One year after the release of their critically acclaimed and highly praised album Five Stars Above (2023, see review), The French Rock/Metal/Prog outfit Wedingoth comes up with their first live album. Titled Five Stars (A)Live. This release, as you probably already might have guessed hence the title, contains all the compositions taken from their latest studio album mentioned earlier. It comes in a Digipack CD/DVD format. Yes, you did read it well. Live CD plus a recording on video of the same concert on DVD. This always gets me in a good mood, because I not only like live CDs but also live DVDs or even better, live Blu-rays. Even more if it comes with a 5.1 surround sound. Well, I will tell you if this live effort is worth watching and listening! Our reviewer wrote at the time about the studio album the following:" Five Stars Above is an excellent progressive, symphonic metal album that does not disappoint for one bloody second as Wedingoth is really a very positive revelation for me. So, check it out". Well, I couldn't agree more after listening to this amazing album as well. But what about bringing this exciting music on a live stage in front of an audience? That's of course a different case. Can Steeven Segarra (guitars and keyboards), Celine Nephthys (vocals), Manon Fortin (bass guitar) and Stephane Rochas on drums copy the sometimes-complex compositions? And who will play the keyboards when Segarra will be focused on the excellent guitar parts? The answers can all be found after listening and looking at Five Stars (A)Live. It was filmed and recorded during a concert on 27th May 2023 at the CGR La Rotonde in their home town Lyon. Right from the start you will find out that the musicians create an exceptional energy during their performances. Not that they are jumping around much, but they give the songs a real live feeling. They sound is not so sterile and clean as on their studio album. It is rawer and with extra instrumental parts. Therefore, the chosen album title Five Stars (A)Live could not have been any better, I guess! Only too bad that some musical parts are coming from a tape which is playing along with the musicians on stage. The band chose not to add an extra keyboard player on stage to perform the parts done by Segarra on the studio album. For me it is always minus points if a band chooses to work this way when playing their sometimes-complex music during live concerts. However, don't be too negative because there are also positive things to mention. Just like the already mentioned energy on stage and the strong interaction between the musicians. They copy the studio versions in a rather strong way, but as was mentioned earlier, rawer and with extra instrumental parts. Of course, guitarist Steeven Segarra and female lead singer Celine Nephthys are the eye catchers in the band. Segarra looks and sounds in many ways like the guitarist of Mostly Autumn. Bryan Josh has the same kind of long hair and beard on his chin. Also, he plays the same of kind amazing guitar solos. Yes, indeed Steeven knows how to entertain a crowd with his excellent guitar playing just like Josh does in Mostly Autumn. However, there are of course musical differences between the two acts. Mostly Autumn includes more folk elements into their compositions and Wedingoth includes more metal and hard rock elements to their sound. But both are rather entertaining without any doubt. As for the lead vocals of Nephthys, she does a great job singing the sometimes difficult parts in the right way. However, I must confess I did find her vocal parts on the studio album much stronger. As for the songs performed, I already mentioned that the entire Five Stars Above is done. The absolute musical highlight is of course the epic piece My Own Sacrifice. With the many different (complex) and strong musical parts makes it the bands best composition. However, Time is also a real favourite of mine because of its mellow and up-tempo parts in one composition. As you look at the track list you will see that the live album contains 9 numbers instead of 8 on the studio album. Meaning an extra composition was played in Lyon. This is the track The Space Man. A brand-new piece of music I think, because I could not discover it on one of their earlier albums from which nothing was performed. Of course, not so strange because it didn't feature the current line up except band leader Steeven Segarra. As for the sound and images of this release I can be rather positive as well. The audio on the CD is rather strong and that's also the case on the DVD even if it doesn't contain a 5.1 surround sound. Also, the filming was perfectly done with good close ups of all the musicians on stage. Only too bad the concert only lasts one hour and six minutes! It was probably recorded during a festival or as being a support act for some other band. For those who don't have enough of the one-hour long concert footage on the DVD the band has added four videos to the menu. So, 22 minutes of extra footage. It starts with Black Sky This Morning. Probably a brand-new piece with an art video. Without the any of the musicians in it. Next up the earlier mentioned Time. Here you can see Celine in a room holding a (human) skull in her hands and with many clocks on the wall. It is followed by Cross The Mirror which features the band outdoors in a forest. They are accompanied by a little boy who seems to play hide and seek while the stars above them move all the way. The last video is I Don't Care. This is a black and white video most of the time on which the bands can be seen miming on the music while an office girl is trying to get a glimpse of them. The videos are a nice feature but which you look at probably only once. Which is of course not the case with the concert footage. All in all, a rather entertaining release on which this promising band from France shows that they are a great live act which can play their complex studio material in a rather strong way. Only too bad they used tapes for the extra musical parts to make it all sound a little bit better. Hopefully next time they have added an extra keyboard player during live performances. But that's the only negative remark I can come up with. Well done! **** Henri Strik (edited by Dave Smith) Where to buy? |
