Metal Reviews

I gotta be honest, I wasn't really digging Dream Theater all that much in 2002. I heard Six Degrees and loved the title track. I bought like three or four others and shelved them. Nothing grabbed me when I would try a song out. No big deal, an overrated band that I liked something from their middle period.

I don't know why, but I decided to get the Metropolis NY show on DVD when it was on clearance for 5 bucks and was immediately impressed by Overture 1928 and slowly started unraveling the rest of the stuff I had after seeing that movie, and the rest is history.

Remember D.I. listen to the hum, not the shriek of a vocal and I guarantee you that those kind of qualities that annoy some people will start disappearing. I thought Geddy was an annoying woman when I was about 14-15. By various means and methods that sort of thing simply vanishes. The easiest way I can put it is that when you hear a chord, you hear the low note. For some people, and I used to be one of them, you hear the coloring and if their voice is high it is SUPER annoying. It takes no time to fix this little problem though, so no worries, there won't be years of trying to enjoy that type of thing

I'll give it a whirl. But I doubt I'll like it. I gave their best reviewed album here a listen and I couldn't get past the first track.

AC/DC - If You want Blood You've Got It is another top notch live album.

I thought I would ask because it hasn't been brought up:


So everyone is aware that many "hit" live albums from the mid to late 70's was heavily overdubbed in the studio? Not just Kiss and Thin Lizzy, but everyone was pretty much told to do so. I would too, if they won't promote it if I refuse, then I might as well drop myself from the roster.

I don't think they cared about the cost of doing so at the time because they pretty much expected everything to go Gold or Platinum.

Strapping Young Lad's No Sleep Till Bedtime is fucking great. And the small live EP Devin just released. Quo Vadis' live DVD is great too because they sound tight and there's possibly naked ladies pulling paint off of each other. I listen to Protest the Hero's Gallop Meets the Earth a lot because their studio albums are sometimes a bit too squeaky clean for my tastes.

QV is a band that I haven't listened to in such a long time. They are an excellent band and because of that reason I have their entire discography. I've seen their "Live In Montreal" at HMV several times but never picked it up (I guess I wasn't paying attention to live albums at the time). Not a huge fan of SYL but will give Devin's live album a try. Cheers.

The first two of your list are too heavily overdubbed to be considered like real live albums.
Actually, I have nothing against massive overdubbing, it works perfectly on "Plays Live" by Peter Gabriel or "Live in the City of Light" by Simple Minds. What I don't like it cheating with a live album something both JP and Kiss did with the lives you listed.
Those are still entertaining "semi-live" albums.

Also, I forgot:
Humble Pie - Performance/Rockin' the Fillmore
Genesis - Seconds Out
Peter Gabriel - Plays Live (overdubbed or not, this is great)
Sting - Bring On the Night
Yes - Yessongs
Neil Young - Live Rust
(and I still feel like I forgot many great lives...)

I'm aware of that, but it doesn't really matter to me. My only criteria, really, is whether or not I enjoy listening to them.

Another good live album is The Last Waltz.

I don't mind either. When I do mind is when the performance released is so far from the band's real abilities on stage. Alive clearly is a fraud, listen to the bootlegs of the same era and you'll see how awful Kiss were live at that stage of their career. I think the pyrotechnics, make-ups, personalities within the band (etc) were all a very elaborate plan to create the event, not a great show, musically speaking.

And I obviously second The Last Waltz, one of the greats.

Thrice's "Live at the House of Blues" is my favorite live album. Probs the only time where I actually enjoy the live version more than the recorded version, ESPECIALLY with their performances of pre-Vheissu stuff. So great.

Shit I forgot that one.

Another great live album is Camel - A Live Record. They play the entire Music Inspired By The Snow Goose with I think the London Symphony Orchestra. Isn't that fantastic?

Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East
Mayhem - Live in Leipzig
Behemoth - At the Arena of Aion: Live Apostasy
Cannibal Corpse - Live Cannibalism
Death - Live in LA
SYL - No Sleep til Bedtime

Bootlegs worth finding are the Halford with Sabbath performances.