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Since 1999 when Swedish
Andromeda were formed, they have released
4 albums (including the re-release
of their dedut cd with a different
singer) with all of them in my opinion
placed among the elite of prog metal
releases of all times. So this was
the right time for their first DVD
offering, under the Polish label Metal
Mind. The video was shot during the
"Chimera" promotion tour
in Poland. There are 12 songs that
form the setlist of that day, four
from each album. The duration of the
whole DVD is 205 minutes, which really
flow like water, while the duration
of their live performance is 1 hour
and 25 minutes.
The sound is almost
perfect and you get to choose between
Dolby Digital Stereo and Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround, the lighting on the
stage is very good and follows the
band's feeling and mood of each song
and the cameraman did an awesome job
with the shooting. Same goes for the
direction (or montage if you prefer)
of the video, characterized by the
smooth succession of scenes and the
changes between the musicians. As
for the playlist, what can I probably
say? They kick off with the breathtaking
"Periscope" taken from their
most recent cd and they continue with
"Mirage", but I was left
breathless with admiration by their
flawless performance on "In the
Deepest of Waters" that features
on their first album. After the end
of the follow-up "Two is One",
vocalist David Fremberg tries to make
the crowd go wild, whose average age
is about 40, without really succeeding.
Maybe that's the reason why "Hidden
Riddle" passed almost unnoticed
(talking about the audience), followed
by the instrumental "Chameleon"
and by the end of it I had to hit
the pause button for about 5 minutes
in order to pull myself together.
After that comes "Inner Circle"
(simply fantastic), "In the End"
and with "Encyclopedia"
they leave the stage for the first
time, only to come out again after
a while for an encore, choosing 2
of their best tracks, "Reaching
Deep Within" and "The Words
Unspoken". I've nothing else
to comment on the band's performance,
except that they kick some serious
a**, all of them.
The rest of the DVD
includes old live footage of 3 songs,
and to be more exact 2 of them were
shot in Lyon in 2002, among the last
appearances with former bassist Gert
Daun and the other one was captured
in Stockholm in 2001 during the band's
5th gig. You'll also find scenes from
their European tour, a video called
"Three Days in Poland",
two interviews with members of Andromeda
and much more, all of them worth watching
in order to get to know the band or
to see some of their personal moments.
In addition to this footage, there
is also included some useful info
on the band, such as biography, discography,
a photo gallery, desktop images and
all that stuff that make a DVD release
complete.
There's nothing more to add on this
astonishing delivery. I just want
to comment the negative impression
I have of the crowd on that gig, which
to my big surprise wasn't even sold
out. Guys a little passion and liveliness
wouldn't hurt. At least try some booze
in order to break the ice. It'll definitely
do the trick. This was a progressive
metal concert and not the Symphonic
Orchestra of Poland. You hardly gave
them an applause, and you had to be
encouraged by David Fremberg to do
so. |
