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Opeth - Lamentations (Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003)

Opeth - Lamentations (Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003)

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Opeth : "Lamentations" - Beauty And The Beast
Review: Words can't actually describe how wonderful this DVD is. "Lamentations" is what Opeth is all about. This has two seperate live sets that I like to call "Beauty And The Beast". The opening set is beauty beyond words, and the second set is a brutal onslaught of pure power. I only wish I could have been there in person. This has got to be one of the best concert DVD's around....

I am a huge fan of their most recent release "Damnation", and they play the entire CD here. They also have excellent bonus footage behind the making of "Damnation". I simply love this DVD. The guys are very up front, and it's very interesting to listen to these guys talk about how they began, and how far they've come. This is a true masterpiece of music all the way through, and if you've never seen Opeth live, you're in for a huge uplifting experience.....

If you don't have Opeth's "Damnation" CD, I highly suggest you listen to it prior to watching them play it live. They are near flawless, and it is one stirringly beautiful performance....

This is a masterpiece. Nothing more needs to be said....

OPETH RULES!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lovely Live Show
Review: This DVD combines high production quality* with a stellar performance by one of the most interesting and compelling bands playing in the metal/progressive/difficult-to-categorize vein. Let me begin with a bit of advice: if you have the technology to do so, record the audio from the DVD to CD or into mp3's. Lamentations is now a fixture in my iPod rotation, and listening to Opeth's live playing in headphones as I am walking or falling asleep is sublime. (Hate to moralize here, but how about not sharing those files with people who haven't bought the DVD? Instead, encourage people to support this tremendous and talented band.)

The tour that included Shepherd's Bush Empire emphasized their last two discs, Damnation and Deliverance. Indeed, here they play Damnation in its entirety, thereby showcasing their introspective, melodic, slow-groove talents. To be sure, the nearly hour-long second set of frenetic heavy songs (including Blackwater Park's "Drapery Falls" and "Leper Affinity") reminds you of who Opeth is, but - if you didn't much like Damnation - you will probably not feel like you are getting your money's worth.

One of the ironies of Opeth is that, on the one hand they can produce the blissful brutality of "Deliverance," while on the other the banter between songs is modest and laconic. Another is that they never appear to be reaching or striving for their music; it is somehow at their fingertips, well within a gentle grasp. Opeth's playing here is so astonishingly relaxed and precise that mistakes leave you snapping back to attention and wondering whether it mightn't actually have been intentional. Akerfeldt's singing is lovely and clear (or impressively guttural and menacing on the heavy tracks), and the guitars weave delicate textures. One of the treats of a DVD is seeing who plays the various parts in a song, and making sense of Opeth's division of guitar labor is suitably entertaining. Lopez's drumming is, in my view, the high point. He is a metronome even as he plays groove, and his fills are extremely tasteful. It is a shame that we don't get more camerawork on his feet.

From the long, otherworldy, and almost 70's jam to close "Closure" to the avalanche of sound that starts "Leper Affinity" to the immaculate rendition of "Windowpane," Opeth's Lamentations is a dreamy window into a live sound that exceeds any studio prowess.

* The only downside of the impeccable recording is that you hear the annoying and childish calls of the concert fans (there is an especially egregious screech right as the vocals begin in "Hope Leaves").

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Superb!
Review: Amazing. Brings the true concert experience. Great songs throughout the DVD. Opeth; as always amazing. Not very good filming though, mainly focuses on Mikael Akerfeldt and rarely on the crowd. They should have split the heavy and the soft concert footage. Our acoustic show in Minneapolis was a lot better and more personal than this DVD. But amazing overall. Thanks OPETH!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: awesome
Review: i love this dvd, i own tons of concert DVDs, this is one of my favorites. the newer stuff (first set) is slow and not heavy at all, but the second set is from the early albums its its death metal at its finest. my only complaint: i bought it in ireland (i live in the US) and i cant play it on my norm DVD player with surround sound because its in PAL. it works on my portable DVD player and computer tho. i dont know if the US version is also in PAL. its region 0 PAL.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Pleasing to any audience
Review: This DVD is outstanding in both video and audio quality. There are two performances on this DVD: 1)The mellow performance: This performance contains music from the latest Opeth release titled "Damnation". 2)The heavier performance: This performance contains music from releases "Deliverance" and "Blackwater Park". Also included is a documentary of "The Making of Deliverance and Damnation", which I found to be quite enjoyable.

