ROADWORK VOL. 3 - THE FOUR NORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE - LIVE AT THE PARADISO, AMSTERDAM, NOVEMBER 23, 2002

This album came about in between The Tower and The Crucible, but was recorded during the band's era when they were a lot more overtly psychedelic, away from their stoner metal and grunge days, and many of the songs here are from Let Them Eat Cake, Phanerothyme, and It's A Love Cult, but some of their more heavy stuff do creep up, even Lobotimizer gets some love here with the 21 minute reinterpretation of Hogwash.

I think the best part of this record is the jovial love poured into each track, with fun jams like Custer's Last Stand, and Neverland, and moving pieces of music like Starmelt/Lovelight and Stained Glass. You can just feel the band enjoying themselves on each song, and for that I really adore it.

I also really like the longer tracks on here, that being Stained Glass, 577, Hogwash, and Stg. Most of these are longer and more jammy versions of shorter songs, and so for how the band crafts these over time through their new found longer skin, it gives them a new energy and life, one that I have never experienced a lot in music and live albums. It is really unique and magical, though I will say the middle section of Hogwash is a little boring.

I will also say that I feel like the album, or more accurately the live show should've ended with Stg instead of Neverland, as Neverland feels kinda out of place as the closure, and in general I feel it to be a tiny bit unneeded, but that is more of a nitpick then anything.

A really good live album from one of the modern prog greats. Check it out if you have the time to spare as it is really good for what you get.