Ah, the worldwide pandemic. Remember that? Well it’s about to get another mention. Through the waves of restrictions and rules artists were driven into new situations to be able to continue their craft, the results of which were ticketed live streams and the like to allow their music to still resonate with people.
It seemed at one time that everybody was still trying to produce something new among all the chaos, but Finland’s Amorphis have taken a different approach – only now releasing their 2021 live Tavastia performance of 2018’s Queen Of Time.
Now full disclosure: back in 2018 I kind of brushed this album off as I felt that it’s not as strong as some others such as Eclipse, Am Universum and of course my introduction to the band back in 1995, Tales from the Thousand Lakes. I do love a good a live album so what better time to reintroduce myself to this one.
Looking at the track list it’s a good start as it’s the full album, although sadly missing the bonus track. It’s also in order, so no jimble jamble scramble nonsense which is great, but it does lack the energy of a live crowd which give a live album that much needed dynamic. Even though this niggles me a bit I do find myself asking myself how did miss such bangers as “Message In The Amber” and “The Golden Elk”.
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Although it doesn’t have the live crowd the audio does give off the vibe that the band are treating this as a grandeur event, as if they were playing a big outdoor festival.
As well as the audio release the gem for me is the inclusion of the Blu-Ray of the entire performance which, even though it was just the band, is so well produced that it has the feel of an intimate show. It even goes so far as to have a cameo appearance by by the one and only Anneke van Giersbergen for “Amongst The Stars”, and its that attention to detail that makes me appreciate the audio element as well as the visual. This once again cements my adoration for this band and adds another album to my Amorphis roulette wheel.
An engaging and unfaltering performance.
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Queen Of Time (Live At Tavastia 2021)Â is out on 13th October
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