I was inspired after watching this DVD. I couldn't wait to pick up my guitar and start recording ideas. Opeth offers a unique sounding music that would please many audiences. This is a must buy for any Opeth fan and certainly worth considering for those looking for an interesting and different sound. I can't say enough positive things about this band. Excellent musicianship. Treat yourself!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hail OPETH....
Review: Well opeth are back with a dvd, reafirming that they are the greatest metal band in history. The show features 2 sets, one from damnation, and one of heavier songs. They play 6 tracks from damnation before bursting into the heaviest song they have ever recorded masters appretaces. Ive seen these guys live 2 times and its great to be able to see them again. This is the greatest music dvd ive ever purchased, even beating out dream theaters metropolis 2000 live in ny. BUY THIS \m/

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: As A Metal Fan, It Left Me A Bit Flat
Review: I've always been a bit curious about Opeth, what with all the media hubub and critical ecstasies that seem to arise every time Mikael Akerfeldt lifts his little finger. After seeing their "Windowpane" video on TV (which is an excellent song and is performed live on "Lamentations"), I was curious enough to give this DVD a shot.

Perhaps it would help if I were a bit more familiar with Opeth's material beforehand, but after viewing the DVD in its entirety I have to say that it leaves me a bit unimpressed. To be sure, the "musicianship" -- that is, the technical side of playing music, moving one's fingers quickly and whatnot -- is amazing here, and if that's what floats your boat then you'll feel plenty buoyant watching "Lamentations." The performance of the entire band is practically flawless -- unbelievably tight rhythms, spot-on guitar harmonies, soaring solos galore, and Akerfeldt's classy (and rather impressive) vocal range (from touching lilt to full-on death metal roar in less than 6.66 seconds guaranteed!) are all on display here. To that extent, if you're already a fan of Opeth -- and this goes double if you're into their more "mellow" side -- you'll probably enjoy this DVD as a clean, no-frills document of your favorite prog-death chameleons at the top of their game.

However, I must protest that there is definitely something missing here. As is unfortunately the case with many "virtuoso-centric" groups (by that I mean bands who tend to focus more on music as music -- guitarists like Vai & Malmsteen, "prog" groups like Dream Theater, your average jam-band, etc.), the compositions tend to be exceptionally complex and drawn-out, but they lack that certain substantive (emotional) quality necessary to qualify as truly "epic." So the riffs are serpentine, the drums are acrobatic, and the vocals are perfect, but none of it is particularly memorable. Remember how 1980s Metallica or Iron Maiden could write an eight-minute song with 500 riffs and after hearing it a couple of times you would find yourself involuntarily humming every single part, Beavis-and-Butthead-style? That's the memorability aspect that I find lacking here. ("Windowpane" and "The Drapery Falls" being notable exceptions.)

This ties in to my major criticism of this DVD and Opeth themselves, insofar as I have experienced them: this stuff is way too clean and nowhere nearly aggressive enough to satisfy my tastes. Even at their "heaviest" moments (and I use that term loosely here), Opeth just don't seem to generate the sort of energy and presence that the greater death/black/doom/thrash metal bands deal so excellently in. To put it succinctly: you can headbang (slowly) to Opeth, but you won't grind your teeth at the same time. To put it even more succinctly: NOT ENOUGH CHAOS!

So I have found recent DVD releases such as Slayer's "War at the Warfield", Converge's "The Long Road Home," and (especially) Lightning Bolt's excellent "The Power of Salad" to be a great deal more entertaining, energetic, and enjoyable than "Lamentations," although none of the above bands come close to Opeth's level of professionalism...

