Live Beyond The Spheres New Live Album

[DREAMASTER]

So far from what has been heard from the videos, the mixing is some is terrible. It sounds lifeless, powerless and sound like recorded live in studio. I hope the overall album is not like this.

[Led Guardian]

The recordings themselves sound good, but yeah, the lack of crowd noise has been rather disappointing, especially in comparison to Live.

[sciacallo010]

The recordings themselves sound good, but yeah, the lack of crowd noise has been rather disappointing, especially in comparison to Live.

I agree, I listened to the album just a couple of time (it's sooo long) but it's pretty good, having the crowd slightly louder would have been nice, tho.

[priderock]

From what I've heard so far, it sounds good, but really steril. I just think that this kind of clean production is good for a studio album, but not that much for a live one, cause its hard to feel the atmosphere. I just can't hear the back vocals and also the crowd. Anyway, the performances are great, especially the TOTG ones. Cant wait to hear the whole album

[sciacallo010]

Actually I was listening to the album yesterday while going to their show and the crowd wasn't as "quite" (or at low volume) as I remembered, it's actually quite nice!

[Led Guardian]

I'll post this interview/trailer here, on the small chance that there is a person who comes here but isn't connected to BG's Facebook page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P41YoDamAJE

[nyobit]

there is a person who comes here but isn't connected to BG's Facebook page

Thank you

[Ryu]

The mixing seems more solid on the actual album and the backing vocals do seem more noticeable, oddly on some songs way more than others. Could be overdubs. Wheel of Time sounds absolutely incredible, to my surprise somewhat. Another highlight: no awkward falsetto during Tanelorn. Somehow.

[Led Guardian]

The mixing seems more solid on the actual album and the backing vocals do seem more noticeable, oddly on some songs way more than others. Could be overdubs. Wheel of Time sounds absolutely incredible, to my surprise somewhat. Another highlight: no awkward falsetto during Tanelorn. Somehow.

That's kinda disappointing. Those high notes were some of the highlights of the studio version. He didn't do them when I saw that song live.

[priderock]

Just heard the Bards song and even that there are like thousands of live versions I was blown away by this one.. The part ""in the dark and COOOOLD" is just ouststanding..
P.S. The mix is way, way better than what we heard on youtube! just great actually!!! Still not hear the whole album

[Ryu]

The mixing seems more solid on the actual album and the backing vocals do seem more noticeable, oddly on some songs way more than others. Could be overdubs. Wheel of Time sounds absolutely incredible, to my surprise somewhat. Another highlight: no awkward falsetto during Tanelorn. Somehow.

That's kinda disappointing. Those high notes were some of the highlights of the studio version. He didn't do them when I saw that song live.

Oh, I mean to say, he is legitimately hitting the note in this recording. In some live bootlegs I've heard, it sounds ... off? Heady, falsetto-y. Whereas this one sounds like it's coming from his chest. I'm terrible at describing things

Suffice to say he sounds as good or better than he did on Live at times

[Twister]

For someone who still has to listen to its copy - any clues of where every track was recorded, maybe here and there?

[priderock]

For someone who still has to listen to its copy - any clues of where every track was recorded, maybe here and there?

And Then There Was Silence - Dusseldorf
And the Story Ends - Dusseldorf
Bard's Song - Dusseldorf
Fly -Warsaw
Bright Eyes - Paris
Imaginations From The Ther Side - Hamburg

Thats all I can say by just listening to it

[Twister]

Thank you!
I hope there's a track from the Milan show, too.

A friend was at the Dusseldorf show and she agreed that it was amazing - especially ATTWS! No doubt they chose many songs from that show!

[priderock]

Yeah, I think there's at least 2 from Italy by hearing Hansi speaking, but he never says the town actually.
Anyway, yes, the performances are absolutely top notch. Some of the songs sounds more like a different versions than the album ones, instead of a live performance, which is really interesting.
The album is really great! Wheel Of Time is also one of the highlights here

P.S. Does anyone know who is making the back vocals on APAFS - they're absolutely great?

[Led Guardian]

Oh, I mean to say, he is legitimately hitting the note in this recording. In some live bootlegs I've heard, it sounds ... off? Heady, falsetto-y. Whereas this one sounds like it's coming from his chest. I'm terrible at describing things

Suffice to say he sounds as good or better than he did on Live at times

Ohhhh, I understand now. I thought you meant he was doing it in a lower register like he sometimes does. That is a highlight indeed!

Just heard the Bards song and even that there are like thousands of live versions I was blown away by this one.. The part ""in the dark and COOOOLD" is just ouststanding..
P.S. The mix is way, way better than what we heard on youtube! just great actually!!! Still not hear the whole album

Really glad to hear that the mixing is better than the youtube videos. Now I'm more excited! And also wondering why so many people have already gotten to hear it...

