There have been some live giants in the world of metal, the likes of Iron maiden (Rock in Rio 2001 and Live after death), Metallica (Live S***: - Binge and Purge) and Slayer (decade of agression)
yet this offerring from Iced Earth outdoes them all. Drawing on all eras of the band this triple disc set features some stunning renditions of the material. 'Blessed are you' on the third disc sounds out of this world thanks to the huge intervention of this Greek crowd. 'Dante's Inferno' the majestic 16.5 minute epic is done in its entirety much to the sheer disbelief of the crowd, anything so complex, fast, slow, classicaln thrash and compelling has never been pulled off by anyone, even the live version of 'Rime of the ancient mariner' by Iron Maiden pales in comparison.
The pace of the set captivates the listener with all of the band's style being played, from heavy thrash 'Disciples of the lie', 'Violate' and 'Diary', to melodic ballads 'Last december', 'I died for you' and (the incredibly moving) 'Watching over me'
It is just awesome to hear a band play so well on an album, there are only a couple of gripes with this. 1) The first track from "The sufferring" trilogy from 'The dark saga' is missing which makes the performance feel unfinished. 2) The instrumental '1776' is not played live and only a snippet is heard as an epilogue, this ws a real shame as it is one of the best instrumentals of all-time. 3) They somehow missed off the recording of "Colours"! (Which totally wipes the floor with both the original and 'days of purgatory' versions, sadly only found on the 'melancholy EP'
These gripes however are not enough to warrant any Iced earth fan or curious new listener to ignore this recording. while everyone cites 'live after death' as best live album ever this is the album I thrust in their face and say "Sorry but this is the one that dethrones it." (For the record I love Iron maiden to bits!)
A live album come greatest hits package from one of the most underrated bands of all time DO NOT MISS OUT!!!