Gig Review - Opeth and Alcest

Back on the 14^th of October 2014, I attended an event in the O2 ABC in Glasgow, which was part of Opeth’s European tour following the release of their 11^th studio album, ‘Pale Communion’. Last time I saw Opeth in the same venue, they were touring with Anathema, but this time they were accompanied by French Post-Black Metal band; Alcest. I was really interested to hear Alcest perform, because I wanted to hear how they sounded live compared to their usual smooth production.

Opeth are a Swedish death metal band who are very significant in the world of metal and have been about since 1990. They have an incredibly unique style and have developed a large fan base. They are characterised by a mix of traditional death metal combined with intricate melodic sections featuring chromatic and modal movement, and use of irregular and compound time signatures is quite common. They often use mixtures of seven eight and six eight. Their style manages to sound unbelievably brutal, but also obviously has jazz and folk influences. It is this unique approach to metal that makes them one of the most influential metal bands around today.

Alcest are a French post-black or Shoe-gaze-black metal band who formed in the early 2000s. They are not as popular as Opeth, but their beautiful melodies combined with black metal drumming and vocals are something that people are becoming interested in. Their style uses simple melodies played by clean guitars and vocals, and is combined with harsh black metal shrieks and a drumming style that goes from simple time rhythms to ruthless blast beats. Their lyrical subject focuses on dreams and the songs are mostly about some sort of dream world, all sung in French. The fact you can’t understand it enhances the idea of it being a bit dreamy. This band is such a great compliment to Opeth because both do not stick to one style, they incorporate the unexpected, some sort of “Marmite” genre splicing.

When I arrived at the venue, I was not at all surprised to see a real mixed crowd. There were a huge number of middle aged people there for a start, this may be due to the fact that Opeth are quite an old band now, so are pulling in some die-hard fans from all over the country. There were also – and I hate to categorise – a significant number of obviously non-metal heads there; people who looked a little bit awkward in fully buttoned shirts. I was really pleased to see this because it just shows that these bands, who have a variety of influences, certainly draw in a varied crowd. Also, Alcest were likely to pull in a more “hipster” fan-base due to their late move to a more poppy sound. After this spot of people watching, the lights suddenly dimmed and Alcest walked on stage.

Their set list included a sensible mix of new and old material, including probably one of their most famous and certainly my favourite; ‘Autre Temps’. I was slightly disappointed they missed out the introduction to this song, but then it occurred to me that quite a lot of songs had been tailored for live performance. They absolutely perfected the post black metal genre, characterised by their slow melodies using major scales, often in three four time, giving a really sort of nostalgic feel to their songs, assisted by Neige’s soft innocent tenor voice. They use lots of synth sounds to give a sort of ethereal tone to the music, and what disappoints me is that it’s all pre-recorded; they could definitely make a better live show if they had someone to play keyboards for them on the night. Another thing different live, was that they missed out all the spine-tingling vocal harmony that is present in their recordings. This made the live experience a bit bland. Seeing as their music is quite simple already, to be truly powerful live, they could do without striping down the parts. I found their older music is more interesting and has more depth, and their latest album features hardly any black metal which leaves them basically being indie; a bit boring really. I was really disappointed with their live sound, because the sound engineers were obviously not aware that this was a very melodic band since I could hardly hear any treble at all. This major oversight was fairly disappointing; however it was nice to actually see Alcest live.

Opeth had a much more dramatic entry, the crowd was going totally ballistic for them. Some spotlights highlighted the position where the band members were to stand, and apart from that, everything was pitch black, there was a huge aura of anticipation. Naturally, their opening track was the first off their new album which was just stunning to hear live. Opeth have evolved over the past couple of years into more of a prog rock/heavy rock band, obviously these genres have always been underlying in the bands complexed style, but are now more apparent. ‘Eternal Rains Will come’ just shows off their recent evolution magnificently. Unlike Alcest, Opeth didn't skimp on their introductions. ‘Eternal Rains’ three minute lead up until the first chorus was all there, and sounded precisely just like the recorded copy. I have to admit; I had not done much research on the production of this latest album, and just assumed Åkerfeldt’s voice had been multi tracked to achieve the perfect tight harmonies, but was actually overjoyed to see most members singing. Opeth’s set list included a range of their music. The crowd was shouting for ‘old stuff’ and as well as playing a lot of new material, they really did go back a long way, including a song off their first album ‘Orchid’, which after all these years (thirty) was still incredibly well performed and was really impressive. They were also churning out the favourites from ‘Still Life’, ‘Watershed’ and ‘Blackwater Park’. One thing I love about Opeth is that they incorporate a lot of modern jazz rhythms and keyboards into their music. Live, Axenrot was on top form, with really accurate and complex rhythms, and so was Svalberg; using jazzy organ sounds, suspensions, seventh and sixth chords.  Vocal wise, Åkerfeldt’s contrast of deep chesty growls and crisp clean vocals was just as perfect as ever: probably one of the top voices in metal today. Such a powerful voice along with the heavy instrumental accompaniment makes a really dramatic sound. Contrastingly, Opeth have a tendency to sound quite folk. The mixture of modal scales used by the guitars and Åkerfeldt’s clean vocals is such a change from their heavier sound, but to me it is undeniably awesome the way they manage to fit jazz, folk, prog rock, and death metal even into one song. It is also impressive the way they sound exactly like they do recorded when they play live as well. The performance was fantastic; both times I've seen them they have failed to disappoint.

 The crowd interaction between both bands was hugely contrasting. Alcest basically walked on stage, said nothing the whole way through their performance and then left. This may have something to do with the fact that they are not great English speakers. Maybe they did not feel comfortable speaking to a crowd? Also, their music isn't what you’d call get-up and go, it’s very relaxing, so there isn't much spec for getting the crowd all excited. It is more music that the crowd witnesses rather than gets involved in. However, Opeth’s crowd interaction is always one of the best parts of their live performance. Åkerfeldt is actually a real comedian, previously declaring the name of their band was ABBA and subsequently breaking out into a brief rendition of ‘Super Trouper’. They literally have the crowd in tears of laughter, and are obviously very comfortable when it comes to talking to the audience.

As far as stage presence goes, both bands were very different again. From the moment Alcest started playing, they just stood in a straight line, which was completely uninspiring. They also had close to no interaction with each other. The whole thing looked quite awkward and boring. In contrast, Opeth made sure they positioned themselves in a more natural looking way so that they could actually see each other. They were obviously passionate about their music, and were making clear visual communication with each other, as well as walking about the stage, showing they were relaxed and enjoying the moment, rather than Alcest’s rather wooden performance. For Opeth, it is probably more important to be able to see each other since their irregular rhythmical structures involve long pauses, so it is necessary to be able to see one another to know exactly when to pick up the song. Alcest however have simple rhythms, where nothing peculiar happens, so communication within the band is not so important, but I feel it is crucial in presenting yourself as an inspiring musician.

Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the whole performance, and it was a great opportunity to see two of my favourite bands. Alcest did sound good live, but it wasn't all there. The lack of harmony and good performance was a bit deflating. Also, their live sound is definitely not as good as on recording since I could barely hear any treble. I'm curious to see whether it is just the sound engineers who got it wrong on the night, or, that they really don’t sound good live. In my opinion, a band should always sound the same live as recorded, and, while Alcest didn't live up to this expectation, Opeth most certainly did. Their old and new material sounded just as impressive live as on CD, which was a huge achievement seeing as they played songs dating back to the early 90s. They put on a totally inspiring performance, and are a band I would never miss the opportunity to see again.