A positive spin on our current situation ...

[introclaus]

Besides the fact that bands aren't able to tour these days, and that for a lot of them it's also difficult to go to a recording studio (unless you own your own equipment at home), the upswing is that we're getting a bunch of live albums.

• Yeah, so we're used to getting a live album from Dream Theater every second year, but I don't mind - I'm all in for the next one.

• Same goes for the upcoming VolBeat live disc. In fact, with the new one coming out soon I've been blasting the heck out of their last live disc (the one from Telia Parken, Denmark), and I can't help but love this band - such a great live act. We can always discuss the relevance of their studio albums, but you can't take away from the fact that they deliver 100% live!

• I'm super excited about the Voivod live album for sure. That's going to be killer!

• It looks like there's a Blind Guardian live album (entire "Imaginations..." live!) coming up soon. Any idea what that's all about?

• There are new live albums from Hammerfall and Visions of Atlantis in the next few weeks. I've heard both and will only purchase the Hammerfall one (and that's just because of ... well, it's Hammerfall!).

Who else has interesting live albums on the horizon?

[Rycher]

• It looks like there's a Blind Guardian live album (entire "Imaginations..." live!) coming up soon. Any idea what that's all about?

Who else has interesting live albums on the horizon?

It's a 25th anniversary edition of Imaginations. They're putting out the remastered album and a live audio recording of the album played in full. The box set/earbook editions have a blu ray of the live album performance.

I want the blu-ray, but I don't want to pay $30-40 for the limited editions. I'm sure it will be on youtube eventually. I will be getting the Dream Theater and Hammerfall ones - I'm so bummed that I didn't get to see Hammerfall this year. That should would have been last week, had the pandemic not occurred. Seeing them in a tiny sports bar in Wisconsin would have been pretty cool.

[introclaus]

• It looks like there's a Blind Guardian live album (entire "Imaginations..." live!) coming up soon. Any idea what that's all about?

Who else has interesting live albums on the horizon?

It's a 25th anniversary edition of Imaginations. They're putting out the remastered album and a live audio recording of the album played in full. The box set/earbook editions have a blu ray of the live album performance.

I want the blu-ray, but I don't want to pay $30-40 for the limited editions. I'm sure it will be on youtube eventually. I will be getting the Dream Theater and Hammerfall ones - I'm so bummed that I didn't get to see Hammerfall this year. That should would have been last week, had the pandemic not occurred. Seeing them in a tiny sports bar in Wisconsin would have been pretty cool.

Man, first time I saw Hammerfall (with Edguy as support) it was at this tiny club in Copenhagen ... the stage was practically on level with the floor. There probably were ~50 people. The following tour I saw them playing as support to Deep Purple in front of 5,000.

My funniest Hammerfall memory was a weekend spent at their recording studio for the third album alongside 25 other European metal journalists. Nuclear Blast put us all up at a hotel and had a big party - we all got sooooo drunk! It was my birthday so in the middle of it Hammerfall (and journalists) were singing “happy birthday” to me.

[Mark]

I want the blu-ray, but I don't want to pay $30-40 for the limited editions.

This is definitely within what I'm willing to pay for that content. I may as well just throw my wallet at them.

[introclaus]

Follow up:

• There's a new Devin Townsend live album on the horizon - I'm not a fan, so it's not for me, but I'm sure some people here are happy about it

• Riverside are releasing a live album as well (recorded in 2015, so it's from the final tour they did with their original guitarist before he passed). Considering how I have gotten into the band finally (!!!) I'm gonna pick this one up.

• Looks like Periphery is putting out a live album as well. I'll give it a spin and might purchase, but as much as I like this band on albums, and I'd love seeing them in concert, I'm having a hard time imagining how it transfers into a live CD (if that makes sense) ...

[gazinwales]

I'm done with DT and live, no thanks with JLB live vocals 'not being what they once were'
I pre-ordered the BG box set for Imaginations, I love that album and I am a sucker for box sets.
Hammerfall, NO comment, suffice to say I can't stand them at all.
Riverside, already have this but have pre-ordered the new version, also they are releasing another live CD/LP exclusively through their fan club.

[Mardoch]

I usually don't care about live albums. They don't really do much for me, because I just sorta feel like I'm missing the real energy from having been there.

That being said, Ihlo has a short EP up from a live show they did (quarantine-live, I believe) and it seems to prove they've got the live goods as well as the studio ones. It's also got a track from upcoming work, which is awesome and tantalizing. Union has been exactly the vibe I've wanted to hear lately so I've been running it ragged.

https://ihlo.co.uk/album/in-stasis-live-ep

[introclaus]

I usually don't care about live albums. They don't really do much for me, because I just sorta feel like I'm missing the real energy from having been there.

That being said, Ihlo has a short EP up from a live show they did (quarantine-live, I believe) and it seems to prove they've got the live goods as well as the studio ones. It's also got a track from upcoming work, which is awesome and tantalizing. Union has been exactly the vibe I've wanted to hear lately so I've been running it ragged.

https://ihlo.co.uk/album/in-stasis-live-ep

Listening right now, I might actually prefer this to “Union” which I have a hard time getting into. Live sounds more energized..