Live albums, you either love them
or hate them. I have had many conversations with different people about live albums
and what it comes down to, is I love them. Yeah a studio album is polished up,
but something about the raw energy of a live set is just amazing. You receive what
the band was actually trying to say in the album, your auditory system is
getting the passion within the music. Okay, so there is a little talking
between songs, it might be an introduction or a small bit about what the song
means, heck it could just be a little speech to get the crowd or listener fired
up for what they are about to play, but overall the albums tend to be an in
depth look into the soul of what the band is like live. Many great bands have
come out with live albums over the years. Metallica, Kreator, Machine head,
Testament, Meshuggah, and Death are just a few to name off the top of my head.
Within the past couple of months I have purchased Kreator’s Dying Alive,
Metallica’s Through the Never, and Testament’s Dark Roots of Thrash.
Two things you can gather from that small list, first is YES, I still buy
physical copies of albums (I’m a sucker for flipping through the booklets) and
second, thrash metal has had a constant stream of live metal albums coming out.
Live albums are also a great way of getting a band’s collection of what some
would call their greatest hits. Where else are going to get Metallica’s classic
“Hit the Lights” and “One” on the same album. You can feel the crowd’s energy
surging through each track.
When I listen to Kreator’s live version of say “Phantom
Antichrist” I feel connected to the show, I can visualize it in my head. The
band has to be on their game for studio versions. The Testament album has some
great combinations of old songs, as well as new songs. “Trial by Fire” is a
rock solid old school head banger while new gems such as “Native Blood”
literally have you off your seat and ready to mosh. I really enjoyed Dark
Roots of Earth, so to hear songs from that album, as well as older stuff is
awesome. Some, if not most live albums you can buy a version that has a DVD of
the actual show with it. Gojira’s The
Flesh Alive CD/DVD combo is great. Not only do you get a great live CD, but
two different DVD’s with concert footage, as well a documentary of behind the
scenes footage. I absolutely cannot wait to see them live myself when they tour
with the Almighty SLAYER.
