Defenders Of The Faith, le forum Metal

heavylaw a écrit :Le DVD live d'Opeth dont on vous avez parlé ici sortira le 21 septembre, il contiendra le live entier du concert des 20 ans du groupe (3h de live)

Il sera disponible sous 3 versions:

1. Limited-edition vinyl box set, which includes:

- Double-DVD set of OPETH's performance at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, in its entirety, including bonus features.
- A set of four 180-gram LPs of the concert's live audio in its entirety. The vinyl is housed in black poly lined inner sleeves which are packaged as two double gatefold set with exclusive artwork. Vinyl only available in this box set.
- Exclusive, numbered lithograph with artwork designed by Mikael Åkerfeldt and long time OPETH designer Travis Smith.
- 20-page, LP sized booklet printed on coated paper stock that chronicles the night's events in photos.
- Expanded, exclusive artwork and more.

2. Five-disc set that consists of two DVDs and three CDs. The set not only includes the legendary evening captured on video, but the concert's live audio in its entirety as well.

3. Double-DVD set of OPETH's performance at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, in its entirety, including bonus features.

The concert feature will have 5.1 Dolby Surround, produced and mixed by Jens Bogren on all three configurations. The bonus features consist of a 45 minute ´fan questions´ interview and 45 minute documentary named ´On Tour with Opeth´.

Track listing is as follows:

Set 1

* The Leper Affinity
* Bleak
* Harvest
* The Drapery Falls
* Dirge For November
* The Funeral Portrait
* Patterns In The Ivy
* Blackwater Park

Set 2

* Forest Of October
* Advent
* April Ethereal
* The Moor
* Wreath
* Hope Leaves
* Harlequin Forest
* The Lotus Eater

Opeth’s lead singer and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt tells The Highway Star how the band came to dress their new live album and DVD in a sleeve that pays tribute to Deep Purple’s original Concerto for Group and Orchestra from 1969.

Both albums were recorded at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall. Opeth’s show took place in April 2010, and on a whim the band decided to do something different for the album packaging, explains Mikael Åkerfeldt.

- It was the obvious thing to do, we’re all big Purple fans in this band, and if we’re playing the Royal Albert Hall, how could we not do a remake of that sleeve? It’s a classic! We’d talked about how it would be cool to have a shot like that, but I didn’t really expect it to come out as great. I mean, it looks really alike, the colours and everything.

- We’ve often worn our influences on our sleeve so to speak - with song titles, album titles, album sleeves and lyrics being inspired by bands and artists we admire. But this is the most blatant one yet.

Initially, the band’s record label weren’t too hot on the idea.

- I had to fight a little bit for it actually. They wanted an alternative sleeve and it got to a point where I almost had to tell them to shut their mouths and just do as I told them, he laughs.

- Luckily, they believe in our artistic vision to the point where they virtually let us do whatever we want.

The actual photo shoot happened as a spur of the moment thing initiated by friend and photographer Christer Lorichs, who also happens to be a big Deep Purple fan.

- Christer just said, ‘let’s take the shot like Purple did’. After the show when we were a bit buzzed on red wine and whatnot, and kinda lazy and tired after having played for 3 hours, he dragged us up there, placed us in the same seats as where Purple had been sitting, and went ‘click’. Lo and behold, it became the sleeve!

- Actually, I think I am in Glover’s seat, not Gillan’s, which is not right. I’m a big Glover fan of course but I’m also the singer, goddammit!

The new album sleeve is a radical change from Opeth’s other album designs. How does the band think their fans will react to it?

- Some response has been like ‘Fuck guys, it’s not the goddamn 60’s! But most of the responses I’ve seen so far have been great. People understand the nod to Purple and they like it. It’s a change of course, but I like change. Travis Smith has done our artwork for 11 years, and I think he was delighted to do something completely different than the style he’s known for.

Do Opeth fans in general know about Jon Lord’s Concerto?

- To be honest, probably not. I try to ‘educate’ our fans on good rock music whenever I get the chance. But I think most people know only Smoke on the water and the hits as opposed to the Concerto. However, I am certain a few Opeth fans will be picking up the original Concerto now.

What does Jon Lord’s Concerto mean to the guys in Opeth?

- First and foremost it’s a great record. I love the film as well. Perhaps it’s not the most influential Purple record to me personally, but I find it to be rather unique, and at the time it definitely set Purple apart from the other hard rock bands.

- I am a fan of big dynamics, and this particular record has those dynamics. It’s something I’ve learned with time, that a clever use of dynamics can lift a song from great to fantastic. It keeps the interest up I think.

Various bands around the world have tackled Jon Lord’s Concerto with or without him onstage. Have Opeth ever thought about playing the Concerto?

- No, it’d be a bit too much for us. But never say never, right? I am not as much into classical music like say, Jon Lord’s, and neither are any of the other guys in the band. It’d be a bit too gimmicky for us to take on such a thing. I love big ideas, but for us I think we’ll stick to what we know best, and classical music is not one of those things.

OPETH's "In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall" DVD sold 3,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 2 on Billboard's Top Music Videos chart.

"In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall" has registered the following Top Music Videos and Music DVD chart positions so far:

USA: #2
Germany: #2
Canada: #3
UK: #3
Netherlands: #6