Change My Mind
If you have been listening for, well, any amount of time, you know that Nick and Brian have a lot of similar tastes now and agree on a lot. Every now and then, though, a band or album comes along where they just can’t see eye-to-eye. Honestly, it probably makes for a better review, but even if not, it certainly makes for some good discussion.
Reviews:
Deathwhite – Grave Image (Season of Mist)
Sylosis – Cycle of Suffering (Nuclear Blast)
Plague – Portraits of Mind (Redefining Darkness)
Deathwhite – Grave Image
Sylosis – Cycle Of Suffering
Plague – Portraits Of Mind
BLACK LABEL:
Transcending Obscurity
I have a live review of Opeth at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem that I attended on Friday. First off, the venue was pretty spiffy. I’d never been there before and was impressed. The theater is a seated venue that is like a very nice Broadway-style theater. I think it may be safe to say that Opeth is the first ever death metal band to play in that venue (Metallica did play there in the not too distant past). Opeth had to cancel the previous three shows on their current tour due to Mikael Akerfeldt having laryngitis, so there was some concern about how he’d perform on his first show after taking about 6 days off. But he was in fine form, with his stage banter being as witty as ever. The band is as tight as ever now that this lineup has been together since 2011. In their live shows, they tend to play the heavier material from recent albums which works well alongside their classic death metal material. One odd note was the crowd: it was mostly old guys – older than me (and I’m getting old). I guess when your band formed 30 years ago, your audience tends to skew older as well.