The Concert Reviews:

Lamentations Over America Tour 2004: Opeth with DevilDriver and Moonspell Official Web Site for Opeth Official Web Site for DevilDriver Official Web Site for Moonspell Discuss on the Metal Judgment Web Board Submit/Read Reader Reviews of this Tour	Judgment Committee Reviews	Rating
		4
		5
	Redwolff's Review	5

Abyss' Review (2/27/04, Irving Plaza, New York City):
When It Comes To Opeth, I can't say No(peth)

Opeth
Photos by Hel
An Opeth show is always a reason to go out. One would think that with the large amount of touring the band has done recently, I would get bored with going to the shows, but that simply hasn't been the case. Hell, I even got to the show early, so as to get the most out of my metal experience.

DevilDriver
I didn't really know who DevilDriver was, and I still don't really know. No, I wasn't drunk, and I did pay attention to a few songs, but there was just nothing compelling about the band. They seemed to play with a good amount of pep, but they struck me as utterly generic with an industrial/metalcore-type bounce that just seems completely out of place at an Opeth show. Of course, the band is from Roadrunner Records and has connections to Coal Chamber, so I hope y'all understand why I don't have much to say about them.

Moonspell
I was very excited to see Moonspell, due largely to the strength of their most recent album. I have only seen them once before, opening for In Flames in Brooklyn I think, and they didn't impress me much. Of course, that was during a period in time when they didn't have much going for them. The American press had ignored them to a degree, and their most recent material just wasn't that good. That all recently changed after the release of The Antidote, an album that seems to be getting its due, at least from what I've been reading. They opened up with my favorite track on the new record, "In and Above Men," so I had little to complain about. And yet complain I did. Despite the fact that I like their new material, I guess I just don't consider Moonspell a good live band. Its not that they sound that bad, it's more that their music doesn't really benefit from the live atmosphere. That, and they use the most annoying strobe lights I've ever seen. Seriously, they were so bright and used so often that it made you really want to stop looking at the stage. End result is that I'll stick to Moonspell in the confines of my own apartment, thank you.

Opeth
I don't know what makes Opeth such a compelling live band. They don't really move around much, or have an elaborate stage show. Hell, the seem almost reserved, with soft-spoken, polite introductions to the songs, when they bother to say anything at all. Despite all of this, they are simply magnetic. A large part is how good they sound. I've seen them at places of varying acoustic quality and they always sound perfect. One would think that only a musician could enjoy a show so centered around the music, but that just isn't the case. No one in the crowd seemed to turn away from the band for more than a second, even the bar was for the most part empty. The last time I saw Opeth was during the Porcupine Tree shows, where they played only their softer material, but this time they centered on all that was heavy, promising very little in the way of 'ballads.' They spread out their material quite well, and although I'd like a little more of the 2nd and 3rd albums, I can't really complain. I don't know much, but I know I love Opeth... and that may be all I need to know. One word review: Compelling.

Hel's Review (1/29/04, House of Blues, Hollywood, CA):

Zakk Wylde introduces DevilDriver
I struck out for the venue solo this night, determined to see every second of Moonspell, and knowing both that they would be going on first (as they rotated with DevilDriver throughout the tour) and that I would only get three songs with which to photo document them. The House of Blues is utterly and completely strict about these things, and having already missed them once in the past few months, I didn’t want it to happen again.

Moonspell

My timing was perfect: I was in front of the stage at the appointed time, yet did not have to wait around too long for the show to start. The only other time I had witnessed a Moonspell performance, I was under-awed, to saw the least. Yet, back then they were touring on what I consider to be some of their crappiest material, and The Antidote had proven to be anything but. So I was curious what these Portuguese would present to me this evening. Once I got past their overwhelming aroma (phew!), I was pleased to find they were intent on providing the audience with an interesting performance. The set was comprised of mostly heavier material, and the audience seemed well pleased by the presentation. I was far more impressed with them this time around, and entertained by the vocalist’s interplay with a large staff topped by a skull he brought onstage a couple of songs into the set.

