Vocal Coach REACTS - OPETH "Ghost Of Perdition" (Live at Red Rock Amphitheatre)

[@jeremysieving7434]

Watch Harliquen Forest from the Royal Albert Hall concert. A lot of close up video of him doing the harsh vocals.

[@figurehead242]

Also, his vocals are waaaay better at that show...

[@TheSyncos]

I concur. That song is incredible, that show is great.

[@deed5811]

I concur! kzbin.info/www/bejne/Znm1lqeqadCCpq8

[@jeremysieving7434]

@figurehead242 yeah, everyone always watches the red rocks video. But I think his voice was in its prime during the Royal Albert, or round house concerts

[@figurehead242]

​@@jeremysieving7434 Ooohh, the Roundhouse Tapes... I've forgotten about that masterpiece! Thanks for the reminder.

[@eduardokronbauer9057]

If you suspect something, just watch the rest of the DVD, it's purely all live, the live vocals are different than in the studio and on the song "Demon of the Fall" Mikael's guitar fails and it's all in the video. They are really perfect live, I've watched it 4 times already. The fact that at the end of the video there is no video of Mikael on harsh volcals must be a coincidence. I saw him tree times in front row in verry small places and is the same quality. They care a lot about equipment and engineering, of course, to sound as perfect as possible, like the effects that turns the guitars into acoustic guitars.

[@billyboostah6308]

Demon of the fall at Roundhouse Tapes though... Amazing

[@Moonlapse508]

​@@billyboostah6308 Blackwater Park's performance on Roundhouse Tapes is also completely insane, for me the best performance on the entire DVD.

[@mortenrl1946]

Heh, even the light show is live! Tapped on a bunch of buttons by a nerdy engineer in real time.

[@evilpingouin]

The "effect" that turns their electric guitars into acoustics are piezoelectric pickups 😉

[@watnoudan]

Its like that in every band he plays. I had the same with Bloodbath live with him. Swedish in general are obsessed with sound engineering to perfection.

[@ekwgrfkjeh]

The falsetto sustained note you were talking about @6:40 was actually held by Michael, the lead vocalist. The keyboardist did sing the main vocal line in that part, they swapped effortlessly

[@impulse4079]

By the way Ken, at around 7:00, that’s actually Mikael (lead vocalist) on the falsetto harmonies! I didn’t catch it until you look at his vowel shaping that he’s the one harmonizing.

[@edmundgp]

Exactly what I was thinking.

[@noor6668]

Came here to say this

[@v0idgrim]

Exactly what I was about to write :)

[@apollyonexe868]

Very last track on the Storm Corrosion solo project album is Mikael singing some pretty high vocals, so for the naysayers who insist it's the keyboardist still, just direct them to that song. Definitely Mikael.

[@deed5811]

I fell in love with metal as a teen because of its complexity and diversity. 🤘

[@jesperschultz5568]

0:55 short vid shot of him growling. Actually I think the high beautiful tone in the breakdown is actually Mikael doing it. They switch. The keyboard guy is doing the melody line and Mikael isdoing the high, beautiful tone. :)

[@neuroticgothguy]

You're correct in saying Opeth started out as a Death Metal band, however they've always played progressive music in this case "progressive death metal" though around 2007 they transitioned towards "progressive rock". Mikael has said in interviews that he doesn't really have interest in play/writing death metal music anymore as he thinks there's nothing really new to cover in that genre. Anyway, this is one of their best songs off of one of their best albums, though really any song off of the album Ghost of Perdition is great.

[@Robert_Herring]

Opeth are magnificent live, incredibly tight and expressive. The concert video for the whole concert is wonderful. As a singer, Mikael is very calm. Watching him perform, he sometimes almost looks bored, yet it sounds anything but. There isn't much running around and histrionics from the band either, just calmly melt your face off. As the lyricist and songwriter, Mikael is brilliant. Very poetic. BTW, the openers for this concert where Gojira and Devin Townsend. I would have loved to have been there.

[@singer3188]

I wasnt at Red Rocks but caught this tour in Indianapolis. All three bands absolutely slayed

[@jsleeio]

last time I saw them in Sydney, Australia, 2 or 3 tours ago maybe? Mikael walked out on stage and immediately greeted everyone with a "hello, Melbourne" (he 100% knew he wasn't in Melbourne) then pointed at some specific people in the front row and said "I remember you c%#ts". They then absolutely delivered. Advent! Live! Incredible.

