Live Review: Opeth – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, 2025

Live Review: Opeth & Caligula’s Horse Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane 20.11.2025

God Is Dead, But Prog Lives: Opeth & Caligula’s Horse Dominate Fortitude

Words and Images: Mert Tyson Photography

Caligula’s Horse Precision Meets Passion

The night opened with Brisbane’s own Caligula’s Horse, and from the first note it was clear they were standing tall on home turf with absolute confidence. Their sound was tight, technical, and precise, yet never sterile — every riff felt carved with intent, every rhythm locked into place with the kind of Bloom that only comes from years of refinement.

Jim Grey commanded the stage with vocals that were smooth yet shadowed, carrying a dark melodic weight that wrapped around the audience. His voice glided effortlessly over the band’s intricate progressions, pulling listeners into a dreamlike state, as if caught in the Dream the Dead.

Sam Vallen was a force of precision and imagination. His playing spiralled in complex patterns, weaving hooks that were both cerebral and emotional a true Turn tail moment where technicality and feeling ran side by side. Every solo was sharp yet expressive, balancing virtuosity with storytelling.

Behind the kit, Josh Griffin drove the band with a masterclass in control and creativity. His drumming shifted seamlessly between crushing heaviness and delicate restraint; each hit placed with mathematical accuracy but delivered with instinctive feel. He gave the songs their pulse, their urgency, their fire.

Anchoring it all was Dale Prinsse on bass, his lines thunderous yet melodic. He grounded the music while still allowing it to soar, like a Slow Violence rising from the floorboards. His playing added depth and weight, ensuring every riff and progression carried maximum impact.

The audience was visibly mesmerised, caught between headbanging and simply standing still in awe. Between songs, a collective hush fell over the hall, as if everyone was recalibrating after being swept away a silence that felt almost like the Songs for No One moment, where reflection becomes part of the performance itself.

Caligula’s Horse proved once again that they are masters of balancing technical brilliance with emotional resonance — a rare feat in progressive metal. Tonight felt like a true In Contact between band and crowd, a communion of sound and spirit, and Brisbane was lucky to call them its own.

Opeth at Fortitude Music Hall – A Testament in Sound

From the moment the lights dimmed, the room felt charged. Opeth’s set unfolded like a ritual, each song a chapter in a story that balanced brutality with beauty.

Ghost of Perdition opened the night with a storm. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s guttural growls collided with clean passages, chaos and clarity entwined. The sheer raw yet clean mix of their sound was breathtaking, filling every corner of the hall. Waltteri Väyrynen’s drums thundered beneath, precise yet unpredictable, while Martín Méndez’s bass carved out a low-end presence that shook the floorboards — the perfect foundation for the chaos above. Fredrik Åkesson’s guitar lines cut sharp and melodic, while Joakim Svalberg’s keys shimmered like ghostly light across the hall, adding atmosphere to the maelstrom.

Master’s Apprentices showcased brutal, jagged riffs that cut through the hall like steel. It was a visceral reminder of Opeth’s death metal roots, yet even here, the transitions into melody felt ritualistic, almost sacred. The rhythm section gave the song its primal weight — Väyrynen pounding like war signals, Méndez rumbling like tectonic plates beneath the surface. Åkerfeldt and Åkesson’s guitars snarled with menace, while Svalberg’s subtle vocal harmonies and keys added depth to the chaos.

The Leper Affinity was a brooding masterpiece. Its shifting tempos transformed complexity into something primal, and live it was breathtaking. The band didn’t just play the song — they reshaped it into a living force. Méndez’s bass growled beneath the guitars, while Väyrynen shifted seamlessly between fury and restraint, dragging the audience deeper into the labyrinth. Åkerfeldt’s vocals moved between feral growls and clean tones, while Åkesson’s guitar work and Svalberg’s eerie keys gave the track its haunting edge.

Devil’s Orchard arrived with Åkerfeldt’s sardonic wit, before the band launched into its groove-laden assault. The crowd’s chant of “God is dead” reverberated like a mantra, echoing off the walls with defiance. Méndez pulsed like a heartbeat, steady and insistent, while Väyrynen drove the groove forward with relentless momentum. Åkesson’s guitar locked into swaggering rhythm, and Svalberg’s keys added a sinister edge.

To Rid the Disease offered a fragile interlude of beauty. Åkerfeldt’s clean vocals floated above delicate guitar lines, shimmering like light breaking through storm clouds. Méndez softened into something fluid, almost breathing alongside the melody, while Väyrynen pulled back, letting space and silence become part of the song. Svalberg’s keys were fragile but essential, glass-like textures that made the moment feel suspended in time.

Grand Conjuration closed the set with sheer weight. The riffs landed like tectonic plates shifting, crushing down with eerie atmospherics. Väyrynen rolled like distant thunder, Méndez growled with menace, holding down the backline with precision. Åkesson’s guitar roared with menace, Åkerfeldt’s vocals alternated between guttural growls and commanding cleans, and Svalberg’s spectral keys made the song feel apocalyptic. When the final note broke, the hall erupted into thunderous applause.

Demon of the Fall was pure catharsis. The opening riff hit like a hammer, jagged and relentless, before collapsing into passages of haunting melody. Åkerfeldt’s growls were feral, tearing through the hall, while his clean vocals carried a strange, mournful beauty. Åkesson’s guitars snarled with menace, Méndez’s bass growled beneath, and Väyrynen’s drums drove the song forward with unrelenting force. Live, it felt like a summoning — the crowd erupting in recognition, voices raised as if the song had become a shared ritual.

Deliverance was a highlight, its infamous polyrhythmic outro executed with terrifying precision. Väyrynen hammered the audience into submission, every hit landing like a countdown to collapse. Åkesson’s guitars cascaded like falling stone, Méndez locked the groove in place, and Svalberg’s keys added subtle textures that gave the madness shape. You could feel the crowd holding its breath, waiting for the final crash. What made the evening unforgettable was the contrast between the two bands. Caligula’s Horse offered precision and emotional clarity, while Opeth embodied chaotic grandeur and timeless heaviness. Together, they told a story of progressive metal’s evolution from local brilliance to global mastery.

The huge sound filled every corner of the Fortitude Music Hall, yet it was never overwhelming. Instead, it was immersive, pulling the crowd deeper into the labyrinth of riffs, growls, and melodies.

Fans didn’t just leave entertained they left transformed, carrying echoes of songs that will linger long after the final note.

Truly a remarkable evening.

Mert.

Setlist: