Rating: 8/10
Release: 30 August 2013
Label: Prophecy Productions

How do you review a live-CD? Do you listen to how wild the crowd is, or do you listen to how perfect a band could play, or even rate the total atmosphere that’s been put on a CD? With Empyrium, it’s definitely the last. Empyrium recorded their first performance ever (!) in 2011, while playing at the Wave Gotik Treffen. For this unique happening, the band invited a lot of guestmusicians from renown bands like Alcest, Neun Welten, Dornenreich and Les Discrets. Empyrium takes you to a different world where everything is serene and almost magical.
For those who don’t know; Empyrium makes a dreamy mix of neofolk and shoegaze, with here and there some influences from doommetal. Sounds unique, and that’s true. The music is perfect to drift away too, not to pit or to headbang, but to stand still, with your eyes shut, enjoying every note they’re playing. The music is played perfectly, something that could be expected from these topartists. The setlist gives a clear view of what Empyrium stands for, and is thus a perfect way to discover this band, if you didn’t know them beforehand.
However, there are some remarks about this CD. Between the songs, you can hear some random sounds of the piano and the guitar, something which doesn’t sound all that professional on a live-CD. Also, the music itself sounds so perfect, that, besides the reaction of the audience between songs, this doesn’t sound at all like a Live-CD.
All in all this CD gives a beautiful insight in 15 years of Empyrium. It’s to praise that this was their first performance, while everything sounds so perfect and polished that it seems if they’d been performing for ages. However, this doesn’t really capture the true atmosphere of the live-experience. For people who like non-standard music, check this out! And now we just hope that Empyrium could play a lot more shows in the future..

Tracklist

1. Intro 01:10
2. The Days Before the Fall 06:40
3. The Franconian Woods in Winter’s Silence 08:43
4. Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays 05:44
5. Heimwärts 06:42
6. Mourners 09:24
7. Die Schwäne im Schilf 06:46
8. Dead Winter Ways 06:14
9. Der Weiher 05:36
10. Many Moons Ago 04:36
11. Das blau-kristallne Kämmerlein 02:47