Sorry it took me so long to post the review.
I had unfortunately missed the prior shows by Opeth and Ghost since I arrived in L.A., so I jumped at this show when it was first announced. Opeth, Mastodon and Ghost is actually kind of an odd combination, but an intriguing one.
GHOST opened the show on a humorous note when the singer did his best Bela Lugosi imitation and said "Good EVE-EN-ING Tinsel TOWN!" The L.A. crowd was really into their set, they are a really fun band and have good energy live. They did the majority of Opus Eponymous, they stick fairly close to the studio versions though "Satan Prayer" has been rearranged and extended for the live setting. They don't move around much, so don't expect acrobatics. The backing vocals are handled via samples and are played by the keyboardist, it works fine. Overall a tight band with a good presence. My friend who accompnied me to the show thought Ghost sounded punchier and heavier live, I agree with him. The bass player was really impressive, incredibly HUGE tone, he really stood out in the mix.
Next up was Mastodon (the two headliners trade off closing the show, though they play identical length 70 minute sets regardless)
I've been curious to see MASTODON for awhile, I'm a casual fan, really liking some of their material (Crack The Skye in particular) while still not being completely won over. The optimum word to describe their set was pummeling. Since the word "Hunter" is featured in the name of the tour I figured it would be heavily steered toward that album, I was correct as they performed the majority of The Hunter. In addition they also played 2 songs from Crack The Skye, 1 song from Blood Mountain and 2 songs from Leviathan.
On the positive side they were very tight, the vocals have improved considerably and they had great energy. The problem I had with their set was that all their songs have such "busy" arrangements (there's not a second of breathing space anywhere) that after awhile it all started to blur together. It also didn't help that they don't take any breaks between songs or talk to the crowd. The same songs I liked on The Hunter were the ones that stood out in concert, I was especially impressed with "Octopus Has No Friends" and the title track, Opeth's keyboardist sat in on a couple songs that require keys. The biggest crowd reaction was for the Leviathan songs "Aqua Dementia" and "Blood & Thunder". They also had an impressive light show. Overall I would say my opinion of them is unchanged after seeing them live, I'll probably remain a casual fan.
OPETH's varied set ended up being kind of a relief after being steamrolled by Mastodon for 70 minutes. They opened with the "The Devil's Orchard" and "I Feel The Dark" from Heritage, both songs getting punchier after being played live for several months, the band was airtight. Mikael's voice was very strong, he continues to grow as a singer. He has a fluid approach to these Heritage songs, changing phrasing and improvising. Prior to performing the "Dio tribute" song "Slither" he informed the crowd "it's kind of like an old Rainbow song but shittier."
There were alot of people singing along with all the lyrics, I hadn't really expected that, added a cool dimension to the set.
Windowpane was next, a really fine version of the Damnation track. They've added an extended guitar solo duel to the end of "Burden", adding some extra power to that power ballad.
They return to Heritage for a muscular reading of "Lines In My Hand" and follow that up with the centerpiece song of the set, "Folklore". That track is much heavier live and also features an extended jam section during the coda, killer song. They close out the show with a return to their death metal roots, performing crushing versions of "Demon Of The Fall" from My Arms, Your Hearse and "The Grand Conjuration" from Ghost Reveries...that last tune totally blew away the studio version. KILLER. I still regret missing their full 100 minute headlining set they performed late last year but 70 minutes of Opeth is just fine with me.
The funny thing is that in 70 minutes Mastodon was able to fit in 17 songs, Opeth was able to play 9 in the same length of time.
Subject: Heritage-Hunter Tour - Universal Studios, Los Angeles 4/26 
Wed May 09, 2012 3:14 am