[@FrostyJim6969]

I was at this show! Such an amazing experience! Gojira opening up for them made it even better!

[@foxriverez7824]

Omg. That wouldve been epic💖✨️

[@thevilifyingforce]

A fantastic choice!

[@christerfurberg6538]

You won't be surprised to hear that the guys in Jinjer are big Opeth fans!

[@eduardokronbauer9057]

Harsh volcals on video: 0:40' 0:55' 1:20' 3:48'

[@Shift_Work_Life]

As commented already, Opeth playing Harlequin Forest at the Royal Albert Hall is an amazing piece showing off all of the band's prowess.

[@DornishVintage]

I've seen Opeth live in small venues, in a big venue once (Hammersmith), and at least four times at open air festivals. They always sound like this. They are amazing live, and they know how to make it sound right. At least to me, Mikael has his mic mounted so much higher than you would expect, perhaps that helps him for his singing.

[@vigridr7614]

The audio engineer and mixer for this DVD is disgustingly talented. Just unreal skill.

[@LudoTechWorld]

I guess not having the passages with harsh vocals close is a video editing choice. Having the more atmospheric parts in closed shots gives a more intimate feeling for the viewer, that contrasts with the more energetic parts with a wide shot also allowing the viewer to have a better feeling of the more busy and complex light show happening then.

[@omulei1797]

I’m glad you got around to this one. Opeth is an absolute treat live.

[@matthewgoodA1206]

I’ve never quite done a deep dive into the music of Opeth, but I do own one complete album- the 2005 record this song is on- plus a slew of other selected studio tracks. However, really, you only need to listen one of their super-complex compositions to get that this band is as technically proficient as can be. I also really appreciate that they can play such disparate sections in the same song- keeps things very interesting and fresh.

[@Bobbias]

Yeah Opeth started off more as death metal, almost black metal, but there's always been some progressive elements to their songwriting. Over time they've mellowed, first embracing a more progressive focused style then moving much closer to progressive rock on some of their most recent stuff.

[@billyboostah6308]

NIIIICE more opeth please. Harliquen Forest, Bleak or The Moor (all live) are also to recommend!!!

[@AdrianCardona01051011]

If you want to hear more aggresive harsh vocals performed on this song watch the Roundhouse Tapes live version of it. It was from around 2006 i think so his growls were better but he still can do them live nowadays, not in the same quality but really good thinking how much time has passed since then. For other songs go whetever you want from Still Life album to Watershed (for their older style, which I like the most) or from Heritage onwards for their newer style (softer, no harsh)

[@HattemAlHajry]

You want to see him perform the harsh vocals and captured closely by the camera? Watch their live performance of The Drapery Falls, And it’s one of the greats songs ever.

[@silasakron4692]

I never noticed they didn't really capture his harsh vocals on tape for this track. Curious. You can see a bit of them @ 0:28 however. Certainly not altered, I was there - wonderful performance.

[@intoexit]

One of my all time favorite songs! Great that you also perceived the second voice so positively! ;)

[@bryanmack5410]

You can't get the camera too close during the harsh vocals because it melts the camera and then the camera has to be thrown out and they're not cheap.

[@deportedsouls3165]

I've seen them live and can guarantee Michael sounds that good live!😊

[@martinbressette4207]

Another vocal coach and singer that I have seen review this band commented that (from what she could see in video of him) he seemed to not move much or change his posture. He seems to do it all really effortlessly, changing between growls and clean vocals. Great vocalist and guitarist!

[@brentanton7466]

This is actually pretty soon after Mikael had to change his harsh vocal style due to health reasons (he was doing it unhealthily). So it isn't as full as it once was. I remember hearing this live shot for the first time and I was like what happened? Lmao. Check out a live performance pre 2014 and you will hear a difference.

[@atides33]

Does he state that in an interview or something, because I've always wondered why his growls changed so dramatically around the time he stopped growling on the studio albums.

[@prayaanevano5481]

@@atides33 his harsh vocals started wearing out a bit around or after roundhouse and it just was a bit off in watershed as well. I'm not sure I read somewhere they switched to in-ear monitors around that time and he had to change his vocals due to hearing himself differently plus he went all out in the 2000s and recording for bloodbath he vomitted blood or something so I think it definitely had an effect on his voice. The growling style is definitely different pe heritage and post heritage.

