Review: OPETH - Live in Brisbane

23 Nov

A Painful Exercise In Duality

Thursday 20th November 2025

Written by Tom Wilson
Photographed by: Rashid AlKamraikhi

Tonight is both an absolute masterclass in music and an absolute trainwreck of organisation.

We arrive at the box office to be given a paper ticket, and get a massive surge of nostalgia. We are then instructed that we are up in the mezzanine, and we head up the stairs to be confronted with a wall of black silhouettes. The mezzanine is completely packed, and even at 6’7” I cannot see the stage at all. We are forced to watch opener CALIGULA’S HORSE via closed-circuit TV in the bar. I have never had to deal with this before, and I’m not going to start now, so apologies to the lads from CALIGULA’S HORSE, but you deserve better than to have someone review your show through a television.

After the changeover, we head downstairs, and soon realise that we can just watch OPETH from the wings, the same wings that photographers are forced to work in due to their being no photo pit. It would have been rad to be told this earlier. Mikael Åkerfeldt wastes no time telling us that the seating was not his idea, and that someone wants to portray the band as something they’re not. This begs the question: who the fuck doesn’t listen to the band when organising a tour? The band didn’t want seating. The fans didn’t want seating. The security isn’t used to working with seating, and are clearly doing their best. Mikael tells us that fans can stand up if they want, but most don’t, probably because they don’t want to block the view of people behind them. As the set progresses, a thin line of punters grows along the front of the stage, only to be dispersed by security after a few songs. It’s incredibly disappointing, but for all the organisational shortcomings, the performance onstage tonight is spellbinding.

This is my first time seeing OPETH live, and the grandeur and drama of their music is awesome to behold. This is also my first time witnessing the comedic stylings of Mikael, and he is on fire tonight, poking fun at the passionate response fans had to certain OPETH albums they didn’t like, and just generally being an amazing human. He doesn’t hold back when talking about certain aspects of the Ghost Reveries period of the band, but fortunately he doesn’t hold it against the music, and the Fortitude Valley Music Hall becomes the site of The Grand Conjuration, a sprawling epic that serves as a perfect showcase of what makes the band great. They close their set with another staple, Ghosts of Perdition, only to reemerge and sign off with a stunning rendition of Deliverance. It’s truly jaw-dropping.

A world-class show unfortunately tainted by interference. What a shame.