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MRmehman
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 5:07 pm 
 

I was thinking recently: "Does X band have a live album?" Generally, the answer with a lot of modern metal bands seems to be no - though there are still some exceptions.

Before metal, the rock bands of the 60s and 70s seemed to thrive on live albums. My dad for example was jamming to Live Cream as a kid and bands like MC5 were defined by their excellent live releases alone. Live albums were also a staple of band discographies back in the 80s, with Motörhead, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest all putting out hightly acclaimed live albums that all became popular both among fans and the wider metal scene. However, I feel like fewer bands in the 90s ended up releasing live albums that became truly essential. Mayhem stand out to me as one of the only bands from that time to have several well known live albums with that first international tour producing albums like Live in Leipzig and the infamous Dawn of the Black Hearts. That trend seemed to intensify in the 00's and 2010's, where I can think of only a few really well-known or essential live albums other than Dissection's Live Legacy - which was really just a re-release of an already available bootleg.

Today, it feels like live albums are a victory lap at best or total afterthought at worst. Many bands I've been listening to over the past couple weeks don't have them (Moonsorrow, Havukruunu, Obsequiae, Reverend Bizarre) or are studio only (Véhémence, Paysage d'Hiver, Abigor). A few bands I know have put them out more recently (Panopticon and Mizmor) but for the most part, it feels like live albums are becoming less important to the reputation and legacy.

Now live material clearly isn't going away, it's way too cost-effective for that. After all, if you play a massive or particularly good live set, you're going to want to show that off through your social media and it's also important to say how a lot of festivals will post footage (sometimes entire setlists) of bands up on their YouTube accounts. Many of these videos have received tens of millions of views, so clearly there is still an appetite for that kind of music - either as a product to be piece to be enjoyed on its own or to be cut up and used as promotional material.

So what exactly is going on with live albums? Are they actually going out of style or am I just crazy? Do they not make enough money to justify mixing and releasing them? Do fans hate them? Also, what are some of your favorite live albums?
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HighwayCorsair
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 5:32 pm 
 

Of course they are. Most people are uninterested and they sell poorly; YouTube has completely killed them. As you point out it's not that people are apathetic towards new live recordings but rather that they don't see the point in buying them given that they can watch live videos on YouTube.

As an example, Keep it True used to do a live DVD every year and sales got so bad they announced that they were done despite a long tradition of them- it was no longer worth it. I personally love live albums to death and like to release them on my label when I can talk bands into it, or to include live tracks as bonus tracks on CD releases, but it's definitely an ever-more-niche audience that is buying those.
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Benedict Donald
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 5:38 pm 
 

For rock/hard rock/early metal, I generally prefer live albums to studio records. This includes bootlegs, of which I own hundreds, and continually seek more. Many of my "desert island discs" are live recordings.

For modern metal bands, live albums serve little purpose, IMO. (They're especially useless with death metal.)

There really aren't any modern equivalents of Richie Blackmore or Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page, all of whom offered far more interesting work on stage than in studio. Many modern bands don't seem able to capture on recordings the live energy of their shows like the bands of the 70s were able to.

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Slater922
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 5:59 pm 
 

HighwayCorsair wrote:
Of course they are. Most people are uninterested and they sell poorly; YouTube has completely killed them. As you point out it's not that people are apathetic towards new live recordings but rather that they don't see the point in buying them given that they can watch live videos on YouTube.

I agree with this one. Hell, even I choose to do this, as I'd much rather watch a band perform live on YouTube rather than hunt down some live album of theirs.

But to answer OP's question on my favorite live albums in metal, Preist's "Unleashed in the East" is a textbook example of a live album done right, and is an essential listen for those getting into Judas Priest. I also have the same thoughts for Mayhem's Live in Leipzig and Iron Maiden's Live After Death.
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doomicus
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 6:30 pm 
 

Depends on the type of band. A lot of stoner doom and more jam oriented metal and metal adjacent acts release quite a few of them.
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gabber
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 8:56 pm 
 

I think albums are becoming a thing of the past. Not just live. All of it :(
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MRmehman
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:12 pm 
 

HighwayCorsair wrote:
Of course they are. Most people are uninterested and they sell poorly; YouTube has completely killed them. As you point out it's not that people are apathetic towards new live recordings but rather that they don't see the point in buying them given that they can watch live videos on YouTube.

