Worst live albums

Metal is my Life Number of posts : 13862 Age : 49

Listening to Queensrÿche's The Art Of Live album made me think of this topic. Why would any band deliberatly release a bad live album? Well, nevertheless, they do exist, and my example is one of them.

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Worst live albums Metal_metropolis_logo2

Master Sailboat Number of posts : 9301 Age : 45

i don't care for many live albums at all. in fact, i can only name 3 or 4 that are worth anything to me at all.

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Worst live albums MNxjcKm

Metal, Movies, Beer Number of posts : 37640 Age : 53

mc666 wrote:: i don't care for many live albums at all. in fact, i can only name 3 or 4 that are worth anything to me at all.

Ditto.
Although if I had to pick a "least favorite" I'd have to say Judas Priest's 98 LIVE MELTDOWN. I'm not exactly sure what went on with that album, but it sounds to me like the Priest guys down-tuned their instruments to match the "brutal" tone of the JUGULATOR album, but then that made all the non-JUGULATOR material sound out of tune. None of the classic tracks sound quite "right." I've tried to get past it cuz Ripper's vocals on that album are amazing, but I just can't!!!

Heart of Metal Number of posts : 1636 Age : 37

Any of those Extended Versions collections.

Metal is my Life Number of posts : 13862 Age : 49

Chairman_Smith wrote:: Any of those Extended Versions collections.

I hear you! But they are mostly crappy because 99% of the material has alreay been releases before.

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Worst live albums Metal_metropolis_logo2

Metal master Number of posts : 515 Age : 35

mc666 wrote:: i don't care for many live albums at all. in fact, i can only name 3 or 4 that are worth anything to me at all.

yeah me too. i like 70s live albums when they'd jam the song out to 10 minutes but generally i'll listen to the studio albums

Administrator Number of posts : 19452 Age : 57

Love live albums. I like the energy that they have that studio albums lack. This is especially true of bands from the 60's and 70's. Some of my favorite albums are live albums. Ted Nugent - Double Live Gonzo, Peter Frampton - Comes Alive, UFO - Strangers in the Night, Kiss - Alive, Angel - Live Without A Net, Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous, etc. All great albums.

Some of the Extended Version CDs aren't bad. They are meant to be budget CDs meant for 30 and 40-somthings longing for some bands from their youth that they stopped listening to in the 1980's. They usually sell for around $5. As such, they aren't so bad.

Worst live albums?
Death Angel - Fall From Grace
Helstar-Twas The Night of a Helish Xmas
Nuclear Assault-Live at the Hammersmith Odeon
Recon-Live at Cornerstone 2001
Guardian-Live at Cornerstone 2001
Barren Cross- Hotter than Hell! Live

Thing is, I love all these bands, but these live albums are not a good representation of any of them. The Death Angel and Helstar albums sound like bad bootlegs.

The Recon needed some overdubs to fix the bad vocal performance. Apparently the stage monitors were not working properly and to sing that high falsetto style, you really need to hear yourself. Regardless, the record company should have given the band a few hundred bucks to fix the vocals in the studio.

The Guardian one is just disappointing. They were playing on Metal Retro Night at Cornerstone. Most of the bands that played that night reached back into their catalogs and played some heavy stuff. Guardian played mostly their alterna-crap stuff. They also made fun of Twisted Sister...GRRR!!!

The Barren Cross CD just isn't a good representation of the band. I've seen them live and they are far better than that CD lets on. This was the last show of a long tour and the band was probably just tired, at least that's the way it sounds.

Metal is in my blood Number of posts : 4238 Age : 48

Like Ultmetal, i love live albums too. Some bad ones for me would be:
MANOWAR:HELL ON WHEELS LIVE
MANOWAR:HELL ON STAGE LIVE
ACCEPT:ALL AREAS WORLDWIDE
HELLOWEEN:HIGH LIVE
WASP:DOUBLE LIVE ASSASSINS.
Those are the ones i remember right now. Some of my fave are:
THOR:LIVE IN DETROIT
BLUE OYSTER CULT:SOME ENCHANTED EVENING
WASP:LIVE...IN THE RAW
IRON MAIDEN:LIVE AFTER DEATH
SCORPIONS:WORLD WIDE LIVE
ETC......

Guest

ultmetal wrote:: Helstar-Twas The Night of a Helish Xmas

The first album that popped into my mind. It sounds like it was recorded to a cassette recorder in the middle of the pit. Horrible.

