A few days ago, I had a rather interesting discussion with my father. It wasn’t even about In Flames’ live record but about the upcoming live album of the medieval folk metal group In Extremo. The band is going to release a live album of a concert my parents had attended in Cologne a few weeks ago. When I realized that the band had chosen to only put seventeen out of the twenty-four tracks played in show on the new album, I told my father that it was regrettable that the band wouldn’t release a double-album with the entire set. My father’s reaction surprised me quite a lot: ‘’They only cut the old classics from the upcoming release that are already included on numerous live records anyway. Who needs the same songs over and over again? That would be nonsense!’’ He supported the band’s decision to focus on its more contemporary tracks and said that only idiots with too much money on their hands would buy another release with similar track and set lists to those that have already been produced in the past. I have given this some thought and in the end, I realized that he was absolutely right about this. I already own all the band’s live albums and I’m glad the band focuses on new material that has never been played before and since the previous releases included entire concerts with lengths around or even above two hours, I don’t mind having a more concise version around seventy-five minutes this time around.

What does this have to do with the new In Flames live album, you might rightfully ask. It’s quite simple. The band chose to release a rather short and intense concert that lasts less than one and a half hours and which almost exclusively focuses on the band’s last few studio outputs. The numerous old-school fans complaining about the set list and the fact that several classics from the early years aren’t included here simply don’t have a point and should listen to the band’s previous live outputs such as ‘’The Tokyo Showdown – Live in Japan 2000’’ released fifteen years earlier.

The band’s new live release will obviously please to those who appreciate the group’s last few records. If we take a look at the unchained crowd in a packed concert hall in Gothenburg with a capacity of about fourteen thousand people, this doesn’t seem to be a minority. The fans are banging their heads, cheering loudly, clapping their hands, jumping around, singing along and starting mosh and circle pits. The band on the other side is giving both an energetic and energizing performance, offers a great light show with some visual effects and communicates well with the fans without talking too much and losing any momentum. Just like on the band’s previous live record ‘’Used and Abused – In Live We Trust’’ eleven years earlier, it’s a little bit sad that these interactions are obviously all made in Swedish and that international fans won’t really understand what’s going on. On the other side, this home game transmits such a great atmosphere that I don’t mind the occasional short dialogue in Swedish. It’s not comparable to HammerFall’s live album ‘’One Crimson Night’’ for example, where the band would communicate in Swedish with the fans for several minutes and completely lose my interest at times.

The tracks from the band’s previous studio album Siren Charms work surprisingly well in concert and are sometimes even better live than in studio. I always thought that the complex ‘’In Plain View’’ wasn’t the best choice to open an album but the track builds up a tense atmosphere right from the start in concert and the crowd is immediately into it. ‘’Everything’s Gone’’ turns out being a sinister tune that sounds more like a contemporary extreme metal song in concert than the Marilyn Manson clone it appeared to be on the studio album. One song that must be pointed out is ‘’When the World Explodes’’ that was among the more unspectacular tunes on the last studio effort but turns out being one of the highlights on this live record. The band invited Swedish soprano opera singer Emilia Feldt to perform the song she had recorded with the band two years ago in concert again and the chemistry between the unique Anders Fridén and her works much better in concert than on the studio version. Emilia Feldt’s emotional and skilled performance is adding a magic and psychedelic note to the live show and the beautiful artist has a very charming stage presence as well. This new live release shows additional qualities of the songs from the band’s last studio effort and proves its legitimacy and legacy.

Among the songs which aren’t taken from the last studio effort, one has to point out the band’s diversified, emotional and hypnotizing performance of ‘’The Chose Pessimist’’. I can understand when people claim that the song sounds whiny, overlong and mellow but I’ve always appreciated this unusual tune for these qualities. It’s a courageous experiment that sounds very different from anything else In Flames has ever released which is quite meaningful since the band keeps experimenting and shifting its style while always sounding like itself. In this live version, the tension of the track is build up very carefully and the dragging tune slowly quickens up the pace before it explodes with a firework of emotional intensity. Anders Fridén’s perfectly imperfect vocals work in this track and he really sings his heart and soul out in the final part of the track which gets me every time I listen to it. I’m a rather emotional person myself, so this might explain my appreciation for this particular song. 