As an example, Keep it True used to do a live DVD every year and sales got so bad they announced that they were done despite a long tradition of them- it was no longer worth it. I personally love live albums to death and like to release them on my label when I can talk bands into it, or to include live tracks as bonus tracks on CD releases, but it's definitely an ever-more-niche audience that is buying those.

It seems that the slow death of physical media (particularly the DVD) has been a huge blow to the live album. Like you said, it's easier to monitize a live show by sticking it up for free on YouTube rather than selling it for $10 on a disc you have to wait two weeks to be shipped to you.

Slater922 wrote:
But to answer OP's question on my favorite live albums in metal, Preist's "Unleashed in the East" is a textbook example of a live album done right, and is an essential listen for those getting into Judas Priest. I also have the same thoughts for Mayhem's Live in Leipzig and Iron Maiden's Live After Death.

I thought about all of these albums before posting this. That's a little scary lol.

gabber wrote:
I think albums are becoming a thing of the past. Not just live. All of it :(

Nah, I think albums themselves are doing fine in metal. I can't see metal ever becoming a singles/EP genre and there's still always a ton of hype before even a moderately popular band puts an LP out.

Benedict Donald wrote:
There really aren't any modern equivalents of Richie Blackmore or Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page, all of whom offered far more interesting work on stage than in studio. Many modern bands don't seem able to capture on recordings the live energy of their shows like the bands of the 70s were able to.

I think a lot of that is down to the production. Too many bands seem to gravitate towards that super clean, pro-tools style of production that (while sometimes very appropriate) doesn't work so well when so many bands do it. I swear to god, every melodic death metal album released in the last 20 years just sounds exactly the same. It would also be nice if metal bands were more open to experimenting with their extant music in a live setting. Maybe switch verses around, play a different solo, add some fills, transition unexpectedly into a different song - spice things up like those classic rock guys did back when Nixon was in office.
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gabber
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:52 pm 
 

MRmehman wrote:
gabber wrote:
I think albums are becoming a thing of the past. Not just live. All of it

Nah, I think albums themselves are doing fine in metal. I can't see metal ever becoming a singles/EP genre and there's still always a ton of hype before even a moderately popular band puts an LP out.


The reason I said this is because it's quite profound the 'gaps' between albums take these days. Think about all of the artists that used to put out albums practically yearly back in the day - Maiden, Manowar, King Diamond, Metallica just to name an example.

Manowar even managed to put out two, 7 months apart, in 1984. I was saying to someone this morning - they've put out 3 studio albums since Louder Than Hell in 1996. 27 years and 3 albums.

Maiden also take about 5 years, Metallica even more. KD hasn't put one out since 2007. They are becoming far and few between. Obviously because financially they aren't as feasible as they used to be. And I'm guessing that live albums are also then affected because if a band takes 15-20 years to put out 3 studio albums, then it's going to take that long between live albums.
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rarezuzuh
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Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:33 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 11:33 pm 
 

gabber wrote:
MRmehman wrote:
gabber wrote:
I think albums are becoming a thing of the past. Not just live. All of it

Nah, I think albums themselves are doing fine in metal. I can't see metal ever becoming a singles/EP genre and there's still always a ton of hype before even a moderately popular band puts an LP out.


The reason I said this is because it's quite profound the 'gaps' between albums take these days. Think about all of the artists that used to put out albums practically yearly back in the day - Maiden, Manowar, King Diamond, Metallica just to name an example.

Manowar even managed to put out two, 7 months apart, in 1984. I was saying to someone this morning - they've put out 3 studio albums since Louder Than Hell in 1996. 27 years and 3 albums.

Maiden also take about 5 years, Metallica even more. KD hasn't put one out since 2007. They are becoming far and few between. Obviously because financially they aren't as feasible as they used to be. And I'm guessing that live albums are also then affected because if a band takes 15-20 years to put out 3 studio albums, then it's going to take that long between live albums.

