Opeth - Blackwater Park - live with Martin Lopez, February 2004 (UNRELEASED)

In celebration of Blackwater Park's 22nd anniversary, I'm excited to share a video that many of you have been requesting for years: live footage of Blackwater Park with Martin Lopez. Taken from a show in Feburary 2004, this is possibly the band's greatest recording of this track with the Damnation / Ghost Reveries lineup.
Please enjoy with a pair of headphones or speakers. This is an incredible performance that deserves to be watched in one sitting.
Mikael Åkerfeldt - vocals and guitar
Peter Lindgren - guitar
Martin Mendez - bass
Martin Lopez - drums
Per Wiberg - keys
If the band, management, or Sony would like this video to be taken down, please let me know and I'll do so immediately.
#opeth #deathmetal #progmetal #blackwaterpark #martinlopez #metal #heavymetal

[@biorythmicshifter]

Definitely the best live performance of Mike’s guttural vocals I’ve heard yet. This is peak period Opeth for me…

[@TheFbiFilesRepeat]

Snare sounds killer

[@lordgraga]

Worth mentioning: Martin Mendez plays and sounds extremely gnarly here too, it's really the double the double Martin section that is the magic here. Also DAT SNARE.

[@marwanmohamed877]

Caught in unbridled suspense.

[@The_Karst]

Get ready.

[@marwanmohamed877]

Very much could be the most epic Opeth video I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve seen a lot man.. thank you!

[@campbells0ups]

akerfeldt sounded demonic during this era

[@WolfHeathen]

Nowadays his growling is just lazy.

[@gerhitchman]

@@WolfHeathen i think his voice changed and now he physically cant growl like this anymore

[@melkor_01]

yeah like have you seen him singing for bloodbath around this time? Dude was the devil himself.

[@darkbarrage99]

@@gerhitchman @wolfheathen nah he got it back recently, look at some modern bootlegs. i heard he quit smoking or something, his growls sound great now. different, but definitely much much better than 10 years ago.

[@metanoiablank]

Lopez mouthing the last words ! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this with the world.

[@toddlawrance4045]

Still my fave Opeth line-up, with Peter, Per, the two Martins and Bubba Smith on lead vocals & guitar.

[@mattgarlets3939]

You are a god thank for posting this!! Back when Mikael was at his prime with growls. By far the best live performance of bwp I’ve heard. Axe was a great drummer but nothing can compare to Lopez when he was on his game (or in his new band)

[@_gigi_1143]

that snare makes me see stars

[@inigobregelabasolo2881]

Amazing song and Martin Lopez pure energy. Snare sounds great!

[@TheFbiFilesRepeat]

Most harsh live vocals i think i have ever heard. Love it! You are doing God's work Mr Karst, we thank you!

[@williamreynolds3487]

Not to start an argument (we’re all simply here to hear this incredible band), but I’d say Corey Taylor’s vocals are probably the most brutal and raw harsh vocals I’ve ever heard. Listen to a live Slipknot performance from 2001. Heaviest shit ever. They’re actually my second favorite band behind Opeth.

[@TheFbiFilesRepeat]

@@williamreynolds3487link please

[@williamreynolds3487]

@@TheFbiFilesRepeat kzbin.info/www/bejne/kIrXpmmepL99l7M let me know if it works.

[@Count_Grishnackh]

Not to take your baiting argument, but corey taylor couldn’t carry Mikael Åkerfeldt socks. Bloodbath-the wacken carnage 2005- makes corey taylor green with envy.

[@williamreynolds3487]

@@Count_Grishnackh uh, no. Mikael wouldn’t have lasted one show doing Corey’s vocals. In fact, he couldn’t do them in the first place. So, I guess it just comes down to whether you think a more demonic sound or a more raw sound (like a human screaming) is more brutal. Of course, it’s subjective; you didn’t have to be rude about it lol

[@ralphmuller6040]

Lopez!!!

[@retrovertigocl]

The perfect line up

[@bahadirozer]

martin lopez is a madman

[@goinham9469]

Best Opeth video on KZbin HANDS DOWN!

[@snordal]

Thanks for sharing! Wow what an ending :) Martin Lopez is on fire...and the rest just at top notch as usual.

[@TheAshimaru]

Those chinese cymbals 😲 Full energy from Martin Lopez. Thank You.

[@mtlman906]

I miss this band

[@anatolio8689]

5:48 - Mendez just going beast mode

[@Kshep84]

1st time I saw them live on this tour. Lopez didn't make the show, he was sick... I was crushed. He left the band soon after. Saw opeth about 5 times live but never with Lopez.

[@wesleyb1458]

I have seen them multiple times with Axe but would have LOVED to see them with Lopez. The signature Opeth sound is the one with Lopez on the drum kit imo

[@zaverino]

This so amazing! For all these years I have been waiting for a decent quality sounding live performance of Blackwater Park with Martin Lopez and this is the one. Thanks for sharing

[@theopinson3851]

The intro groove is something a lot of the drummers that came after him seem to have trouble with. Gotta play it behind the beat like this to really make it work.

[@Kshep84]

It's never been as good when Lopez left... watershed had some cool moments but I lost interest after that

[@Julianmoxon]

Similar to Devin and Gene in strapping, Akerfelt and Lopez seem to have their own unique push and pull. I find it hard to tell who's leading

[@reducetheatoms]

Thank you so much for posting this. I really loved it, probably the best live version of Blackwater Park I've heard so far.

