland (yes, this guy really made it to Cologne to see OPETH there!). At this chance lovely Rev just flung his arms around me unconsciously. Did not know that I have such an impact on men… *lol* Ok, it was due to the bad air. Erm… what air actually?

Ok, let’s go on with our most favorite prog death metaller :: OPETH :: who warmed up themselves with the 11 minutes running Ghost Of Perdition from current album Ghost Reveries. Right after surprisingly a classic followed with When from 98 album My Arms, Your Hearse. As you can imagine, the crowd freaked out, there was no stopping them. Just great! Another surprise was that mastermind Michael Åkerfeldt emerged as a real entertainer and joker. I had a good laugh. Too bad I could not keep all of his gags in mind and repeat them. Just let me mention quotes such as: “I love tits” and “I’m Mikael Schenker…” ;)
Except of the first both albums a song from every other one was performed, what caused many comforting shivers. Just brilliant. Fans gave everything and so many people bumped lurching into me, sweaty and with a naked upper part heading to the bar for water balance. Visually there was not that much to see on stage. Skinman Martin „Ax“ Axenrot and key wiz Per Wiberg almost completely disappeared behind their instruments on a higher level, while the string section was in fact bodily to locate but wrapped in a dense smoke. Well, the music is that count, doesn’t it? And as its known in this matter OPETH are beyond of everything. I think, about technical skills and its effects we do not need to discuss. Every OPETH show is unique and always brilliant. Same for the set list, although regret was huge when OPETH got into their last song with Blackwater Park, despite of an already opulent playing time. Of course, the band was called back for an encore, one song, but I’m not alone saying that they could have started right from the beginning too ;) Attention: highest danger of addiction!!!
Setlist: Ghost Of Perdition, When, Bleak, Face Of Melinda, The Night And The Silent Water, The Grand Conjuration, Windowpane, Blackwater Park // Deliverance

So a great OPETH show finished a quite early evening with a weird support band and a stupid music hall (why they do not finally build up a proper aeration system???). Making up for the missed talks and discussions on the parking site we soon started to freeze and it was time to get the Swiss friend to the main station, since he had to be on time at his university next morning. As for me a morning shift was waiting, getting me up at 4.40am. Time to get back on the highway, where the moon was shining on me way home and *hinting at the addiction* OPETH’s Blackwater Park was rotating in my CD player…

story & pics © Dajana