It's kind of weird to think that the current career patterns of legacy bands from the 80s are representative of the direction of the metal scene as a whole. The members of those bands are all in their 60s at least, and most would argue they hit their creative peak decades ago. Some of them may have slowed down their output, but each band's reason for doing so is individual and has no bearing on what current acts choose to do.

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PurpleDoom
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 1:21 am 
 

gabber wrote:
The reason I said this is because it's quite profound the 'gaps' between albums take these days. Think about all of the artists that used to put out albums practically yearly back in the day - Maiden, Manowar, King Diamond, Metallica just to name an example.

On the one hand I second the post above that points out that the release schedule of legacy groups isn't really representative of metal as a whole right now - I think for the vast bulk of groups you get albums on a 2-3 year schedule, and the well-established, older acts have longer release schedules for a variety of reasons.
On the other hand I think that annual schedule many signed acts used to have and the perceived greater prevalence of live albums are related. Especially in the 60s and 70s many record labels wanted an LP on the shelves every year and when studio material wasn't forthcoming they'd slot in a live album or compilation, sometimes with the band's involvement and sometimes without. In terms of sheer numbers there's more (metal, at least) live albums than ever but that's of course correlating to an ever-increasing number of bands. What changed is the two-to-three year album cycle became the standard and it became less common to fill in the gaps with non-studio material. Bands do live albums or DVDs now because they want to, or because an ex-label is sitting on some material and wants a few bucks.
I for one love live albums and think there's still a number of worthwhile ones releasing today.

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Twisted_Psychology
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:21 am 
 

Considering how just about every sixties and seventies band has a story about how very not fun it was to release albums at such a constant rate and how many breakups would’ve been averted had they just gotten to take some actual time off, the 2-3 year release cycle expected nowadays looks considerably healthier.
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HighwayCorsair
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2023 4:06 pm 
 

gabber wrote:
MRmehman wrote:
gabber wrote:
I think albums are becoming a thing of the past. Not just live. All of it

Nah, I think albums themselves are doing fine in metal. I can't see metal ever becoming a singles/EP genre and there's still always a ton of hype before even a moderately popular band puts an LP out.


The reason I said this is because it's quite profound the 'gaps' between albums take these days. Think about all of the artists that used to put out albums practically yearly back in the day - Maiden, Manowar, King Diamond, Metallica just to name an example.

Manowar even managed to put out two, 7 months apart, in 1984. I was saying to someone this morning - they've put out 3 studio albums since Louder Than Hell in 1996. 27 years and 3 albums.

Maiden also take about 5 years, Metallica even more. KD hasn't put one out since 2007. They are becoming far and few between. Obviously because financially they aren't as feasible as they used to be. And I'm guessing that live albums are also then affected because if a band takes 15-20 years to put out 3 studio albums, then it's going to take that long between live albums.


The commercial livelihood of musicians has changed tremendously, and even though it's not always for the better financially, it certainly is creatively. A lot of those two albums a year bands were by design forced to chase trends to stay relevant and to skip QC time on those albums to get them out to get back to touring, or to meet a label deadline. Albums themselves are still the main form of release in this genre. Most people do not give a shit about singles, EPs, or splits, in direct contrast to where other genres are at. A lot of big label won't even release them because they don't sell, and even some of the biggest PR companies are extremely loath to promote an EP or single for anything other than huge bands because they're so hard to push since nobody cares.
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HelluvaGuy
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 03, 2023 8:34 pm 
 

I doubt it. Recording a show is a quick way to produce product for your hardcores to eat up.

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Kalaratri
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2023 8:44 pm 
 

Bands used to put out multiple albums a year largely due to record label pressure, the gaps between records increasing hardly means people don't care about albums anymore. If anything it's more the case these days that bands put out albums to have something to tour on. They can spend years promoting a new record on tour, where the bulk of their income comes from. As it is people's expectations have also changed, I don't think your average listener even wants an album (or even multiple albums) a year from any single band, given the breadth of music being released each week. It'd be way to difficult to try and digest a new album when you haven't even finished listening to the last one.