[@CikisHelyzet]

🔥PER!!!! 🔥

[@mfn83]

Love this one, great snare fills in the 2nd half to the end of the best prog death metal song ever. Thanks for uploading!

[@dhuntb00]

What a treat man. What an absolute treat. Thank you for posting

[@sethcowan5326]

Even for garage quality, this sounds as good as the album. Shows how good this lineup is. Lopez is one of my favorite drummers, his technique is so fluid, but so crisp at the same time. Axe is good in his own right, but when he tries to play Lopez's parts, it does not compare. the ghost notes and dynamics of the drumming is a testament to the amazing technique that Martin Lopez is.

[@lm8366]

Thank you for uploading and sharing 🖤🔥🔥🔥🔥🤘🏻

[@nabilhamdi3478]

I literally got shivers, thank you for sharing this!!!!!

[@efrenchavez4377]

Fuck, this is so hard yo 🔥💨💨💨💨

[@jostincastroabarca-vl7hf]

Mikael sounded like Satan himself

[@tuncelcel]

thumbnail is killer

[@primordialooze7574]

Karst, THANK YOU! Do we know the Venue and the exact date of this brilliant recording?

[@The_Karst]

My pleasure! Many more to come over the months and years ahead. This was yet another video from Opeth's Philadelphia show on February 26th, 2004. This one may seem different as I remastered both the audio and the video.

[@heenymeety406]

What was the last show that Lopez actually played with the band? Was it one of the early shows of the Ghost Reveries tour?

[@The_Karst]

Lopez's last show with Opeth was on July 9th, 2005. After finishing the Ghost Reveries recording, they set off on tour. Between June 25th and July 9th, Lopez played about 10 shows. But his health deteriorated, and he and the band made a decision that he would head home to recover. He never played with Opeth again, and officially left the band in May 2006. Recordings of Opeth w/ Lopez on that Ghost Reveries tour are extremely rare, and none are in the public domain other than one video of Godhead's Lament that I posted from June 27th, 2005.

[@Bassemasattar]

@@The_Karstman aside from your great videos, i love reading your comments. It’s like an Opeth encyclopedia.

[@OfficialArthusamakh]

Is it just me or does it feel like they are accelerating some parts of the song, compared to the album?

[@The_Karst]

Yeah - Lopez definitely sped up a couple of parts.

[@bahadirozer]

speeding up live is common practise for bands

[@tyt2006]

Do you have anything from the Tampa February 2004 show?

[@jordancross9335]

Hey Karst, Is There a Live Recording Of an Opeth Concert of December 18th 1997, And Its Also The First Show With Martin Lopez On Drums And Martin Mendez On Bass.

[@The_Karst]

December 18th? No, I'm afraid only a couple of photos were taken (one of which is in the Book of Opeth). There were only about 10 people at that show. I do have a recording of the show on December 20th 1997 though, which had the same setlist (April Ethereal, Advent, and Apostle in Triumph) and was Mendez and Lopez's first "real" gig with Opeth.

[@yudhaadityasukmanto]

2 decades ago?

[@CikisHelyzet]

If you honestly think there is anything better than what we’re watching right now... Yes, you probably are.

[@nassium66]

When Mikael was Mikael and Opeth was Opeth

[@reducetheatoms]

People change because they grow and they learn and so does their art :D

[@theyescapedtheweightofdarkness]

Opeth was always a prog band before they were a metal band. Except maybe for the first two albums

[@nassium66]

@@reducetheatoms People change but not always in a good way unfortunately!

[@reducetheatoms]

@@theyescapedtheweightofdarkness Mikael said in many interviews that " We were always a Death Metal band, we never considered our band as a prog band " though. He said that his prog influance probably comes from the fact that he listens to a lot of different genres of music.

[@reducetheatoms]

@@nassium66 For Mikael, he often said in interviews that he finds more depth in his new albums, because to him depth isnt always is hard and heavy songs, it can also be found in calmer sounds. I am not here to judge his choice, just said that he grew therefore he changed, no bad or good change mentioned here. Besides I personally like that they have tested so many differents styles/genres of music, I hope they will continue to make heavy growly music just like their more calmer albums. (Even though imo I find ICV pretty heavy compared to other Newpeths) Just like Porcupine Tree came back together after so many years, I think Opeth might come back to some death metal albums after many years as well. But I wonder if Mikael would be happy to growl in a new album when he himself knows that his growls arent as powerful as when he was young, idk if he would want to make an album knowing his growling isn't "perfect" for him. (Since he always makes sure that his music is flawless)

[@Lukkern]

Am i the only one that honestly thinks opeth with axenrot and fredrik is/was way better live then this??

[@Fellwix]

Yes evidently

[@nassium66]

Yes you are the only one 😂. You can not be serious !

[@CRCaritas]

López in the studio is killer for me. But live I prefer Axenrot too, honestly the thing I miss the most about this era is the intensity and the growls, but they are more tight now

[@The_Karst]

Good question. Personally, it's dependent on the song. They're also unquestionably a tighter band now (and were with Axe too). But as far as BWP (the track) goes: to me, this video is its peak performance.

[@williamreynolds3487]

I would take a “sloppier” live performance with prime Mikael over what we have now.

[@saschamarr495]

Oh man, those vocals! Such a crazy difference between this & royal albert hall. Crazy how some folks cant hear the difference ...

[@lircox]

Amazing, thanks

[@ZensMeatSlab]

I never thought I would ever hear this song played so well live....those vocals especially. Holy shit....what a show.