Well, the year wouldn't be complete without some kind of Jorn release, so while we wait for a proper follow up to Spirit Black the Norwegian super-vocalist serves up the hefty 3-disc Live in Black. Was another live Jorn offering really necessary this soon after Live in America? Probably not, but more Jorn is always a good thing. This particular performance came from 2010's Sweden Rock festival, so it's on a much larger scale than the ProgPower USA festival appearance on Live in America.
You're essentially getting a 17-song live performance spread across two audio CDs, with a DVD featuring the full performance plus a pair of video clips. The song selection covers Jorn's entire solo career, but is heavily weighted towards the last couple of albums, which is understandable. Jorn and company give a knockout performance, and the audio quality on both the CDs and DVD is quite good thanks in part to a great mixing job by Tommy Hansen (Jorn himself produced the album). In terms of video quality on the DVD, everything looks really good, with multiple cameras working and great shots of the band and the crowd. It's not as eye-popping as, say, Journey's Live in Manila DVD, but it's still a very professional release.
Live in Black is another high quality release from one of the most exciting performers in melodic rock/metal. If you're a serious Jorn fan, it's probably an essential release. Casual fans may want to skip this one, though it could definitely be used to convert newcomers to the church of Jorn!