In the case of metal it's an album dominated genre. Unlike hip hop or pop where the target demographic is more interested in hearing a single that they can add to a playlist I'd imagine most people who listen to metal largely want to hear songs in their proper context, which for them is an LP.

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Bronze Age
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:08 am 
 

I used to love live albums because I felt like they were often updated, more energetic versions of the songs than what appeared on the studio albums. One thing I hate about some live albums is excessive talking to the audience, crowd participation where they stop the actual song and have the crowd sing or other antics. If a band is going to record a live album I would rather a small intro/talk to the audience and a goodnight at the end on separate tracks than the actual songs or just kept very brief. A lot of the interaction in live albums becomes more annoying on repeat listens. I had a string of bad luck buying live albums and basically stopped.

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thewrll
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:10 am 
 

Kalaratri wrote:
Bands used to put out multiple albums a year largely due to record label pressure, the gaps between records increasing hardly means people don't care about albums anymore. If anything it's more the case these days that bands put out albums to have something to tour on. They can spend years promoting a new record on tour, where the bulk of their income comes from. As it is people's expectations have also changed, I don't think your average listener even wants an album (or even multiple albums) a year from any single band, given the breadth of music being released each week. It'd be way to difficult to try and digest a new album when you haven't even finished listening to the last one.

In the case of metal it's an album dominated genre. Unlike hip hop or pop where the target demographic is more interested in hearing a single that they can add to a playlist I'd imagine most people who listen to metal largely want to hear songs in their proper context, which for them is an LP.


Yep, what a take again, albums are becoming obsolete, what a joke.

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HighwayCorsair
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 10:57 am 
 

Bronze Age wrote:
I used to love live albums because I felt like they were often updated, more energetic versions of the songs than what appeared on the studio albums. One thing I hate about some live albums is excessive talking to the audience, crowd participation where they stop the actual song and have the crowd sing or other antics. If a band is going to record a live album I would rather a small intro/talk to the audience and a goodnight at the end on separate tracks than the actual songs or just kept very brief. A lot of the interaction in live albums becomes more annoying on repeat listens. I had a string of bad luck buying live albums and basically stopped.


For what it's worth when I released live material with my band that did that, people complained endlessly about it and how it was barely worth having live tracks if there wasn't a ton of crowd interaction included. Can't win 'em all.
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thewrll
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 2:02 pm 
 

HighwayCorsair wrote:
Bronze Age wrote:
I used to love live albums because I felt like they were often updated, more energetic versions of the songs than what appeared on the studio albums. One thing I hate about some live albums is excessive talking to the audience, crowd participation where they stop the actual song and have the crowd sing or other antics. If a band is going to record a live album I would rather a small intro/talk to the audience and a goodnight at the end on separate tracks than the actual songs or just kept very brief. A lot of the interaction in live albums becomes more annoying on repeat listens. I had a string of bad luck buying live albums and basically stopped.


For what it's worth when I released live material with my band that did that, people complained endlessly about it and how it was barely worth having live tracks if there wasn't a ton of crowd interaction included. Can't win 'em all.



I definitely think it depends. I enjoy hearing the band addressing the audience but outside of that I don't need more when it comes to metal. Other genres are different, genres where the audience can sing along. Alive And Alone my favorite live album is exactly this.

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narsilianshard
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 2:10 pm 
 

I like live albums, but it's so rare that smaller bands are able to release them with quality sound. I recently bought a tape from Fetid of a live recording and it's literally just static; can't hear a single fucking thing and it's downright embarrassing they charge money for it. Same with what Twisted Tower Dire did last year; it sounds like someone just recorded it with a phone from the audience: https://twistedtowerdire.bandcamp.com/a ... pour-house
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KrigareTjovane
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:09 pm 
 

Live albums are my go-to when the house needs cleaning. For some reason it's such a perfect fit. But I was hit in the head a lot growing up so idk.

