"I believe we have recorded around seventy five songs in our career, do you guys want to hear a third of everything we have recorded tonight," says vocalists/rhythm guitarist Ted Leonard to enthusiastic crowd in Oakland, California. I have to admit, this record has been a long time coming, especially for the band's semi-extensive catalog, now seven albums into their career, with each record offering something different. The album documents Enchant's evolution from their early days playing prog-rock/metal to their more subdued technical melodic hard rock stance, and is able to tread the thin line between the two latter styles, pleasing both the Nearfest and ProgPower crowds with ease.
Performing songs spanning their catalog, with diversity throughout this performance, you have cuts such as
"Below Zero" and
"At Death's Door" (from
Wounded and
Blueprint of the World respectively) within in the full-blown prog vein, and moving along to heavier pastures with edgier performances such as
"Under Fire" (from 2002's
Blink of an Eye), a track that heralded the large approach to a more subdued straight ahead hard rock sound, especially after the
Break record had unleashed a series of bang your head opuses including the title track performed here.
The tracks that tend to reign in their more melodic approach include
"Sinking Sand," "Paint the Picture," "Acquaintance," and
"My Enemy" along with acoustic performances of
"Black Eyes & Broken Glass" and
"Colors Fade," proving that they can keep an extreme technical mantra among their chops while creating riff driven and catchy material.
Live at Last is one complete show, rather than being a series of performances from various shows, and with the overall mix and performance being tight, you really could not ask for more. In the end Ted Leonard's Alto shines along with the guitar work of Douglas Ott, not to forget the occasional popping and slapping of Ed Platts Bass (you really don't hear too much of that type of playing these days), and the technicalities of drummer Sean Flanegan and new keyboardist Bill Jenkins develop Enchant's own voice in the music world. Over a year ago, I closed out a review of
Tug of War with the question, "What's next a double live album?" Well, the title says it all.
Written by
Hashman Wednesday, January 5, 2005
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