The Opeth gig is probably the metal event of the year for me, in fact I had purchased the tickets on the first day they were being sold, so you can imagine my shock when I realised the gig was in jeopardy because of a work presentation. The first thing I did on Monday morning after the boss asked me what I did on the weekend was to tell him that there was a great gig tonight and being the good man he is, he took the hint that I had to leave on time. The thing didn't stop here though, as between 6.00 and 6.45 only one bus passed and it was full so to avoid problems I got a taxi to Vicar St. where the Swedish gods were playing.

I arrived in time to form part of the long black line with other metal fellows ready for the concert and in about 10 minutes I was inside looking for my first pint which never materialized because it was an all ages concert. I found the t-shirt selling stand where I got an Opeth tour shirt and a flag which is already hanging on my door perfectly place to be the first thing I see when I get up of bed every morning. There was a gorgeous girl at the stand wearing a Samael girly shirt which is the first Samael shirt I've seen in Ireland … fine stuff.

At about 7.45 the supporting Irish band Primordial started off their set. I couldn't really pin point the music into a particular style although I think it's somewhere in the pagan black metal region with some cleaner vocals. I had already heard some songs from the last album The Gathering Wilderness and it was nice watching them performed live. The vocalist was full of energy and anger though sometimes he didn't really seem sure where to direct it.

As soon as Primordial finished their 45 minute set, the crew dismounted everything in few minutes and at about 9.00 Opeth's kit was uncovered. The light on that lovely drum kit twinkled and the crowd filled the place and began shouting, "Opeth, Opeth, Opeth". Out they came with Mikael starting off with "Ghost of Perdition" the first track on the new record Ghost Reveries. From now on everything minute kept getting better. The people were really having fun and some proper moshing and headbanging set the atmosphere. I think the sound lacked some depth (even for Primordial) but it could be because of the acoustics of the room. That said however, it didn't make much of a difference.

After each song Mikael was enlightening us with some of his wisdom like what are the good things in life "the corona is cold, the Guinness is cold, the snickers bar has just melted", or else saying that his job is a cock, or that he has a big dick (we were supposed to have said that in Swedish).

His second song was from Still Life but I forgot most of that album and I didn't catch the name of the song. Next came "When" from My Arms Your Hearse. At each songs Mikael and Peter Lindgren kept changing their guitars from their supply stand behind Peter. There was a great vibe, a very responsive crowd and in an uncharacteristic metal attitude Mikael was smiling most of the time. He seems to be a great guy and he's prettier in real life than on the photos. (I've already said that I'm no gay - I just recognise beauty). I'm sure there were some female metal-heads who would agree with me – you could read it on their face. I didn't manage to take a glance at the drummer who was well hidden behind his drums. The keyboardist was also a cool guy who headbanged heavily at some songs.

Next came the songs "Bay of Hounds", "Under the weeping mood" (from Orchid), "The Grand Conjuration" and a one from Blackwater Park. This ended the show but deservedly we wanted more so they come back for one last one. In the mean time we had a small quiz, where we had to guess some famous songs, as a prelude to "Deliverance". This was probably the best song of the night and the crowed really rocked hard. A fantastic concert … definitely the best band I've watched till now.