This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Talk about ruining your image.
Listening to the symphonic death metal of Sweden’s Opeth on CD, you could easily imagine them to be stereotypically mighty Swiss gods with flowing blond locks and rippling biceps capable of crushing your skull with ease. Seeing them live on the concert DVD Lamentations, however, you realize the truth: They’re just a bunch of scrubby nerds who spent their adolescences locked in their bedrooms playing scales. The singer is even — egad — unfailingly polite to the audience. Thankfully, though, Opeth don’t disappoint when it comes to your musical expectations. On the first half of this two-hour set, they recreate last year’s Damnation album in all its epic prog-metal grandeur. They they kick out the jams with a second set of furious epic metal culled from their earlier albums. If you listen without watching the DVD, it just might be enough to crush your skull after all.