[@PK--ITA]

Agree at 100% at @Eduardo Kronbauer opinion. Opeth is a band of perfectionists and already Mikael is the greatest of them. Besides, the type of music they play requires them to have such quality, every sound counts here. Some of their studio albums are among the best released in the metal industry

[@vince8081]

All i know about Mikael's growl technique (because it explains it somewhere i don't remember) is that he's doing it at relatively low volume. He's the best to me on that technique.

[@bowelrupture]

That is also the best way to do it. When i was still in a death metal band as a vocalist, i would use my own microphone (Beyerdynamic) and made sure that i needed low volume to growl. So i could do it in a relaxed way. And use several different techniques. Gutteral, high and low pitched. Piggies.

[@Spiffelight]

Hard to believe it's the same guy singing in Bloodbath, check out "Bloodbath 2005 Wacken", legendary stuff for us metalheads

[@belquerst]

I absolutely love Opeth.. those guys are beats... so as Leprous.. please react to Castaway Angels / Alleviate!

[@icuddlecats1]

I have seen them live many times, they have been around forever .

[@belladonna_scarlet]

My husband has an excellent appreciation for Opeth. I hadn't heard this one before, and, along with your reaction, I have a much greater appreciation for them. Thanks for choosing this one. Progressive metal and rock are my preferred genres -- the composition's complexity and the vocal variations (my favourite instrument) stimulate my bored brain and provide the elation that marks a spiritual experience for me. I assume anyone into heavier music will eventually gravitate toward progressive and, as a result, increase its popularity.

[@johncarpenter3751]

TOOL really helped the Genre. Crazy how they evolved from a grunge/alt rock band into an iconic Progressive Metal band

[@Lolquake]

I also like this song.

[@belladonna_scarlet]

@@johncarpenter3751 I can hear a bit of TOOL in some of Opeth's work. Yeah, Opiate was heavy and Undertow a bit less so but still relentless. I wouldn't have found my love for TOOL in the early 90s if it wasn't for those albums. They were the ones who hooked me into the more progressive stuff -- they have really evolved as a band over the last 30 years. You're right -- they have done a lot for the genre, reaching worldwide success and mainstream popularity at times.

[@belladonna_scarlet]

My husband and I were talking about this last night -- how progressive metal or rock will never become mainstream/"pop" music. There is too much biased toward metal and hardcore rock, in general. This is the feedback I received from a friend after sending him some power metal, "According to my unindoctrinated self, heavy metal isn't supposed to be intellectual or thoughtful or be interested in things historical or spiritual. It's all about a driving beat, raspy screams and amplifiers that go up to 11. The singers are not supposed to have angelic voices or any storytelling prowess. So please keep opening my mind. I think it can only help me face some of my deeper and more harmful prejudices." I run into this all the time.

[@mvunit3]

@@belladonna_scarlet These are for you and anyone interested . . . I wanted to feature bands in the Prog Metal and Heavy Progressive Rock genres that focused on "Melodic" vocals, for those that didn't like the harsher/Death Metal vocal style (though some tracks have hints of it). Though I'm a Death Metal fan as well . . . these were bands that are not well known, or those that started and/or developed the subgenre Prog Metal. So I hope you find some new and older bands to enjOy here 🙂. *melodious progulus* (each part, so far): 1. kzbin.info/aero/PL2DU3TBNutEehTdWi7pU5bYcAF6Ql_xHv 2 kzbin.info/aero/PL2DU3TBNutEdwcerQSEcG8MU8qp1bxkqu 3. kzbin.info/aero/PL2DU3TBNutEcnr_Fjq-ZMNeALABnPjz_S 4. kzbin.info/aero/PL2DU3TBNutEf-WjUe8Y86SjsYz2Lv3wnf 5. kzbin.info/aero/PL2DU3TBNutEeP8mknmvkVOq3wMyOn2Ph2 6. kzbin.info/aero/PL2DU3TBNutEe1lLsoKvpuwBhnFVbQYWO4 7. kzbin.info/aero/PL2DU3TBNutEfhz5UpwgclQQ51O9OCUK_K 8. kzbin.info/aero/PL_zmdsN11qLG26NKGQUu-fobKInLKnS2N 9. kzbin.info/aero/PL_zmdsN11qLE_nRVvJPl4Ib3cJEBn4tbu 10. kzbin.info/aero/PL_zmdsN11qLGCrcq_uvfWR4uc9XLZwDQV 11. kzbin.info/aero/PL_zmdsN11qLHe36NfY7dMC4PI2r3FELwl 12. kzbin.info/aero/PL_zmdsN11qLGfRUCfjDzlV28gacGyM0Jg 13. kzbin.info/aero/PL_zmdsN11qLEx9DJBRkD3YTZR9OPsUBDM (check each description on the playlists for next parts - I'm currently working on part XIV) \m/

