So, how about a live Opeth record that covers their entire career?
Strictly speaking, the set list on _The Roundhouse Tapes_ lacks a
song from _Deliverance_ to live up to that billing; but with such a
stellar live album, who's going to care?Opeth have stirred plenty of debate in recent years, including but
certainly not limited to their latest album _Ghost Reveries_.
Sidestepping all that noise for a moment, one thing should be
perfectly clear from the start if you even consider picking up _The
Roundhouse Tapes_: either the idea of a nicely packaged, finely
recorded, expertly played Opeth live album appeals to you, or it
doesn't. That's how you decide whether to buy _The Roundhouse Tapes_,
because quite frankly I don't see any Opeth fans not liking this
double-disc, or any detractors being swayed by it.
Speaking of _The Roundhouse Tapes_ being a double-disc album, it is
actually a curiously distributed one at that: the first disc contains
six tracks (including the longest ones), and the second only three.
This could have been a bit of a misstep, but the second disc is very
unlikely to fall into oblivion, as in addition to "Windowpane" from
_Damnation_ it features "Blackwater Park" and set closer "Demon of the
Fall" from _My Arms, Your Hearse_ -- more than sufficient reason for
frequent spins.
The first and main disc of this set opens strongly with "When" from
_My Arms, Your Hearse_, continuing well with "Ghost of Perdition" (the
only track off their latest album). Time jumps back over a decade for
the classic "Under the Weeping Moon" from their debut _Orchid_,
followed by "Bleak" from _Blackwater Park_ and "Face of Melinda" from
_Still Life_. The disc closes with a breathtaking rendition of "The
Night and the Silent Water" from _Morningrise_.
There is always the odd missing track you would have liked them to
include, but very little can be faulted here, as _The Roundhouse
Tapes_ is an impeccable live album throughout. Like Opeth? Then go buy
this.