Here’s a tip to watch a double live album (because this record is actually two, a live cd and a live DVD, both on the same location, both with pretty much the same songs, except that the DVD has a couple of extra songs), you first watch the bonus material on the DVD where the guys from the band are goofing around, drinking like maniacs and generally just having a good time; after you have watched that bonus material, get into the live DVD, and you will find out that you can’t hate the band, no matter how many mistakes they make on the live show, that because you feel like you know them, and they are fun, so what the hell the live show is nice.
So lets just talk about the DVD since the live album is…the same thing; the live show these Finns choose to record was the Shibuya AX, in Tokyo, Japan on February 5th, 2005, during the Reckoning Night World Tour.
The show is decent, the band plays good most of the time, just from time to time Tony Kakko’s voice don’t reach the levels he does in the albums, but the energy he tries to project to the crowd really makes up for his mistakes; this is probably one of those bands that really gets you into their shows, because the singer doesn’t let you get away from him.
The crowd reacts very well from time to time, they don’t go crazy or anything like that, but they chant with the band and that tells you that the guys in that concert are really into Sonata Arctica. I hope they placed some more crowd shoots, since is lacking of this, and that really helps getting you into the performance.
After watching this DVD, I really wanted to hear their other records, and I believe this band will soon take the place of Stratovarius as the masters of melodic power metal.
With out more to say than; this album is for fans, and maybe for Skeptics that thought of Sonata Arctica as just another mellow power band, when they really are one of their best exponents.