I actually thought the Barren Cross live album was good. Of course, I just heard the band for the first time like a month ago, but to my noob ears they sound aight! And now way is Helloween's High Live a bad live album. No way.

Administrator Number of posts : 19452 Age : 57

Eyesore wrote:

ultmetal wrote:: Helstar-Twas The Night of a Helish Xmas

The first album that popped into my mind. It sounds like it was recorded to a cassette recorder in the middle of the pit. Horrible.

I actually thought the Barren Cross live album was good. Of course, I just heard the band for the first time like a month ago, but to my noob ears they sound aight! And now way is Helloween's High Live a bad live album. No way.

Yup, can't believe Metal Blade released it.

Heart of Metal Number of posts : 1510 Age : 41

Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same
(How The West Was Won is so much of a better live disc)

Van Halen - Live: Right Here, Right Now
(I'm sure if Dave sticks around for this tour there will be a live album made of the reunion)

Black Sabbath - Live At Last
(I love it but the sound just sucks)

Metal graduate Number of posts : 340 Age : 43

In flames - tokyo showdown
satan - live in the act
witchfinder general - live
whiplash - their live cd
< All live bonus songs from reissues >

If a band has really ancient material or the band isn't popular. good chances are they're live albums aren't going to be any good. however, if the band can afford good production, it should be worth checking out

Metal is Forever Number of posts : 9428 Age : 50

Chairman_Smith wrote:: Any of those Extended Versions collections.

AMEN to that, brother!!! Those things are absolutely awful sick

Metal master Number of posts : 688 Age : 34

ultmetal wrote:: Death Angel - Fall From Grace

Nuclear Assault-Live at the Hammersmith Odeon

these are just terrible

Metal is my Life Number of posts : 39514 Age : 55

I don't like live albums at all. Besides the KISS Alives , I think I have 1 other live album (Overkill's Wrecking Your Neck Live)

Metal is in my blood Number of posts : 2793 Age : 65

I like live albums when I'm in a certain mood; but I hate it when they mix live and studio tracks. Totally ruins it for me when they do that; and live "bonus cuts" on classic studio CD's are almost always crap.

Metal is my Life Number of posts : 12811 Age : 54

I like some lives albums (Kiss - all alives, Iron Maiden - Live After Death, Judas priest - Unleashed In The East)

Some are really bad - Barren Cross' Hotter Than Hell is a really bad live album - like Ult, theywere much better when I saw them in concert

Janitor of the Void Number of posts : 3361 Age : 56

This one blows: sick

Subject: Re: Worst live albums Sun Sep 02, 2007 9:13 pm

Quote :: i don't care for many live albums at all.

Agreed.....

The only one I really care for at all is Live After Death....

I can't think of any others that do anything for me....

Metal master Number of posts : 688 Age : 34

Unleashed in the east is probably my favorite priest album. The maiden one is good too, so is KISS. The overkill live album is excellent playing their songs twice as fast!

Heart of Metal Number of posts : 1636 Age : 37

I mostly listen to Live Albums or downloas bootlegs if they change singers.

Heart of Metal Number of posts : 2096 Age : 60

I don't get some of you people, the live show is what rock and metal is all about, so much of the music can be sterile in the studio, live is where it comes alive!

Janitor of the Void Number of posts : 3361 Age : 56

I personally tend to LOVE live albums - especially from the 70's when they were usually able to better the studio recordings - which is why when I hear a BAD one, particularly from that era, it sounds REALLY bad to me. Suspect

Live albums from the late 80's to the present have not usually blown me away all that much because they have tended to pale in comparison to what bands can do in the studio with modern tech. HALFORD's Live Insurrection is the only contemporary live album I've heard in years that has impressed me at all.

Subject: Re: Worst live albums Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:28 pm

In person, sure....but I want the perfect, clean, tight sound of studio music on CD....

Administrator Number of posts : 19452 Age : 57

candlemass wrote:: I don't get some of you people, the live show is what rock and metal is all about, so much of the music can be sterile in the studio, live is where it comes alive!

I agree.

I'd be curious to know. I'll bet most of the people here who like live albums are fans of the 70's era stuff and grew up with the live album trend of the 70's. Those that are not fans are probably fans that came out of the 80's and 90's when live albums were as revered.

ult