In the end, ‘’Sounds from the Heart of Gothenburg’’ is almost like a greatest hits release that brings to the point everything In Flames represents nowadays and perfectly summarizes the path this band has taken for the last fifteen years of its career. Those who are still stuck in the band’s first ten years of existence might reject this record but those who have appreciated the majority of the band’s career will see this as a highlight in its extensive discography. In my opinion, the band’s emotional, powerful and varied concert proves why this group is much more relevant than several comparable bands like Dark Tranquillity and Soilwork that keep releasing the same type of music in lesser quality over and over again. In Flames we trust.

Final rating: 80%

Happy Halloween!

Ladies and gentlemen,

''Lieb Vaterland, magst ruhig sein'' is a song by German medieval rock band In Extremo. The song is the third single taken from the 2016 studio effort ''Quid pro quo''. The German title of the single translates to ''Dear fatherland, be calm'' while the Latin title of the studio record translates to ''What for whom''. This requires further explanation. ''What for whom'' relates to the ''give and take'' principle and many songs on this album talk about the fact that most people only want to take but never care to give anything. The lyrics deal with the negative impacts of capitalism, death, greed, megalomania, revenge and war on many levels.

The third single deals with the horrors of war seen through the eyes of a child. It tells the story of a teenager who has to go to war to defend his home country. In the beginning, the teenager is energized, motivated and proud to fight for his country. As he finds himself in the middle of the war, he realizes too late that he has been blinded by exaggerated patriotism, peer pressure and military propaganda. As the teenager is about to die on the battlefield, he just asks the home country to be quiet for once because he wants to die by himself. Instead of letting patriotism, peer pressure and propaganda into his heart, he swears to only let the neutral death into his heart.

The lyrics of the song might be inspired by some of the band members' ancestors who were forced to participate in senseless wars they didn't understand but they also relate to many contemporary armed conflicts where children still have to die during the horrors of war. The intense video clip of the song that also includes a child's choir and air raid siren sounds shows scenes from armed conflicts from all around the world, from the Second World War over the Vietnam War to the horrors of Aleppo and other places. The video shows these horrors of war with the underlying message that mankind alone is responsible for the gruesome deaths of its children.

This meaningful song happens to be my favorite track from In Extremo's excellent ''Quid pro quo'' record and one of my very favorite tracks this year. Music, lyrics and video form a coherent trinity. If you don't feel anything while listening to this song and watching this video clip, you're probably already dead in a certain way. Let's save our children and let's speak and stand up against the horrors of war: ''Lieb Vaterland, magst ruhig sein''.

''Limitless'' is an entertaining science-fiction movie based upon the theory that humans are only using ten percent of their brain and the question what might happen if we were able to access more or all parts of our brain efficiently. Instead of focusing on the scientific and philosophic thoughts behind this concept, ''Limitless'' wastes a lot of potential as it limits itself to being an entertaining action- thriller with a debatable ending and moral.

The story focuses on the life of Eddie Morra. In the beginning, he seems to be a naive loser who never gets anything done and gets dumped by his girlfriend. When he starts taking a drug offered to him by a shady acquaintance, his life seems to change for the better as Eddie Morra becomes a popular writer, makes a lot of money on the stock market and becomes friends with a group of careless jet- setters. Soon, his addiction to the drug starts having negative impacts on himself and people around him as he gets tracked down by other addicts, competitors and loan sharks. In addition to this, he starts having blackouts and severe pain at times. He even gets involved in a murder case where he can't remember whether he killed the victim or not because of the drug. As he tries to find out more about the nootropic NZT-48, he realizes that a lot of addicts got sick or died of it either because of overdosing it or because they tried to stop taking it.

At this point, the movie could have taken a more thoughtful approach to elaborate on the horrors of drug addiction and its side effects. Instead, we get to see a lot of chasing passages, conspirative manipulations and murder scenes leading to a morally debatable ending that is explained very weakly. Overall, you get an entertaining, fast-paced and well done action-thriller but the story wastes its scientific potential midway through the movie and lacks inspiration in the second half. 

From that point of view, I like the very similar ''Lucy'' by Luc Besson much better because it keeps asking philosophic and scientific questions and has a thought-provoking ending. People probably preferred ''Limitless'' because it glorifies the sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyle and because it's easier to understand. In the end, I can recommend ''Limitless'' if you are looking for an entertaining action-thriller with solid actresses and actors and a stylish production. If you are looking for something which is both entertaining and intellectual, I would rather recommend Luc Besson's ''Lucy''. 