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HighwayCorsair
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 4:53 pm 
 

narsilianshard wrote:
I like live albums, but it's so rare that smaller bands are able to release them with quality sound. I recently bought a tape from Fetid of a live recording and it's literally just static; can't hear a single fucking thing and it's downright embarrassing they charge money for it. Same with what Twisted Tower Dire did last year; it sounds like someone just recorded it with a phone from the audience: https://twistedtowerdire.bandcamp.com/a ... pour-house


I like that TTD one! It doesn't sound like a doctored 1980s style live in the studio- it sounds like they ripped it right off a soundboard with no overdubs, and I'm pretty sure that's what they did. It's not like they pressed it to 1000 copies on color vinyl and are charging $40 for it, it's $3 on Bandcamp, clearly just a cool thing for fans...
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AWinterShadow
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 6:27 pm 
 

Bronze Age wrote:
I used to love live albums because I felt like they were often updated, more energetic versions of the songs than what appeared on the studio albums. One thing I hate about some live albums is excessive talking to the audience, crowd participation where they stop the actual song and have the crowd sing or other antics. If a band is going to record a live album I would rather a small intro/talk to the audience and a goodnight at the end on separate tracks than the actual songs or just kept very brief. A lot of the interaction in live albums becomes more annoying on repeat listens. I had a string of bad luck buying live albums and basically stopped.


I like a live album where the crowd interaction is moderate and the enthusiasm of the crowd is natural. By this I mean, multiple starts and stops telling the crowd to be "Louder or more energetic" just rub me the wrong way, like the band isn't that good and has to bribe the audience with the knowledge they are being recorded. So yeah it's great if the audience participates, but not if they have to be hand-held through it.

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thewrll
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 8:33 pm 
 

AWinterShadow wrote:
Bronze Age wrote:
I used to love live albums because I felt like they were often updated, more energetic versions of the songs than what appeared on the studio albums. One thing I hate about some live albums is excessive talking to the audience, crowd participation where they stop the actual song and have the crowd sing or other antics. If a band is going to record a live album I would rather a small intro/talk to the audience and a goodnight at the end on separate tracks than the actual songs or just kept very brief. A lot of the interaction in live albums becomes more annoying on repeat listens. I had a string of bad luck buying live albums and basically stopped.


I like a live album where the crowd interaction is moderate and the enthusiasm of the crowd is natural. By this I mean, multiple starts and stops telling the crowd to be "Louder or more energetic" just rub me the wrong way, like the band isn't that good and has to bribe the audience with the knowledge they are being recorded. So yeah it's great if the audience participates, but not if they have to be hand-held through it.


I agree, I am ok though with the I can't hear you being used sparingly for a song or two.

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Bronze Age
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 10:36 pm 
 

HighwayCorsair wrote:
Bronze Age wrote:
I used to love live albums because I felt like they were often updated, more energetic versions of the songs than what appeared on the studio albums. One thing I hate about some live albums is excessive talking to the audience, crowd participation where they stop the actual song and have the crowd sing or other antics. If a band is going to record a live album I would rather a small intro/talk to the audience and a goodnight at the end on separate tracks than the actual songs or just kept very brief. A lot of the interaction in live albums becomes more annoying on repeat listens. I had a string of bad luck buying live albums and basically stopped.


For what it's worth when I released live material with my band that did that, people complained endlessly about it and how it was barely worth having live tracks if there wasn't a ton of crowd interaction included. Can't win 'em all.


At least you had the sense to do it right. But no matter what you do someone is going to complain about it.

p.s. I just noticed the original post asked for some favorite live albums.

Rage - Hamburg Docks 93 Live

Gamma Ray - Lust for Live & Alive 95

Black Sabbath - Live Evil

Slayer - Decade of Aggression

Yngwie Malmsteen - Live in Leningrad

AC/DC - Live

Alcatrazz - Live Sentence

Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East

Whitesnake - Live in the Heart of the City

Deep Purple - Made in Europe

Rainbow - Munich 77

Manowar - Hell on Wheels

I am pretty sure I am forgetting something.

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gabber
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2023 6:39 am 
 

Good point, most are forgetting to list their favourites. Here is my top 5

- Iron Maiden Live After Death
- Iron Maiden Live After Death
- Iron Maiden Live After Death
- Iron Maiden Live After Death
- Iron Maiden Live After Death
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HeavenDuff
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2023 12:24 pm 
 

I'm not interested in listening to live albums. Never was. If I want to see a band live, I go see a band live. The other option is to watch recordings of live shows.