[@Starman_67]

Go to aboit 40 seconds in. You'll get the best view for whole gig. Love Opeth. Love this song. Love this performance. Appreciate your reaction, dude. More Opeth, more Nightwish and would love some dream theatre too.

[@lukeslotton]

Having absolutely loved Opeth for years, seeing them many times, My guess after you pointed out his harsh vocals were never in frame is for the fact that, shockingly, he looks exactly the same while singing them. He doesn’t contort his face or turn into the brutal demon he sounds like, and because of this, I think they choose to go for mystique and not show a viewing audience how much less brutal he LOOKS than he sounds.

[@MikaTarkela]

This song is so amazing :) A great next song from Opeth would be Harlequin Forest.

[@CarlWidegrip]

Their live performances at Shepherds Bush Empire has a myriad of angles!

[@rcraprilia]

Check any song from the live show at Shepherd Bush Empire London, and you will have perfect example and full view of Mikael's range.

[@markrichardson8378]

They are an amazing band,I love all era,s of opeth.

[@sadmarinersfan8935]

Just found your channel and you get a sub from me definitely one of if not the best reaction video I’ve seen for an opeth song you definitely have a lot of knowledge with the way you articulate your observation which is much appreciated over most reactions

[@thevilifyingforce]

@17:00 the probable future of metal is further blending of genres. I'll have to go look for a good live video of Zeal and Ardor. They combine black metal and gospel(?).

[@Iwasraisedbyrobots]

Love that you love Michael. Opeth is the best. Great video too !

[@frenchiesfrankieandhenry]

Mikael has been doing Opeth for 34 years and his voice still sounds amazing. 5:10

[@demoncleaner80]

If you look at Harlequin Forest live at Royal Albert Hall, you get a pretty good view of Mikael singing. As great as this Red Rocks show is, for some reason the camera is all over the place for Ghosts of Perdition. Still love this performance though, it's freaking flawless

[@Luana6350]

Wow, really nice voice - great video👍

[@jamesm9999]

You were great as Doctor Doom in the Fantastic Four movie 😄

[@vadacris4095]

Nice! I love this song!

[@farkas9476]

Very nice reaction. If you want to dig a bit deeper into this Genre Opeth and Gojira are definitely the ones to check out. "In my time of need" from Opeths Damnation (the most beautiful album ive ever heared) is a song I would love to see you reacting to. Greetings from Germany

[@darkphoenix2]

There are unfortunately not a lot of videos that are really good for analyzing Mikael's vocals. There are several live videos but I don't know how good a look you'll get at what Mikael is doing throughout the song. Still worth it just to listen to Opeth, though.

[@thevilifyingforce]

@2:00 Metal is fairly ambiguous with labels being generated from feel most of the time(IMHO). Opeth falls into my favorite blend of Death and Prog.

[@The13thblade]

Vocally spine and soul. Musically, um yea!

[@roxanafanca3801]

So fun watching you react to this, they are amazing❤ would you please please please give Tristania a chance? It's impossible to choose a favourite song so I'd say A Sequel of Decay just because it has female vocals and both growly and clean male vocals....but really anything (with Vibeke, not the new vocalist) would do❤

[@kalas-kurt]

Cheers mate! Wonderful inputs. It's the main vocalist doing the falsetto at 7:14 btw ✌

[@wolfinthesno]

Ken in the month of Metal, please work in some more Lorna Shore, IDC what song, could litteraly be anything from their EP "and I return to nothingness", or any song from pain remains. They are all phenomenal.