[ErHaO]

The mixing seems more solid on the actual album and the backing vocals do seem more noticeable, oddly on some songs way more than others. Could be overdubs. Wheel of Time sounds absolutely incredible, to my surprise somewhat. Another highlight: no awkward falsetto during Tanelorn. Somehow.

That's kinda disappointing. Those high notes were some of the highlights of the studio version. He didn't do them when I saw that song live.

Oh, I mean to say, he is legitimately hitting the note in this recording. In some live bootlegs I've heard, it sounds ... off? Heady, falsetto-y. Whereas this one sounds like it's coming from his chest. I'm terrible at describing things

I get what you mean, but I think his use of the falsetto screams recently sounded good, see Wacken 2016 or Hellfest 2016 for example. He has gotten way better at Tanelorn in comparison to the early days. Interesting to hear he hits the notes differently on this album though.

[priderock]

Valhalla - Duseldorff again It seems that it's been one hell of a concert

[sciacallo010]

The Ninth Wave and Nightfall are from italian shows, dunno if it's Milan or Rome, I hope it says something about it in the booklet.

[Twister]

Nightfall is surely from the Rome show, I have a video of the performance of Nightfall in Milan and it has a different introduction.
The Ninth Wave could very possibly be from Milan, I remember Hansi saying "Keep in mind this is just the beginning" because we started chanting for every single band member (this part sadly was cut off, but of course, it lasted quite a bit! )

[JazzJackrabbit]

Have to agree on the lack of crowd noise in the mix. I'm listening to Nightfall right now and like....what's the point of even putting this song on the album if I can't even hear the crowd during the chorus?? I shouldn't be able to hear the backing vocals more clearly than the audience, especially for THAT song.

[ErHaO]

Listened to it a couple of times. Some thoughts:

Audio is very clear, almost like a studio live perfromance at times. That has pros and cons for me. The instuments can be appreciated very well, especially hearing the bass so clear is great. It does, however, detract a bit from the live feeling. The vocals, be it Hansi, the backing vocals, or the crowd, are pretty isolated and the latter two are often a bit low in the mix (not always, so it is a delibirate decision on song by song basis). Backing vocals also sound "thin", moreso than usual. It took me a while to get used to, but overall I think it sounds good. Though during the Imaginations/Nightfall songs I would've preffered just a tad more crowd noise, especially since these are the songs where Hansi could use some help (don't get me wrong, the album is full of great Hansi moments, but the guy is still 50 and some of the songs of that era are demanding/written in a way that doesn't suit his current capabilites as good).

Random remarks the songs/tracklisting:
-Wheel of Time is a highlight and and Ninth Wave is also awesome. They suit Hansi's current vocals very well. The other two epics, ATTWS and Sacred Worlds, are great too.
-I love the band on Fly, the song is actually pretty groovy like this. Unexpected highlight for me.
-The speedy older songs sound great, especially Majesty is nice.
-Ballads sound great. I think Hansi sings them better than on Live, and Hansi's German accent is also noticably less than on Live (just compared LotR and APaFS of the two albums).

Have to agree on the lack of crowd noise in the mix. I'm listening to Nightfall right now and like....what's the point of even putting this song on the album if I can't even hear the crowd during the chorus?? I shouldn't be able to hear the backing vocals more clearly than the audience, especially for THAT song.

Actually, the backing vocals being more clear than the crowd during the chorus is the case on Live as well. But I'd argue both should have been a tad louder for more impact.

[JazzJackrabbit]

Have to agree on the lack of crowd noise in the mix. I'm listening to Nightfall right now and like....what's the point of even putting this song on the album if I can't even hear the crowd during the chorus?? I shouldn't be able to hear the backing vocals more clearly than the audience, especially for THAT song.

Actually, the backing vocals being more clear than the crowd during the chorus is the case on Live as well. But I'd argue both should have been a tad louder for more impact.

I think it sounds perfect on ITTLG which is what I had in mind for a comparison.

[Traveller in Time]

personally: i love it. The background singing is really awesome and Hansi puts so much passion especiall in ATTWS. It's a pretty good mix with all (crowd, vocals, guitars, drums, bass).
Hansi really does some harsh screaming.
The only disappointment is the missing gems and that there is no info about where the single songs were recorded.
BTW on headphones it sounded much better than on my stereo.....

[ThePKH]

Sounds good thus far. I agree with what some others have been saying, that the audience should be slightly louder.
It's a live album ffs, and a Blind Guardian live album on top of that.

[duchessdeer]

Valhalla - Duseldorff again It seems that it's been one hell of a concert

That's what I thought

[Gamarej]

Hello people, it's my first post in this forum!

I noticed something while listening to the "Live Beyond The Spheres" album. In about 07:21 of "The Last Candle" Hansi shouts "Give me pleasure, Ljubljana!". So another venue is figured out!