I assume that a lot of people feel the same way I do about this, and like others pointed out, with live videos of shows available online, live albums are losing whatever appeal they had in the first place.

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Frank Booth
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2023 10:03 pm 
 

They haven't been relevant since the dawn of YouTube, and were on their way out well before that. The reason why Live Bullet, Live and Dangerous, Alive!, and other seminal live albums went over the way they did is that they were able to capture the raw energy and musical chemistry of acts who had thusfar been unable to channel the same kind of essence on album, in an era where there was no other way to hear a band live without seeing them (aside from maybe poor-quality live bootlegs that were no substitute), and where arrangements were much looser and could and would change on a whim.

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pressingtoplead13
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2023 6:55 pm 
 

Idk if these albums are dissapearing or not but I still enjoy them, its ecspecially great if you happen to get a live album that was recorded on a tour that you went to, its a great way to sort of relive that show. I was at the very last show Frank Mullen did with Suffocation so having that live album they recorded up in Boston on the same tour is absolutely amazing. I love it.

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Kalaratri
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2023 8:42 pm 
 

With YouTube it depends on the quality of the recording, a lot of YouTube videos of shows don't have the greatest sound quality compared to a properly mixed/mastered live album. Of course if you're talking about channels like Hate5Six that are specifically devoted to live performances that's not as much of an issue.

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NotesAndRhymes
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 10:31 am 
 

I definitely think YouTube has lessened the need for live albums. Fests like Graspop and Bloodstock professionally record shows and stream them or upload them on YouTube. I know Dragonforce streamed alot of their Extreme Power Metal shows on Twitch.

While this is fine and good, I like live recordings, it does make them a little less special. A band putting out a dedicated live recording every few years (AC/DC used to put out a live record for every tour since The Razors Edge) is alot more special than a band streaming their shows on Twitch.

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Ace_Rimmer
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 12:13 pm 
 

Yeah, I still buy live DVD and LP but YouTube has really put a dent in the need other than for collectors. I did just buy a copy of the Kamelot Cold Winter's Night LP and DVD sets so I'm still in the market.

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SanPeron
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:04 pm 
 

YouTube kind of ruined all the DVD and home video formats for live shows. But I think is plausible to record a live album if you want to make a landmark in your career celebrating the work of your band. Rotten Christ has a couple of them released in the last years, Lucifer over Athens (2015) and Non Serviam: A 20 Year Apocryphal Story (2009)
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Forever Underground
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:39 pm 
 

HighwayCorsair wrote:
Of course they are. Most people are uninterested and they sell poorly; YouTube has completely killed them. As you point out it's not that people are apathetic towards new live recordings but rather that they don't see the point in buying them given that they can watch live videos on YouTube.

I don't know what to tell you, I'm not very convinced by that argument because it's far from being my case, I'm a person moderately interested in live albums and it has nothing to do with whether or not I can watch a live video of the band on Youtube, which is, by the way, the most boring thing in the world I can imagine.

Slater922 wrote:
HighwayCorsair wrote:
Of course they are. Most people are uninterested and they sell poorly; YouTube has completely killed them. As you point out it's not that people are apathetic towards new live recordings but rather that they don't see the point in buying them given that they can watch live videos on YouTube.

I agree with this one. Hell, even I choose to do this, as I'd much rather watch a band perform live on YouTube rather than hunt down some live album of theirs.

How? I can't imagine sitting in front of a computer and watching a concert video for an hour.
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Luvers
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 2:22 pm 
 

Live albums served 2 functions ever since they were put on the map as a commercial commodity with Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive.

1. With enough material already performed and recorded meant a band could fulfill contractual obligations by releasing a live album instead of just a best of or greatest hits compilation. A live album is essentially one of those two types anyway but they offer better incentive since they are guaranteed to be alternate versions from the studio material. So... contractual obligation. Or...

2. Live Advertisement. Back in the heyday of music attending ( '60s - '90s ) most live albums functioned as an advertisement to a bands live performance. For instance, most people who may have liked Kiss' first 3 albums but were not convinced to spend their hard earned money on a raw performance purchased - or got a recorded cassette ( archaic version of CD-R, then P2P sharing like Napster or Limewire, then iTunes, etc... ) - Kiss Alive and it showed people what the band sounded like in performance. So... Live Advertisement.

