opeth's live sound production

thirdeye

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Jul 2, 2002
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So I have been a big fan of opeth since still life and have seen them on tour around 5 times beginning when blackwater park was released.. and i have to say with exception of perhaps the first show, I am always so dissapointed with the sound quality. What is the deal!! its always far too quiet, I shouldnt be able to have a conversation with the people around me using my quiet room voice. I just saw them recently in Detroit and the band before them was super loud.. almost too loud.. and then opeth comes out, and the bass drum sounds like shit.. the guitars are very low, especially bass.. the vocals are low.. i just am sick of this lol.. actually we all yelled for them to turn up and mikael eventually asked the sound guy to make it louder... they played great otherwise, and mikes vocals were fantastic... has anyone else noticed this problem?
 
Sound quality was good in Chicago, some of the guitars were way too loud at times, but overall it was very good.
 
I don't know about you, but when the noise gets too loud, there's all kinds of feedback and the mix just sounds muddy. I'd rather have a quieter mix than a mix that was too loud.
 
well i dont need it to be overly loud, i would like to keep my hearing around until im older.. but when i go to see a blazing prog rock show i want it to rock me... tool, mars volta, hum, all have way better sounding live shows.. im picky about it sure but, a lot of people around me agreed at the detroit show, hence everyone screaming turn it up... at the end it sounded great for deliverance, blackwater park and demon of the fall... after we complained hehe
 
I agree, third eye. Every time I have seen them I could have faulted them for something in their sound quality. Last night in Worcester was by far the worst, and exactly how you put it: much quieter than the previous band. During FOM the crowd was talking amongst themselves rather loudly. Maybe Opeth desires to be the background in a sort of party atmosphere? I doubt it though.

The only real complaint from my past Opeth shows before this tour were that one guitar was always way too quiet, which didn't happen last night. When it does happed it really kills some harmonies and the dual guitar expperience of Opeth. I don't mean to bitch, I still love Opeth. Just maybe not as much anymore.
 
The sound quality at Opeth shows could easily be improved. Not so much on the softer songs, but the heavier ones typically don't have enough power.
 
I was at the Montreal show 2 days ago, it was the 4th time i saw them live.
This time, the sound was terrific! One of the best i ever heard live. And i was right in the center at about 30 ft from the stage.
 
i saw them recently in lawrence...and it was waaaayyy to loud! usually, they are a bit quieter, which i like better....the trebles were piercing and the guitars were thin...once my ears became numb, it thickened up a bit...but usually, opeth has a nice, clear, warm sound live...i missed that.
 
Berklee College of Music, the Damnation tour with Porcupine Tree. This particular live performance rated second on my all-time list of best sound production I've heard live. Santana at the Cape Cod Collesium (Massachusetts) in 1978, to this day, still ranks as the most spectacular sound I've ever heard live.

The loudest ever for me was Damn Yankees and Ted Nugent at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA. My wife and I were sick for three days afterwards. That was the last time I did not bring ear plugs to a concert (not that I've used them every time - I didn't at Opeth yesterday).
 
Saw Opeth at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver which is one of the best live venue clubs in the world. Sound that night was perfect. if you want an example of the club take a look at the Strapping Young Lad DVD - For those aboot to rock which was filmed there.

The best sounding concert i have ever witnessed was when the Tea Party played with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
 
yer my only complaint actually that it was quit loud , up the fornt anyways. But thats with all metal gigs they pump the shit even if its clipping its fucken rediculous
 
saw them in philly at the TLA last night and the sound was mediocre at best. the acoustics in the room make it tough enough to mix a regular band let alone a metal band. add to the fact that Opeth are constantly shifting their tone and volume throughout the set and it's easy to see why any engineer would find it a challenge. they should do like meshuggah and go direct on all their instruments...even mike complained to the audience that their amps were "fucked".
 
Yea...even though the sound could have been better the concert still was really good and they managed to put on a great performance with the "fucked" amps. And by the way if you didn't already figure it out I was at the show at the TLA last night also.