BURIED ALIVE

I think that it's great that Änglagård recorded and released a live album featuring material from their two studio albums and that it has a strong emphasis on the debut release, but all the surrounding details just don't appeal as much to me.

Let's be honest, the sound production of this live album is far from decent. It actually sometimes sounds more like a bootleg that was recorded by some audience member since there is no detail in the sound channeling and that's a huge letdown for me. I get especially irritated when I can't hear a specific guitar/bass fill that I've been so accustomed to on the original studio recordings but that can, in some cases, have less to do with the recording's sound and more with the slightly new arrangements that the members perform on these compositions.

For all these reasons, Buried Alive doesn't really become the excellent retrospective of the Änglagård material that I would have wanted it to be and therefore it can hardly be recommended to anyone who is new to the band. The already established fan base should find these performances a nice change of pace from the compositions that they've been accustomed to but I doubt that anyone would ever prefer any of these renditions of the tracks over their original takes. For most part, these performances are very true to their originals and the occasions where they differ are usually done so for the worse.

Even if Buried Alive is far from an excellent live recording I still have a difficult time dismissing it as merely a fans only release. It does feature all of the original four tracks off Hybris and the tracks from Epilog can pretty much be seen as a bonus for everyone who decides to check this album out after only hearing the debut release. I've actually been a bit more inclined to hearing this album than Epilog coming through the speakers in my household, over the last few years, which I guess says pretty much all you need to know about Buried Alive!

**** star songs: Prolog (2:20) Jordrök (11:45) Höstsejd (14:03) Vandringar I Vilsenhet (13:07) Kung Bore (12:34)

*** star songs: Ifrån Klarhet Till Klarhet (9:04) Sista Somrar (9:22)

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