i am not much of an arch enemy fan. i don't own any album of them on a physical format and i never considered buying one. also i am not the biggest worshipper of live albums. i make an exception for bands i really hold dear, converge or between the buried and me for example, but even those records only get occasional spins. so why did i buy a live record of a band i don't really listen to? to put it in a nutshell: i was there.
in august of the bygone year of 2016 i attended the wacken festival right around the corner from where i live. like i already said in my festival pick-up post about the ion dissonance record, the arch enemy show was a pleasant surprise. even more, the stage show was awesome, lighting was great, the crowd was hanging on every word of vocalist alissa white-gluz and the set-list was killer too. the best show i have watched at wacken 2016.
during the set alissa white-gluz informed about the band's plan to release the recording of this show as a dvd set. the other day i re-watched the gig via a german television channel which broadcasted some selected shows and thought this was just the right material for a live release. it took eight months from the recording to the actual product and when pre-orders turned live i was unsure if i really should get a copy. but in the end my fond memories were the reason i pulled the trigger on it.
i opted for the solid red vinyl edition which is limited to 100 copies and coming direct from the label century media. the presentation is pretty nice. gloomy artwork in form of a triptych which matches the stage show very well, gatefold sleeve, printed dust sleeves with tons of live shots from the set, dvd with the show and bonus material like behind scenes footage and 180gr double opaque red vinyl. the vinyl sounds real good and the visuals from the dvd are a blast. i really enjoy this purchase. century media. 2017.
