u/tarzanell

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Welcome to my belated 30th anniversary celebrations for Opeth's Morningrise album.

There are a lot of incredible live performances of Morningrise tracks. With that in mind, this seem like kind of an odd choice - but I decided to highlight a performance of Advent by the "mid-era" lineup. Watch, and you'll see why.

Taken from Opeth's first concert in 2002, the band was playing to a small crowd of 100-200 fans at the Decibel festival in Bengtsfors, Sweden. Fresh from a 6-month break but before the trials of the Deliverance / Damnation recording, Opeth was explosive. Blackwater Park had finally provided them the start of the attention they deserved. Martin Lopez was having a great day. Even Anders Nordin was in the crowd, catching his ex-band for the first time since 1997. To top it all off, this may have been one of Mikael's best ever performances.

All credit goes to Fixxxer_SW for taping, to Stefan_M for the transfer, to me for the remix & master, and of course to Opeth for creating one of the most incredible albums of all time.

Mikael Åkerfeldt - vocals and guitar

Peter Lindgren - guitar

Martin Mendez - bass

Martin Lopez - drums

Support the band by picking up records and official merch from their online shop (https://opeth.omerch.com/), or catch them live at one of this summer's special shows. Enjoy.

"Karst, wait...what?!" I hear you exclaim incredulously. "It's not called Dirge for MAY, man!"

Fear not, friends. You may unclench both teeth and glutes. For this is not just a celebration of Opeth's least-performed track off Blackwater Park, but also a new celebration of the eponymous album's 25th anniversary: a milestone that deserves an entire year in the spotlight.

Dirge for November is arguably the deepest cut from Blackwater Park (excluding the two bonus tracks that are exclusive to the special edition). It is also the last song that Mike Åkerfeldt co-wrote with Peter Lindgren.

This is an observation that opens and closes in peace. Make no mistake, though: the core of Dirge is a nightmare that structures foundation in fear, and its theme of inescapable pain is brought relief only by way of release from life.

This is a recording of one of Opeth's few (six or seven) live performances of Dirge, and my personal favourite. Taken from their show in Essen, all five members of the band were on top form as usual - immersed and carrying a captivated crowd through a ten minute journey of introspection.

Lineage for this recording is wide. A few clips from other nights of the tour (primarily New York & Paris) were mapped for continuity, but blend well with the original sources. Otherwise, credits are as follows:

🎨: Ivan Aivazovsky

🎬: ani85c, ricky4502, pink665, VampyrTepes, sabgzu, Sas.von.m, and FoxMcDale

🎶: Kabi225

💡: LunaticZiiV

🥣: Me

And, of course, full credit to Opeth for this incredible performance:

Mikael Åkerfeldt: vocals and guitar

Fredrik Åkesson: guitar

Per Wiberg: keys

Martin Mendez: bass

Martin Axenrot: drums

As always, this is a non-monetised video intended to support and promote Opeth. If anyone in the band, management, or labels have any concerns with this upload, though, please drop me a line by email and I'll be happy to take down / adjust however needed.

Last but not least, remember that Opeth (like all bands) earn very little from streaming services. If you want to support the band and Blackwater Park's 25th anniversary, buy tickets to see them live, or pick up official records and merch here: https://opeth.omerch.com/.

Enjoy. This is for the patient.

Prayers and best wishes for my colon.