Okay, here's the rest - a bit late as usual, but it wasn't my fault. :Spin:
11. Format C: for Cortex
After the nice intro (I love the way Mikael pronounces "
cortex" when he introduces the song) and strong main-riff, this song becomes rather dull. On the album it is a decent song, but here it just flops, IMHO. Somehow it manages to draw acceptance from the audience though, so perhaps the flaw is just mine. Nevertheless, I think this is the weakest song of the set. Only the beautiful middle-part and Mikael's extremely expressionate performance keep it from becoming boring. I wonder why some other song, like Cathode Ray Sunshine or Single Part of Two wasn't chosen instead of this one.
12. Insanity's Crescendo
After the disappointment of the previous song, the band makes up for it by a brilliant performance of this old classic. The band's playing is very accurate with perfect sounds and Mikael is simply astonishing, using his whole body to live with the lyrics he is singing - seeing this song convinced me that he
IS the best frontman of all the bands in the world! I must also mention the added keyboards that fit the song so perfectly that they send shivers up and down my spine still after watching the show more than a dozen times during the past week. Alltogether an amazing performance and definitely one of the best on this DVD!
13. Hours Passed in Exile
Here's another excellent song played well. Mikael sings a wrong line in the beginning and mumbles another one later, but otherwise performs flawlessly and and with great intensity. Look at Niklas' one-handed playing in the beginning: it seems so damn
easy!
Overall very good, but does not rise above the many other excellent songs of the show. I believe Mikael's "Thanks to you guys!" is definitely meant for the few active people in the front row and not for the sleeping masses behind them.
14. The Sun Fired Blanks
This is one of the very few songs that has been in virtually all DT setlists for the past 3+ years - and it shows! The band's playing is free and relaxed, yet very accurate and "tight", so that the song flows flawlessly all the way through without even minor "speedbumbs". The look on Martin's face after Mikael announces his name is unforgettable - I wouldn't like to meet this guy in a dark alley.
One of the very best DT live-tunes and among my favorites on the DVD - even the audience here is good!
15. Damage Done
I was a bit afraid of how they could handle this particular favorite of mine live, as it indeed felt pretty much like a firm "studio-song" to me. To my utter satisfaction, they do it incredibly well and carefully. When Mikael repeats "
Derails my train of thought" he looks like a completely different person to me! It also gives me a very warm feeling, when I see Mikael walking behind Niklas and giving that approving look to him, as if to say "well played!" and Niklas smiling back at him
. Wonderful.
16. Lethe
Although this song hasn't lately brought up such strong emotions in me as it did over half a decade ago, the superb performance the band - and especially Mikael - puts up made me recall those days long gone. I almost felt like crying, and I wouldn't be surprised if some other old-timer did cry when seeing this for the first time. I love the "weight" of the keyboards and the clarity of the bass-sound; and even though Nicklasson and Brändström came into the band long after this song was first recorded, they handle it with the same love as the older members of the band. There's also some nice variation on the guitars near the end. Truly excellent!
17. Not Built to Last
Nothing wrong with the band's solid performance here, but somehow this song doesn't do as much live as it does on the album. The beautiful instrumental middle-part is still one of the best ever made and everything sounds perfect, but I keep wondering if some other song would have been more suitable here -
Rundown, perhaps?
18. ThereIn
I could have lived without this song appearing on the set, but apparently many people in the audience thought otherwise, as it got the best response of all the songs this far into the show. Perhaps, had they played this one earlier in the set, the audience might have been awakened earlier as well. Mikael is again the heart and dynamo of the stage here and sounds actually better here than on the album, especially in the growled parts, IMO.
19. Zodijackyl Light
This is a weird song. Or rather,
my relation to it is weird: I dislike it on the album, counting it among the weakest tunes from The Mind's I, but live - god damn I just love it! This here performance is excellent and the band's playing flawless - I assume this is a difficult song to play live (is it? as I said, I'm no musician), but the guys don't really let it show. The sudden stop in the middle of the song is an old thing already, but still manages to punctuate the power in the song.
20. Final Resistance
The proper last song of the set, Final Resistance makes my head bang and adrenaline pumping in my veins. Mikael is clearly a bit tired already, but still manages to give a 100% performance. Brilliant.
21. Outro / Ex Nihilo
I kind of hoped they would have actually
played this song, or at least some part of it, instead of just letting it come as playback... Well, anyways, it leaves me with a desire to just watch the whole show over again from the start, so perhaps it was planned this way.
Overall, an amazing show!
I'll go later into the other parts of the DVD.
-Villain
