{"id":168286,"date":"2026-02-17T16:18:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/168286\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:18:25","slug":"prog-metal-band-opeth-put-its-full-arsenal-on-display-monday-night-in-san-antonio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/168286\/","title":{"rendered":"Prog-metal band Opeth put its full arsenal on display Monday night in San Antonio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opeth started in 1990 as a death metal band, but the act that performed Monday night at the Majestic theatre could scarcely be categorized within that subgenre \u2014\u00a0or any other, for that matter. <\/p>\n

During a roughly two-hour set, Opeth put its penchant for wild dynamic shifts and sonic wanderlust on full display. The Swedish band took audiences on a ride through material that spanned a varied career, winding through crushing riff fests replete with growled vocals, complex and knotty prog-rock passages and moody interludes that showcased frontman Mikael \u00c5kerfeldt emotive baritone voice. <\/p>\n

The set opened with \u201c\u00a71\u201d from the group\u2019s most recent album, Last Will and Testament \u2014\u00a0the first in more than 15 years to feature \u00c5kerfeldt\u2019s death growls. As if to acknowledge their return, the next three songs also showcased the frontman and bandleader moving between harsh guttural vocals and clean singing. <\/p>\n

While long songs can be trying for audiences, Opeth\u2019s mastery of tension and release made its many 10-minute-plus epics spin by as if they were half that length. The tortuous instrumental passages and haunting refrain of \u201cGod is dead\u201d made \u201cThe Devil\u2019s Orchard\u201d a standout, and the heavy-yet-multifaceted \u201cMaster\u2019s Apprentices\u201d came as a welcome early-set surprise.<\/p>\n

\u00c5kerfeldt and fellow guitarist Fredrik Henrik \u00c5kesson took solos aplenty but didn\u2019t wear out their welcome by floundering into indulgence. Similarly, keyboardist Joakim Svalberg \u2014 an integral part of Opeth\u2019s sound \u2014 never drifted into Emerson Lake and Palmer territory, instead using his distorted Hammond organ to add heft to chugging riffs and his Mellotron to lend an ethereal quality to lighter passages.<\/p>\n

As its eleventh and final song, Opeth trotted out the 14-minute \u201cDeliverance,\u201d an encapsulation of the many weapons the band has in its aural arsenal. The discordant, teeth-grinding opening gave way to a jazzy and introspective verse before the piece took the listeners across more peaks and valleys. The audience remained riveted the entire time, exploding with cheers after the musicians hammered out the stuttering closing chords. <\/p>\n

As per usual, \u00c5kerfeldt peppered the set with dry humor, showing himself to be one of rock\u2019s most engaging frontmen. At one point he jokingly complained about playing in the beautifully restored Majestic as enduring another \u201cshabby\u201d venue. Later, he played Stump the Crowd by asking them about a series of obscure Swedish heavy rock bands before inquiring whether they\u2019d heard of Europe, his pop-metal countrymen behind \u201cThe Final Countdown.\u201d When the crowd responded with boos, \u00c5kerfeldt feigned deep offense. <\/p>\n

Taken as whole, the performance was an invigorating exploration of Opeth\u2019s oeuvre, spanning eight albums and showcasing both the band\u2019s versatility and its adept hand at pairing dread with beauty, loud with soft, technicality with emotion. While prog can prove impenetrable for audiences who aren\u2019t musicians, Opeth\u2019s varied approach offers many onramps. <\/p>\n

Fellow Swedes Katatonia opened Monday\u2019s show, bringing their own varied and exploratory take on metal. Known for melding somber, almost gothic, melodies with explosive riffs, the band moved adeptly between both \u2014 and territories somewhere between \u2014 during a moody, backlit set.<\/p>\n

While Katatonia\u2019s performance was hardly as varied or invigorating as Opeth\u2019s, it helped the tone for the masterful dynamic shifts yet to come.<\/p>\n

Photos by Jaime Monzon.<\/p>\n

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