Also doesn't he mention Warsaw in the end of "Banish From Sanctuary"? It's part of his scream directed to the audience, I'm not sure if I heard it well...

[Max]

This is what we know so far:

Track, Title, Time, Country, City, Notice
1, The Ninth Wave , 10:23, Italy, Rome,
2, Banish From Sanctuary , 06:09, Poland, Warsaw,
3, Nightfall , 06:33, Italy, Rome,
4, Prophecies , 05:40, , , english
5, Tanelorn , 06:28, , , english
6, The Last Candle , 08:11, Slovenia, Ljubljana,
7, And Then There Was Silence , 15:54, Germany, Dusseldorf,

1, The Lord Of The Rings , 05:20, , , english
2, Fly , 05:58, Poland, Warsaw,
3, Bright Eyes , 05:42, France, Paris,
4, Lost In The Twilight Hall , 06:55, Germany, , "megageil" (not Berlin)
5, Imaginations From The Other Side , 07:43, Germany, Hamburg,
6, Into The Storm , 04:33, , ,
7, Twilight Of The Gods , 05:57, , , english/german end
8, A Past And Future Secret , 04:26, , Leipzig/Munich/Pratteln/Krefeld, german/heimspiel
9, And The Story Ends , 07:13, Germany, Dusseldorf,

1, Sacred Worlds , 08:00, , ,
2, The Bard’s Song (In The Forest) , 04:36, Germany, Dusseldorf, intro english
3, Valhalla , 08:35, Germany, Dusseldorf,
4, Wheel Of Time , 09:33, , , english
5, Majesty , 08:39, , , english
6, Mirror Mirror , 06:46, , Pratteln/Bamberg/Berlin, only 2 shows without video, others shows videos have different movement by Hansi

Furthermore I wrote a request at NuclearBlast in order to reveal the venues/locations. Hopefully i get an answer.

[Max]

Sorry for double Post,

Nuclear Blast told me, that they do not know about the locations.
BUT the colleages from the production did forward the request directly to the band.

This means, it's up to the bards to answer (or not)

[Traveller in Time]

Cool, thank you for your efforts.

[Led Guardian]

Sorry for double Post,

Nuclear Blast told me, that they do not know about the locations.
BUT the colleages from the production did forward the request directly to the band.

This means, it's up to the bards to answer (or not)

I wouldn't count on it. I just read an interview with Marcus where the interviewer asked him this, and he said they wanted to leave it up to the fans to figure it out.

[Gamarej]

I just read an interview with Marcus where the interviewer asked him this, and he said they wanted to leave it up to the fans to figure it out.

So here we are, figuring it out
A friend of mine found this one: If you listen to a few last seconds of "Banish From Sanctuary" and twelve first seconds of "Nightfall" and then to a bootleg-quality YouTube video titled "Blind Guardian - Nightfall (Warszawa Progresja 26-05-2015)" it comes out that actually "Nightfall" is from Warsaw, not "Banish From Sanctuary".

[Shadow_Zero]

P.S. Does anyone know who is making the back vocals on APAFS - they're absolutely great?

If it's from the Dutch show that would be me
(but I thought the keyboard player usually did the backup vocals on APAFS)

Still need to get the cd! >_< (but something to look forward to, still)

[Beorn]

Have to say it sounds really flat. No crowd noise. The music sounds overproduced. My only knock on the band is that they put too many overdubs and backing tracks into their studio songs. When they play the tracks as backing live, it sounds too technical. They miss a lot of the raw energy. Live was infinitely better. The track list is uninspiring as well. They could have put on a bunch of the backtracks that only made 3-4 shows. That would have definitely compensated for the lack of crowd noise.

[ari]

Listening to ATTWS now, on my headphone tube amp I built and a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250ohm cans.

The lead guitar sounds awesome, and Hansi's voice is very upfront and raw. Bass is sitting in the mix really well - better than studio albums!
Marcus' rhythm guitar is furious but still sitting too far behind the drums for my liking. Unfortunate, I like his style with the long chords.

Crowd noise, or the lack of, doesn't really bother me. It's there in the important parts for the sing-a-longs. I'd much rather the orgasmic tones from Andre and the nuanced keyboards in this case.

MAJESTY!

Plenty of crowd here...ripping intro, Hansi sounds like a God. Frederick and The Bear are thumping it, but I do miss that overdub bass line from Live in Tokyo...
I kind of forgot about the audience until they appeared in the chorus then bridge...then it's back to the furious riffage.

Onto Prophecies, you really begin to realise how challenging the vocal lines are. The first verse alone has such a variety of vocal transitions. I do prefer thios song after the first chorus though...some of the intros on Beyond The Red Mirror are so vastly different to the actual songs, I am not sure if it is genius or just weird. That said, every single BG song stands alone and with unique intros.

I think I heard some crowd singing here

With Tanelorn rumbling along I will leave this mini review here.