In all of the glory of melodic prog metal, it's fit that
Balance of Power release a live record, a DVD, or even a "best of" set, and why not release them altogether as one package.
Of course the typical greatest hits package always has the objectionable track listing, fans have their faves and in the world of scarce metal airplay on most radio stations it really comes from the "balance" of the fan input as well as see what songs were pushed for airplay. This UK group has spent several years building up a massive cult following in the metal underground and with their sound relevant to technical dark prog that is reminiscent of early Queensryche and
Evergrey cross-pollinated with pure melodic metal of bands like
Millennium and TNT. Regardless of any comparisons,
Balance of Power have stood out in the crowd offering hook laden and reminiscent tracks that are complimented by the sincere musicianship of this quintet.
Disc one (
Archives of Power), offers a great introduction to the band, and for fans, it might fill in some gaps to your collection with tracks from albums you might not have (especially considering some are getting harder to find), most of the tracks seemingly are some of the band's darker cuts ("
Savage Tears" and "
Fire Dance") with some eased back balladry here and there ("
The Pleasure Room" and "
Stranger Days").
The second disc (
Heathenology Live 2004), recorded on the
Heathen Machine tour, documents a tight performance, which is overdue considering the strength of their live shows and material alike, where the band themselves still produce the discrete harmonies and technical chops that will make you wish they were playing
Prog Power this year.
Notably the material from the first disc spans the first four albums, with no rarities, although the Japanese only cut from Perfect
Balance titled "
Other Side Of Paradise" is included. The material from last years
Heathen Machine is appropriately limited to the live set, which also includes classics and live favorites such as "
Sins of the World" and the powerful anthem, "
Day Breaker."
The breadwinning feature is the DVD, besides featuring the full-length concert (shot in digital with multiple cameras); it also features a documentary with candid interviews with members of the band (conducted by Malcolm Dome), clips from their
Prog Power performance (although only part of the songs are shown here and there) as well as behind the scenes footage from the band, which sums up a great look inside the band's world.
Perfect for fans and those who might not have yet endured the glory of having an album by these guys in their collection, not to mention that this is fodder to tie us over until their next release. This has been the bundle of goodies from these guys that we have been waiting for, even if each had been released separately, the acclaim would have been there.
Written by
Hashman Wednesday, March 16, 2005
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