Ladies and gentlemen,

This is the second out of three parts revisiting the numerous concerts I have attended in Montreal and Ottawa over the past few months. There are many more to come in November with Ghost, In Flames. Sonata Arctica to only name a few. Here we go again. 

Most of the following pictures were shot during a show involving numerous bands at Foufounes Électriques in Montreal. I attended this show with a friend and we had a great time. The line-up consisted mostly of progressive metal bands with some of them being entirely instrumental and featuring some outstanding musicianship. The opening group featured in this picture is called Cenograph. They were one of the very best opening acts I have ever seen. They convinced with numbing, melancholic and melodic compositions reaching lengths around ten minutes without ever getting boring. If you like mellower progressive metal with an intellectual side, go check out their Bandcamp presence: https://cenograph.bandcamp.com/ 

Up next were instrumental progressive metal band Unbeing. This band has released the very best record of 2016 so far called Ceres in my opinion. Just like Spacemak3r a few weeks earlier, this underground group doesn't play a lot of shows, so I couldn't miss out on this opportunity. This band didn't disappoint. The atmosphere of the songs was gripping and found a perfect balance between heavier and liberating parts on one side and mellower and hypnotizing structures on the other side. The group offered a great selection of tracks from all its records so far. The members are all absolutely outstanding musicians and proved it in concert without forgetting to interact sympathetically with the crowd here and there. Overall, the band's slot on this long night was one of the best moments in concert of the year in my book. If you're interested in hearing more of them, please check out my reviews for their first three albums.

Unbeing (2011): http://kluseba.eklablog.com/unbeing-unbeing-2011-diversified-instrumentals-with-a-soul-of-sadness--a47774677

Raptus (2014): http://kluseba.eklablog.com/metro-2014-a-review-of-unbeing-s-raptus-a125900918

Ceres (2016): http://kluseba.eklablog.com/join-the-revolution-a-review-of-unbeing-s-ceres-a126183414

The third band of the night was rather different from the previous two groups. Gone in April are a classic gothic metal band featuring a classically trained female vocalist and a supporting male vocalist adding some harsh parts here and there. In the beginning I thought this band didn't really blend in but I enjoyed the group's show quite a bit because it offered a breath of fresh air that night. Since I'm a gothic metal fan, I appreciated the band's performance that stood out with a strong female main vocalist, some violin play in the mellower tracks and a few slightly progressive structures here and there. I purchased the band's two records so far for a reasonable price after the show and didn't regret it.

Before headliners Kreise, which would offer some alternative metal in the key of System of a Down, hit the stage, one last progressive metal band with some more outstanding musicians would amaze the crowd in Montreal. Cydemind stands out with an overall softer tone supported by melancholic violin parts and a more dominant use of keyboards. The band was able to create a truly dreamy, enchanting and mysterious atmosphere and the crowd responded really well to this. The band was on one level with Cenograph and Unbeing, slightly above Gone in April and clearly above Kreise. This was another great discovery and I also purchased this group's EP after the show.

This picture was taken a few weeks later during a show of international folk metal act Tengger Cavalry at Maverick in downtown Ottawa. The founding member Zhang Tianran is the only remaining member of the original line-up from the People's Republic of China which had come together six years earlier. The band had risen to fame thanks to its unique Mongolian folk metal style and a clever use of social media. Zhang Tianran is now living in the United States of America and has joined forces with four different international musicians. Sadly, only two musicians accompanied him on Tengger Cavalry's tour through North America which resulted in the fact that a lot of instrumental passages came from a tape during the show. I also got the impression that the chemistry between Zhang Tianran on traditional instruments, guitars and vocals and his hired guns Alex Abayev on bass and Jogh Schifris on drums wasn't always the best. After a difficult start, the band got better and better towards the end and the crowd cheered, danced and moshed along to the exotic songs. Even though Tengger Cavalry's performance was far from being the best I have witnessed this year, it was definitely a unique experience to hear this kind of music in concert. The opening groups Black Oak Decline and Incite had been rather forgettable though.

Once again, here are a few videos from the shows I have just described above.

Cenograph:

Unbeing:

Gone in April:

Cydemind:

Kreise: