By Christopher David<\/p>\n
Following a stellar opening set by doomy Colorado outfit Khemmis, Sweden\u2019s Opeth brought a set drenched in compelling, moody visuals to accompany their unique take on \u201870s-esque prog and hard rock.\u00a0 Delivering an seventy-minute set that ebbed and flowed from fleeting acoustic passages to lengthy epics showcasing the quintet\u2019s depth (particularly set closer \u201cDeliverance\u201d), lead singer Mikael Akerfeldt provided dramatic context against a backdrop of burning churches and otherworldly creatures.\u00a0 Opeth\u2019s current sound defies easy explanation; imagine King Crimson as a band from the early \u201880s New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, with touring drummer Sami Karppinen asserting himself as a solid anchor for the band\u2019s often unexpected arrangements.<\/p>\n
Atlanta\u2019s Mastodon, currently basking in the success of 2021\u2019s Hushed and Grim<\/em>, brought a crushing set of tunes that highlighted just how far they\u2019ve come in recent years.\u00a0 The new album\u2019s theme of death and reflection fit nicely against a mish-mash of visuals that drenched the band in dark light; singer\/guitarist Brent Hinds cut an imposing figure, and new tunes \u201cPushing the Tides\u201d and \u201cTeardrinker\u201d were even darker and heavier live than on record.\u00a0 Mastodon\u2019s lean toward prog-metal in recent years has expanded their sound in all the right ways, and while no stranger to Grammy nominations, their near flawless set at the Riv showcased a band at the peak of its powers.<\/p>\n ===================================================================<\/p>\n Opeth – Riviera Theater, Chicago, IL, April 28th, 2022 (setlist)<\/strong><\/p>\n Hjartat vet vad Handen gor<\/p>\n Ghost of Perdition<\/p>\n Cusp of Eternity<\/p>\n The Devil\u2019s Orchard<\/p>\n The Drapery Falls<\/p>\n In My Time of Need<\/p>\n Sorceress<\/p>\n Deliverance<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Mastodon – Riviera Theater, Chicago, IL, April 28th, 2022 (setlist)<\/strong><\/p>\n Pain With an Anchor<\/p>\n Crystal Skull<\/p>\n Megalodon<\/p>\n The Crux<\/p>\n Teardrinker<\/p>\n Bladecatcher<\/p>\n Black Tongue<\/p>\n Skeleton of Splendor<\/p>\n The Czar<\/p>\n Pushing the Tides<\/p>\n More Than I Could Chew<\/p>\n Mother Puncher<\/p>\n Gobblers of Dregs<\/p>\n Blood and Thunder<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Christopher David Following a stellar opening set by doomy Colorado outfit Khemmis, Sweden\u2019s Opeth brought a set drenched in compelling, moody visuals to accompany their unique take on \u201870s-esque […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,41,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-news","category-features","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}