Opeth have been around for over a decade now and their sound has gone through quite a change over the years. What started as a typical black metal band with the usual style of chunking guitar and monster mash vocals slowly but surely evolved into what has essentially become a progressive folk rock band, albeit one with a slightly darker slant than most.

Opeth – Lamentations: Live At Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003 captures the band live where the band at both sides of the spectrum and should please both fans of their more artistic acoustic side as well as those who, like myself, appreciate their heavier material as well. I don't care as much for their more progressive sound and prefer their earlier material to the direction they've taken but I can still appreciate what they're doing musically and creatively with the later recordings.

The DVD, which captures a complete performance at the Shepherd's Bush auditorium with a pack general admission crowd, contains the following tracks from throughout their discography:

1. Windowpane

2. In My Time Of Need

3. Death Whispered A Lullaby

4. Closure

5. Hope Leaves

6. To Rid The Disease

7. Ending Credits

8. Harvest

9. Weakness

10. Master's Apprentice

11. The Drapery Falls

12. Deliverance

13. The Leper Affinity

14. A Fair Judgement

The line up on the disc is as follows: Mikael Akerfeldt on guitar and vocals, Peter Lindgren on guitar, Martin Mendez on bass and Martin Lopez on drums. The band seem to be enjoying themselves in this performance, introducing each song to the crowd (who respond quite favorably throughout the show) and bantering back and forth a little bit but what really matters here is the playing. These guys know how to handle their instruments and this concert really shows off their playing skills quite admirably.

Video:

Opeth – Lamentations is presented in an anamorphic 1.85.1 transfer with sharp detail, bright vivid colors, and a nice stable picture. There are hardly any issues worth nothing in the transfer at all, it's well authored and the compression is rarely even slightly noticeable. This is a dual layered disc and there is a layer change that you can notice, but really, it's well placed and you have to be looking for it.