DevilDriver

After the set, I whiled away the time chatting with friends, as most of LA was out for the show, as well as a couple of folks from back East who were out for this weekend of amazing shows, including Iron Maiden the next night. Though I was not particularly interested in DevilDriver (being a long-time hater of Coal Chamber and utterly unimpressed by the track they currently have a video for), I headed back to the stage for some photos anyway, and was fascinated to find Zakk Wylde come out onstage with bottle in hand to give the introduction. The crowd clearly loved Zakk, and Zakk clearly loves DevilDriver, lurking at the side of the stage throughout their set and even coming back out onstage at one point to stand behind and next to the vocalist for a few minutes. Despite the fact that they are really not my thing, they did put on a good performance and I dug the fact that the guitarist was wearing a Suffocation shirt and thrashed his head around incessantly.

Opeth

Opeth, however, was far and away the reason we were all here. As with many bands, it seems, every subsequent visit to LA found Opeth moving to a larger and larger venue, with their tour with Porcupine Tree the first to come to the House of Blues, and which they packed once again on this night. We were treated to mostly heavy songs this evening, as they had promised the last time, though there was at least one song from Damnation included as well. As always, the band put on a truly mesmerizing performance, full of energy and personality, and technically masterful. I have now witnessed their live show many times, and I never tire of it. At the core, it is their music that makes the Opeth experience unique and powerful, but it is their ability to deliver these complex songs with seemingly effortless perfection that makes them the astounding performers that they are. I’m already craving another fix, and cannot wait for them to come back around again.
Despite the interminable wait in the cold for my car afterward, and the baffling inclusion of DevilDriver on the bill, when I finally was able to leave the venue and head home, I was extremely happy with my night as a whole, and therefore I can give it no less than a five skull rating.

Redwolff's Review (2/27/04, Irving Plaza, New York City):

Moonspell
As March 1st is always a big grant deadline, I was stuck at work on Friday the 27th until after 7pm. Finally, the last grant application was shoved into the FedEx box and my friend Peter and I were able to leave. The late hour, however, caused a dilemma: eat some dinner and miss Devil Driver, or go to the show on an empty stomach, which would probably result in early drunkenness and distraction from the music? It was Opeth, after all, so we went for the steaks. We walked into Irving Plaza as Devil Driver left the stage. No big loss, as far as I'm concerned. I've listened to their album and couldn't understand why they would be chosen to open for Opeth as their styles seem too incompatible. I've heard that Devil Driver were not the first choice for this tour and only took the slot as a replacement for another band, which would explain it.

DevilDriver

I had been listening to The Antidote for a couple of weeks prior to the show and enjoyed it - but as I don't know any of Moonspell's back catalogue, I really didn't know what to expect from the band. They did a good job on the songs I was familiar with, but played a few older ones like "Mephisto" that seemed kind of corny and old-school. A strobe light, trained toward the crowd rather than toward the stage, made me raise my hand to block it out of my left eye as I tried to watch the band. The singer wielded a staff topped with a skull (Hel warned me about that) and had a very odd stage presence - at one point Abyss leaned over to ask "Is that the Australian crawl he's doing?" At the end of the set, the entire band very solemnly led the crowd in over-the-head hand claps. This amused and delighted the old-school Peter, but some younger fans behind me were loudly urging the band members to go fuck themselves.

Moonspell

Then it was time for the mighty Opeth. They announced right off the bat that there is a 'curfew' at Irving Plaza, so their set was going to have to be short, but since they'd done the softer stuff on the last tour (with Porcupine Tree), they'd give us a harder selection this time. The set list included "The Drapery Falls," "Blackwater Park," "April Ethereal" and "Deliverance" with their usual encore selection at the end - which has become such a tradition that the crowd was prompted to yell out the name of the song on the count of three before the band would play it. We were also informed that their Philly fans had called the New York fans a "bunch of cunts," but that Opeth loved us "motherfuckers" anyway. A surprising amount of crowd interaction from a usually quiet frontman.

Opeth

It's really amazing to me what a good live band Opeth is. Their studio albums are so well-produced that it seems impossible they'd be able to duplicate their studio sound in a live setting, but they do - and seem to do it effortlessly. There are those that say Opeth are over-rated - I say they deserve all the praise they get. I'm already looking forward to their next show.

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