''Lamentations (Live at Shepherds Bush Empire 2003)'' is the first live album and video by Swedish

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

band Opeth, released under the

Music For Nations Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment. Launched in ...

label in 2003. It was recorded at the

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originall ...

on 25 September 2003. Lamentations features Opeth playing the album ''

Damnation Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, citizens would recite ...

'' in its entirety (with the song "Harvest" from ''

Blackwater Park ''Blackwater Park'' is the fifth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on March 12, 2001 in Europe and a day later in North America through Music for Nations and Koch Records. The album marks the first collaborati ...

'' put in the running order before the last song), followed by some of the band's songs from ''

'' and ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was ada ...

''. The only song that was played from albums prior to ''Blackwater Park'' was "Demon of the Fall" (from the album ''

My Arms, Your Hearse ''My Arms, Your Hearse'' is the third full-length studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, released in August 1998. It was the band's first album to be released simultaneously in Europe, through Candlelight Records, and in the Unite ...

'') as an encore song, but the song was not filmed for the DVD. Licensing issues with previous record labels prevented this from happening at the time of the disc's release. The DVD also includes a documentary on the making of both ''Damnation'' and ''Deliverance'' because both albums were recorded at the same time. This was the first Opeth release with Per Wiberg, although he did not become a permanent band member until '' Ghost Reveries''. A 2-disc CD version of the live recording was released in 2006 in a collector's edition slipcase. A 3-disc vinyl version with new cover artwork was released in July, 2016.

DVD

CD track listing

Reception

The recording is generally regarded as having exceptionally clear and beautiful sound and visual quality, although

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

reviewer John Serba complained of the ubiquity of shots from what he termed the "Åkerfeldt Orifice Cam", showing close-ups of the singer's mouth and nose in excruciating detail.

Personnel

Opeth

Mikael Åkerfeldt Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt (; born 17 April 1974)Mikael Åkerfeldt
, Op ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

(1–3, 5–14),

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

(4) * Peter Lindgren – guitar *

Martin Lopez Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Martín Méndez Martín Méndez (born April 6, 1978, in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a Uruguayan Swedish bassist of progressive death metal band Opeth and second longest serving member of the band, behind lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

DVD & Album Production

*Paul McLoone – production *Benje Noble –

5.1 5.1 surround sound ("five-point one") is the common name for surround sound audio systems. 5.1 is the most commonly used layout in home theatres. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low-frequency effects channel (the "point one"). Dol ...

& Dts audio post production *Louise Cassidy – production assisting *

Andy Sneap Andy Sneap (born 18 July 1969) is an English guitarist, record producer and composer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaime ...

– recording and mixing * Fredrik Odefjärd –

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

filming Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focus ...

and production on ''Documentary''

Imaging

*Rigel Lastrella – DVD package design US

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

* Travis Smith – photography and artwork

Other personnel

* Per Wiberg – session keyboard and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corro ...

– lyrics on "Death Whispered a Lullaby"

Show Production

*Matt West – live sound

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

*Steve Taylor – vision engineering *Benny Trickett – vision mixing *Ben Gill –

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

assisting *Joe Dyer – director *Liam Donoghue – project co-ordination

Tech

;Drum *Damon Dougherty *Mole ;

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

*Coty Alinson

Lights

*Mick Thornton – lighting design *Tellson James – lighting operation

Camera Crew

;Assistants *Mark Cowley *Tony Lewis ; Operating *Andy Pellet *Ben Grewin *Curtis Dunn *John Clarke *Martin Mathews *Samantha Dewhurst

Management

*Guy Moore –

contract management Contract management or contract administration is the management of contracts made with customers, vendors, partners, or employees. Contract management includes negotiating the terms and conditions in contracts and ensuring compliance with the terms ...

*Gavin Bot – floor management *Steve Waite – tour management ;Agency *Tim Borror *Tobbe Lorentz

Running

*Jane Costello *Jonathan Nicholas

Gripping

*Neil Grey

Op Cable Rigging

*Nigel Clarke *Zoran Trajkovic

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamentations (Live At Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003) Opeth albums 2003 live albums 2003 video albums Live video albums Shepherd's Bush