Live Insurrection
Metal Is/Sanctuary/BMG
What can I say about this double-live CD? It's literally been years since I've heard a live CD of this metallic caliber! [Actually, the recent double-live CD from WASP comes close]. This CD ranks up their with such classic '70s live albums as UFO's "Strangers In the Night," Thin Lizzy's "Live & Dangerous," Humble Pie's "Performance," Purple's "Made In Japan," AC/DC's "If You Want Blood," and, of course, Priest's classic "Unleashed in the East."
Live Insurrection is produced brilliantly by guitar whiz Roy Z. (so brilliantly, it'll make you ponder if all the tracks were actually recorded live!). All the metal classics throughout Halford's amazing 30 year career are recorded live on this double-disc set during Halford's (the band) 2000 and 2001 Resurrection World Tour. Current Halford metal gems such as "Resurrection," "Made In Hell," "Cyberworld," and "The One You Love To Hate," are featured as well as classic Priest anthems such as "Stained Class," "Sad Wings" (when was the last time you heard Priest play those tunes live!), "Running Wild," "Electric Eye," "Beyond the Realms of Death" (amazing!), "Metal Gods", and one of my all-time favorite Priest songs; "Genocide," amongst others. The CD also features a couple Fight tracks including "Into The Pit" and "Nailed to the Gun" as well as the new studio tracks "Screaming In The Dark," "Heart Of A Lion," and "Prisoner Of Your Eyes." All in all, this is classic live metal at it's best! A must for any metal fan, young and old!
THRESHOLD
Hypothetical
InsideOut/Century Media
Threshold's latest on InsideOut America is a progressive metal masterpiece. Don't know a helluva lot about this band since I don't have their bio and the promotional CD has no information. Not to mention, it's cracked so I'm only able to play the first four tunes. It's a shame too, since I find this band to be one of the true leaders in prog-metal as their sound is heavy yet diverse, and the musicianship is superb. Most of all, the songs display attitude and energy, something severely lacking in today's (and yesterday's) prog-metal bands. If these first four songs are any indication, this CD is definitely worth purchasing.
Shockwaves CD Reviews Issue 5 Page 11