Not sure if it was all the wood (interior walls and pews) but the sound was the best I've heard at a concert in a long time... The fact that the band is made up of top-notch musicians playing as tight as hell I'm sure contributed to the great sound... As for Mikael's comments, the Hank Williams thing was tongue in cheek, he even said he was joking and later in the show he said playing at the Ryman is something he will remember the rest of his life... He collects classic vinyl from all genres of music and I'm sure he has a healthy respect for the artists that made the Ryman the classic venue that it is today...

This is one of the best concerts I've ever attended. Now mind you, I am not a huge fan of death metal and cookie monster singing, but Opeth is a fantastic band full of superb musicians. I've seen the masters of Prog Rock over the years. Acts like King Crimson, Yes, Tull, and more. All very fine live performances. Opeth is as skilled a band as any I've ever seen, and their light and projection shows were stunning. The energy at Ryman was contagious, and the interaction between the fans and the band was warm. The only negative I might share was this. The Ryman is a jewel of American history in its place as the showcase of Country Music. I am not a country music fan by any standard, but I thought that Mikael Ã…kerfeldt was a bit disrespectful in his comments about the genre and specifically Hank Williams, but by Michaels own admission - he can sometimes be too opinionated. Nonetheless, it was a brilliant show.

Love Opeth, hate Toyota Live Nation for taking my selected seats and then moving me to bad seats because the band didn’t sell enough seats. The warm up act Graveyard was loud and good. Opeth was not loud, something was wrong the entire night. Registered 85 decibels throughout. 85 decibels is equivalent to a church worship. I could hear people talking in the next section during songs from Ghost Reveries. Only gave this a 2 because I love Opeth.