Want to feel old? OPETH are going to be celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band next year by playing just six shows, spread across Europe and the United States. In a statement that sounds much like his stage banter, bandleader MIKAEL AKERFELDT quips:
“I can’t believe it, but… fuck, we’re celebrating 20 years. I’ve been in this band ever since I was 16. It’s insane. As far as I remember, we’ve never had a release party, never celebrated anything officially. Well, now is the time, you hear? We’ve set up a string of shows, six of them actually, around the world. To say that they will be super-exclusive is beyond an understatement.
We’ve discussed the set list already and it seems like we’ll pull out a few songs we’ve never played before, some of which fans all over the world have been demanding to hear for years and years. Our main agenda for these shows is to have ‘fun’ whilst trying to blow your fucking minds. You could say business as usual, but really, it’ll be special. I can’t stress enough how exclusive this will be. We will not add any more shows on top of the six that we’ve confirmed already, so please make up your mind early on whether you want to go or not – of course you fucking do- as I would assume there’s quite a few of our fans that might be interested in seeing a thing like this.”
You assume correctly! Each show will reportedly have two sets, one including Blackwater Park in its entirety and one consisting of "mixed material from the band’s extensive catalog." While Opeth have never relied on playing older stuff to draw fans, I'm very excited that they're doing this tour, and I will cheerfully endure Terminal 5's acoustics in order to be a part of it. Full tour itinerary is after the jump.
March 30 – Cirkus – Stockholm, Sweden
April 1 – Lichtburg – Essen, Germany
April 3 – Bataclan – Paris, France
April 5 – Royal Albert Hall – London, UK
April 7 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY
April 9 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
-Ben
