UNITED ALIVE IN MADRID ALBUM
Many old Helloween fans have always wished for a reunion tour with Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen. With the Pumpkins United World Tour (2017-2018) their wishes were finally answered and as a bonus the band put out this amazing live release to celebrate the event. This is a dream come true for the old fans and a historical live documentation for the band’s legacy.
United Alive in Madrid offers value for money as it contains two hours and forty-two minutes of live recordings spread over 3 discs. The main concert is comprised of 20 songs which were recorded during the band’s performance in Madrid, Spain in 2017. The third disc offers 4 brilliant bonus tracks recorded in Santiago, Prague, São Paulo and Wacken Open Air. The audio quality is very good and clear but not too polished compared to other modern live abums.
The band’s performance is spectacular as both old and newer members are in great shape and mood and the energy from the band and the crowd is captured perfectly. Even though some solos are altered the guitar work is mesmerizing and the triple guitar attack works fabulously. The vocal performances by Michael Kiske and Andi Deris are on a very high level and although Kiske is clearly on a different league, they both work with each other successfully and offer great harmonies during their duets. The drumming is truly impressive, especially during the older songs and the performance of the bass guitar is also remarkable and varying. The whole band sounds very tight, as if they have played in this formation for decades and the emotion emitted from their performance shines through.
If one band member deserves separate praise, that is Michael Kiske. The guy is in his 50’s and sounds very close to his younger self back in the 90’s. He goes through demanding songs like "Keeper of the Seven Keys" and "Eagle Fly Free" with little effort, still hitting some crazy high notes and exhibiting plenty of power and charisma.
The set list is carefully chosen and offers plenty of fan favorites that run through Helloween’s entire discography. The band was not afraid to perform long songs like “Halloween” and "Keeper of the Seven Keys", as well as "Kai’s Medley" clocking in nearly 14 minutes each. In addition they added tracks that are rarely played like "I’m Alive", "A Little Time" and "Rise And Fall", newer songs, as well as fan favorites like "Eagle Fly Free", "Future World" and "I Want Out". The highlights are many but personal favorites include the aforementioned long songs, the phenomenal renditions of "Eagle Fly Free", "I’m Alive" and "How Many Tears" and the ballad "A Tale that Wasn’t Right". Out of the bonus tracks "March Of Time" is easily the strongest performance.
Besides the praise there are also some flaws. The band should be congratulated for reuniting with the old members while keeping the previous line-up intact and performing in such a high level, but this decision also causes a disadvantage. As mentioned before Andi Deris is in a much better shape compared to the past 7 years but he is not in the same league as Michael Kiske. This is audible throughout the set and it drags some songs down. Newer fans might not notice this, but older fans will cringe during some parts of the older tracks.
In conclusion United Alive in Madrid is a must buy for Helloween fans and metal fans in general. Personally I view it as one of the best live metal releases ever. Although the best option would be to get the video release United Alive, which offers songs filmed in different locations, this is still great as it contains the full Madrid concert.
Daftar lagu
Disc 1
1. Halloween 13:37 2. Dr. Stein 05:36
3. I'm Alive 03:47
4. If I Could Fly 04:00
5. Are You Metal? 04:27
6. Rise and Fall 04:21
7. Waiting for the Thunder 04:01
8. Perfect Gentleman 04:50
9. Kai's Medley (Starlight / Ride the Sky / Judas / Heavy Metal Is the Law) 13:52
10. Forever and One 05:21
11. A Tale That Wasn't Right 05:39
Disc 2
1. I Can 04:53 2. Living Ain't No Crime / A Little Time 06:39
3. Sole Survivor 04:58
4. Power 04:10
5. How Many Tears 10:55
6. Invitation / Eagle Fly Free 07:13
7. Keeper of the Seven Keys 17:03
8. Future World 05:35
9. I Want Out 08:50
Disc 3
1. March of Time 05:27
2. Kids of the Century 04:01
3. Why 04:42
4. Pumpkins United 06:31
2. Kids of the Century 04:01
3. Why 04:42
4. Pumpkins United 06:31
***Disclaimer***
I do not own any copyright
for any of this material!
Copyright belongs to Helloween
and Sony Music Recordings!
Purchase your remastered copy today!
Track Name
Track Artist
0 Komentar