Which is probably the point. If professional, sensitive, and somewhat antiseptic musicianship-on-display is what you're looking for, then "Lamentations" might be for you. But if, like me, you want aneurysm-inducing screams, breakneck tempos, and pitched battles in the moshpits in your metal DVD experience, this is probably a pass. 5 stars for the musicianship and 1 star for the intensity gives me an overall rating of 3 stars. (But add one if you're already a big Opeth fan.)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Opeth : "Lamentations" - Beauty And The Beast
Review: Words can't actually describe how wonderful this DVD is. "Lamentations" is what Opeth is all about. This has two seperate live sets that I like to call "Beauty And The Beast". The opening set is beauty beyond words, and the second set is a brutal onslaught of pure power. I only wish I could have been there in person. This has got to be one of the best concert DVD's around....

I am a huge fan of their most recent release "Damnation", and they play the entire CD here. They also have excellent bonus footage behind the making of "Damnation". I simply love this DVD. The guys are very up front, and it's very interesting to listen to these guys talk about how they began, and how far they've come. This is a true masterpiece of music all the way through, and if you've never seen Opeth live, you're in for a huge uplifting experience.....

If you don't have Opeth's "Damnation" CD, I highly suggest you listen to it prior to watching them play it live. They are near flawless, and it is one stirringly beautiful performance....

This is a masterpiece. Nothing more needs to be said....

OPETH RULES!!!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: (3.5 stars) First Non-Necessary Opeth Release
Review: Opeth's first DVD, though cheap in price, really isn't worth owning for the most part, sadly. Now, I'm sure all Opeth fans ran out to get this as they should've, but if you do buy this don't expect a HUGELY and facinating look into the members of Opeth, or even much into the music of Opeth, because all you'll basically get is a well performed concert and 1 hour making of documentary on their 2 latest albums.
First let's start off with the concert. They do a handful of songs from the last few albums (Deliverance, Damnation, and Blackwater Park), but if you've seen them live already then you've pretty much already seen the DVD, they perform the songs the same, don't jump around stage or do anything out of the ordinary. I've seen them live twice so the live DVD wasn't anything special. The camera work and different angles were very good though and kept things interesting. Opeth was only able to do these songs from their 3 latests albums because of record company rights, so if you ask me, they should've probably waited for more albums until doing something like this for a better variety of songs, and a better in depth documentary.
If you're going to buy this, buy it for the documentary. It'll take you into the studio and have interviews with each of the members of Opeth but simply does not dig deep enough into them as people. Sometimes you can't even understand what the hell the guys are saying because of the substandard recording and heavy accents. Sure, they mention things from their past and you learn a few things, but nothing extraodinary. Cannibal Corpse's latest DVD on "15 year killing spree," you got to see the band hang out outside of the concert and recording sessions, so it's almost like you got to know them one on one, i wish something similar could've been done with Opeth's DVD. You will see some cool stuff though; like sessions with Steve Wilson, seeing Mikael Akerfeldt death growl in the recording booth, guitarists whaling on their guitars, and seeing Akerfeldt stress out and almost start crying during the recording sessions (they really went through hell to record the last 2 albums, i felt bad for em'), which is sad because idiot billion dollar bands like Metallica can have as much session time as they want, but when it comes to REAL metal talent like Opeth, the money and quality equipment just wasn't there.
In conclusion, if you're an Opeth fan, you probably already have this and are agreeing on everything I'm saying, but if you're just getting into them, wait to be a hardcore fan before picking this one up. It's good for what it costs you, 12 bucks, but you realy only get what you pay for.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Opeth Rock Out!!!
Review: this DVD is opeth perfroming the deleverence and damnation album almost in it's entirity. but the best part is the great hour long documentary that puts you into the studio with these awesome musicians. In the documentary there is footage of the band recording the awesome solos with the camera showing a great view of the fingerings. This make it like Opeth 101 for guitar players! the concert portion has 2 sets with the acoustic set first and the satan set 2nd. Opeth Rock!!! buy this DVD if you are a fan. You will not be dissapointed.


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