Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 04:51 PM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: Heavy Metal/Power
Country: Germany
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Year: 2017
I love live albums. Especially when they come from bands I’m a big fan of. And I don’t really care if they are “long enough”, double-triple with bonus features etc. I mostly pay attention to it if it sums up a great era for the band I paid some money for, which makes me obviously a fan. When a band or a musician has been on stage for more than 25 or 30 years, has some standards. Good sound, good choice of setlists, good performance and good communication with the audience. It’s not possible to fill up huge or even small venues just because he’s in a good working mood or has come up with a temporary hit success. However this has nothing to do with how much an artist is worth of. In case of Blind Guardian, there’s nothing that hasn’t already been said for the amazing nights they have given to us, plus there’s not a single European heavy metal fan who has lived in the 90’s that hasn’t seen them at least once on stage. One of the first live albums I bought was “Tokyo Tales” from 1993, first recorded on tape and then bought the official release on a Saturday morning from Rock City. In 1998 it was the first time I saw them live and I kind of felt like “part of the history”, part of the Blind Guardian universe. After the horrendous “A Night At The Opera”, the super-full “Live” from next year was a remedy, including the tour whose part was Greece as well. Now, with time as my only friend and from a distance from the whole fandom thing of my teenage year heroes, I can be more objective about their releases. Three studio albums and 14 years later, there’s enough space for their third live project, as an “oasis” for their huge fanbase. As I said before, it contains everything a band with their range should have: 22 tracks on a triple CD covering their entire discography with the classics never getting out of their usual set (that’s how it is supposed to be anyway) and a feeling that they are still on top. While waiting for them to apply this dynamic to the studio for their next album, feel free, especially you youngsters to invest some money on this release.
4/6