Ever since the invention of file sharing of live performances, the need for live albums have decreased. One can just pull up YouTube and not spend a buffalo nickel yet get even more options. Live albums might be a thing of the past, a dinosaur perhaps, but that is only because the second of those functions was the more important reason and it no longer applies to this digital universe.

I still treasure the live portion of my vinyl collection however
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NotesAndRhymes
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 6:51 pm 
 

Forever Underground wrote:
How? I can't imagine sitting in front of a computer and watching a concert video for an hour.


I second this. A concert film is fun to watch cause it's shot like a movie, you know? Recorded with a professional camera crew and with professional sound engineers. I can't imagine sitting in front of a computer watching a concert someone recorded on a phone or, at best, a decent consumer camera. With one angle and sound directly captured into the camera.

Well made bootlegs are a different story, but they are not the majority of youtube uploads.

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HighwayCorsair
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 7:32 pm 
 

Forever Underground wrote:
HighwayCorsair wrote:
Of course they are. Most people are uninterested and they sell poorly; YouTube has completely killed them. As you point out it's not that people are apathetic towards new live recordings but rather that they don't see the point in buying them given that they can watch live videos on YouTube.

I don't know what to tell you, I'm not very convinced by that argument because it's far from being my case, I'm a person moderately interested in live albums and it has nothing to do with whether or not I can watch a live video of the band on Youtube, which is, by the way, the most boring thing in the world I can imagine.


Your personal anecdote is nice I guess but live videos on YouTube from popular bands get tons of views and new live albums sell like shit, so I dunno what to tell you if you're going to take your own interest in things as market trend data.

Maybe you should get really into all my favorite obscure bands so that your personal interest can make them popular and they can play sold out shows.
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KaiKasparek
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 7:49 pm 
 

Slowly becoming? They've been a thing of the past just about forever now. But don't tell Lovebites that.
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MetlaNZ
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 3:14 am 
 

I'm very selective about live albums these days but got these 2 in recent times due to the TGW factor.

Triumph Of Death - Resurrection Of The Flesh
Triptykon - Performing Celtic Frost Live (Rock Hard Festival 26.05.2023)(Boot)

Apart from the usual suspects that always get mentioned, here are some of my all time faves and I wish I coulda been at these gigs:

Wolfsbane - Massive Noise Injection (favorite live album ever!)
Ministry - In Case You Didn't Feel like Showing Up
Twisted Sister - Live at the Marquee Club

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Zerberus
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:29 pm
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Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 4:50 am 
 

I've never been a fan of live recordings, not even the classics like Unleashed in the East.
Unless it's a really special show (like Triptykon's Requiem) I'm unlikely to be interested. There's so few bands that play venues of a size where it even makes sense to record a live album, and if it's just gonna be shittier sounding compilation then there's just not much reason to listen to it. And like others said, you can usually watch videos directly on YouTube anyway.
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Forever Underground
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:53 am 
 

HighwayCorsair wrote:
Forever Underground wrote:
HighwayCorsair wrote:
Of course they are. Most people are uninterested and they sell poorly; YouTube has completely killed them. As you point out it's not that people are apathetic towards new live recordings but rather that they don't see the point in buying them given that they can watch live videos on YouTube.

I don't know what to tell you, I'm not very convinced by that argument because it's far from being my case, I'm a person moderately interested in live albums and it has nothing to do with whether or not I can watch a live video of the band on Youtube, which is, by the way, the most boring thing in the world I can imagine.


Your personal anecdote is nice I guess but live videos on YouTube from popular bands get tons of views and new live albums sell like shit, so I dunno what to tell you if you're going to take your own interest in things as market trend data.

Maybe you should get really into all my favorite obscure bands so that your personal interest can make them popular and they can play sold out shows.

Please understand me, what you said sounds to me like "People don't paint their houses anymore because they can watch videos of wall paint drying on Youtube", I'm not saying it's not true, but my mind just can't process it.
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