[@PaulHilburger]

YEAH OPETH!

[@Zhgarr]

Sorry, only just found this so I'm like a month late, but if you want more close-ups of him singing the harsh vocals of this particular track, take the Roundhouse version (kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3-cn3SPgrusm5Y), straight from the first seconds into the song his face is in full focus. That being said, you won't see much difference in his demeanor, he's just chill throughout the whole thing, start to finish. I'm not sure why the camera person here decided to go bird view on those parts, Mikael does do this live, nothing nefarious or trickery afaik.

[@prefono]

I don't know why you never see him growling... I saw them live last year and I was pretty close... I didn't see anything secret.

[@Adeon55]

0:40 Is a closer shot on him doing the harsh vocals

[@floridabelle]

🔥🔥❤Opeth❤🔥🔥

[@progperljungman8218]

👋🙂

[@floridabelle]

@@progperljungman8218 Cheers!! 👋

[@duncansolloway2497]

would like to see a reaction to NE OBLIVISCARIS performing AND PLAGUE FLOWERS AND KALEIDOSCOPE

[@dovlassaturnus7805]

I also wondered why there are now close shoots when he growls... i think it's only on this song

[@45Lonewolf45]

Awesome 👏🏻

[@TheSyncos]

I mean, asking "is it the future of metal" when that song was released 18 years ago is hilarious. That's like saying "Is this the future of rock?" When Rush came on the scene. There's absolutely a place, or even a *need* for it, but I think it'll always coexist beside other genres of metal.

[@ShadowOfStrikes]

If you need some more Progressive Metal, than I would recommend you "Leprous - Slave (Live At Rockefeller Music Hall)", I love Bands which aren´t excatly the "norm" like: Igorrr Leprous Hanzel & Gretyl Zeal & Ardor öOoOoOoOoOo (also called Caterpiller)

[@eduardokronbauer9057]

More than that, he always stays further away from the microphone because the songs are complex and he needs to look at the guitar arm to make the notes. They certainly thought about this, looking for equipment that would pick up the voice better. If it was backing track, it would sound at least more studio-like. Those who know it know that it has 100% originality. So much so that parts of Ghost of Perdition recorded in studio have effects on the vocal. Besides, many fans complain that his guttural sound lost quality, I disagree, but this shows that there is no editing or use of backing track. At least two parts of the video show it well: 3:50 - "Darkness" is pronounced with the extended "s", which is totally different from the original; 8:06: In the part where he sings: "dedicated hunter" the hunter is pronounced together, when in the studio version it is searated: "hun" "ter".

[@NZWozza]

Opeth. One of the best. (lol auto changed that to Opera)

[@The13thblade]

Also yea!

[@TheVadrigar]

I think Mikael had issues with his harsh vocals at some point of his career, but nowadays they're better than ever (saw them live last year). Too bad he doesn't do any harsh in the new songs.

[@metalmanny666]

You should check out Between The Buried And Me

[@bobbyanderson7133]

10:08 All of us that long for the old growls...... 😮

[@hermanomann6075]

Opeth=Movies

[@TheScottdavis86]

Hey, Ken. If I could add another track to suggest, check out King of Those Who Know by Cynic. I think it might be a bit of progressive metal you'd enjoy reacting to!

[@alcofgod4211]

masterpiece

[@deminybs]

I always prefer studio versions, but ill make an exception

[@FeldmarszaekDuda]

To say the truth, even their death metal beginnings were much prog. Also: Mikael always loved 60's and 70's rock, so their evolution isn't something unnatural. BTW, it's not even his peak vocal form. Also, you should really try their "Reverie/Harlequin Forest". It's even better in terms of composition and performance.

[@Lleanlleawrg]

I've seen 'em live a few times and seen a ton of their live videos as well, most videos do show him when he does the growly parts as well, so thats odd.

[@johnbhai7147]

2:11 this is why you shouldn't lean on wiki ... You must actually need to listen... Their early Recordings were black metal or melodic death metal and this ghost of perdition is Progressive Death Metal ...

