The WFF clip has a more muddier and unclear sound than R2R, in multiplied numbers. Absolute shit sound. I don't know when you guys last saw IF live, but my last IF show was less than 2 years ago and it's the best one of the 7 ones I've been to. Partly because of setlist as well but also performance. I can definitely see the argument for shitty clean vocal performances live, but in general his live screaming and growling has never been shit. Not on most of the live videos I've seen and all the gigs I've seen them at. I think it has more to do with vocal approach than impaired screams. They always do Take This Life as last song and it always sounds great. His growls has always been sick imo, haven't really heard them change at all the last like 10-15 years. If anything they're better. To compare the growls in F(r)iend from Used and Abused has nothing at all compared to the last gig I saw when he only growled during the entire Food For the Gods song. My favorite live memory by far, sickest shit I've heard from him.
It was pretty much like this but a bit better and exclusively growls and obviously better sounding live than from a mobile recording. Comparing it to all the available old live performances from 15-20years ago it's MILES better. Same with Moonshield they've been doing the recent shows, sounds a lot better than it did during the old days live. Plus they added that guitar melody as intro instead of jumping right into the part after the acoustic guitars which makes it sound much cooler as a whole.
I mean compare Used and Abused's Moonshield to this recent live performance...To me it's not even close, recent one sounds so much better.
Seeing them again in November in a large stadium 10k+ people show, hopefully it's gonna be as good as before. I've seen much better setlists than the recent ones but as long as they keep Moonshield for the upcoming leg of the tour I'm good.