[@joealexander8266]

Seen Opeth live twice here in Sweden and they really are this good. That said, there is possibly some post-production editing going on with the DVD/BR releases, but there's none of that live at any rate. Mike's vocals are on point, in real life. Come think about it, on several official live releases you hear them making clear and obvious mistakes here and there, so I don't think they even bother editing them very much. Also, regarding "harsh" vocals, as with any other vocal style that pushes it, there are certainly bad techniques out there that some metal vocalists employ, and they WILL ruin your voice in the long run. A good growling technique should technically not do anything to your regular voice, or "clean" singing voice, though.

[@soradicalreticsandmonitors2390]

Mistreated 1977 live Munich before Metal month is over

[@JudgeLazar]

You should really keep diving down the Opeth rabbit hole. Michael Akerfeldt has the cleanest and clearest growling vocals but he's also got an amazing normal singing voice. These guys are next level good. I don't think you'll regret it. Also I appreciate that you clearly do some research about the bands before you make a video.

[@amazinggrace5692]

Is this your first PTX reaction? It didn’t seem so. But you don’t have a PTX tab and I scrolled back as far as my eyes would allow.

[@bobbyanderson7133]

If you want to see his mouth during the growls... kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3-cn3SPgrusm5Y

[@pravus1970]

You should also look into Deadhead live at The Royal Albert Hall with Devin Townsend Project. Man, Devin’s voice is not from this world. Harsh vocals to high notes like no one else.

[@jans1982]

They don't want the devil himselg to be in the shot

[@worldrummer]

After Watershed (the album that proceeds the one this track is taken from) they stopped being a metal band, as far as the death growls go. Clean vocals only now. So. To answer your question, I think prog metal is a wrinkle. It's certainly not the future.

[@vigridr7614]

Mikael had to modify his screams way back because he was destroying his voice too much - if you wanna watch him really slam it like he would back in the day and see better closeups of his mouth when he's doing it, you should look for the Roundhouse Tapes (all of it is on youtube), either this same song or better yet, Demon of the Fall. It's crazy.

[@MrKawika64]

Progressive death metal

[@anthonydeathchain4710]

to be honest, on all their live when they are doing the Prog death setlist, i prefer The Roundhouse tape. his voice in this one is deeper,h is growl goes really far, i don't know how to explain since i'm not a singer or musician, but here at the end of each verse, it feels like he is stopping his voice like at the beginning when he is singing "Lingering death" (with a big . at the end) in the Roundhouse tape version it's more like "Lingering deeeatttthhhhh !". Still a great show btw. but wanted to point out this.

[@haakonht]

It's just a compressor or maybe even a limiter on the vocal track, there's really no magic the audio engineers are doing here, has to be said that this is most likely mixed from the multitracks from the mixer and not the actual mix you would hear if you were in the audience.

[@misanthrope1467]

Bro, you look and sound like somebody from the Tech Vault.

[@BlackDeathThrash]

good song although I still like the first 4 albums better

[@45Lonewolf45]

At the beginning it shows his mouth when growling

[@myfaceismyshield5963]

This song is their death metal stuff. The genre is called Technical Death Metal, which was arguably started by Death (some people call it progressive Death Metal, which isn't usual but it's kinda hyper-correct because it does mean exactly what it is. "Technical" is what is used to replace "Prog" for Extreme Metal genres; Speed, Thrash, Black, Death, Core, etc. when you note that the music had progressive rock elements. So e.g. you wouldn't call Emperor a Progressive Black Metal band, but rather a Technical Black metal band.) These days Opeth plays a lot of Progressive Metal, so essentially the same stuff but without the growling and sometimes without the distorted guitars and with less intensity, so it's more like Prog Rock. Either way they are usually still called a Technical Death Metal band, because they still play these older songs live every time they perform.

[@darrenbooker8144]

Mate, go to lamentations dvd recording, when mikael screamed better then he sung Not as polished but epic

[@TysonGiffordME]

I kind of see metal as less of a genre than a threshold... if you are willing to go "there" you are metal, even if you don't

[@gzr488]

what? excuse me???

[@dooodooodooo555]

should have reacted to earlier versions. Mikaels screams, while amazing, are kind of worn out by this point. not peak Mikael. this was a more recent concert if i remember correctly

[@heyokah]

Magic happens when the keyboardist tries to out work the drummer.

[@MrMandelll]

Sad it's kinda fake reaction. You heard the song before, no doubt. Lack of reaction in the opening shows. None/zero interest from me to watch more than the first 15 sec of you're reaction.