Studio vs. Live

[MetalManCPA]

I don't want to confine this question to Opeth (as I have not yet seen them live), but to the metal genre as a whole:

Is it better to listen to metal music live or on the album?

Studio recordings do more for me musically. Live can be fun, like crowd watching, seeing the band, etc. - but I find too many distractions to really listen.

 

[Confessor]

I must say that seeing a live metal show is an incredible experience. I never saw Opeth, but i saw other metal bands live and it was great.
And im going to see Cradle of Shit tomorrow wooo hooo
As far as live metal albums, well most of the bootlegs suck because of the sound quality so you cant really enjoy them.
But official live albums like the ones by Emperor and Children Of Bodom are fantastic. Its just like seeing them live in ur living room
So i dont know about Opeth live. Ive heard alot of different opinions on their stage act. Ill have to wait and see for myself.

 

[foxdvd]

It depends on a lot of things, not the least being the quality of the live equipment. I have been to live shows that sounded like they were using Gameboy speakers. It also depends on the quality of the recording. If your album is well recorded, and played on a top system, it is going to sound better then a live show on a low quality system. So on a pure sound quality standpoint it really depends on all these things.

As far as energy goes, live shows for the most part make up for a lack sometimes in vocal stability, by pure energy. Nothing beats the joy of seeing your favorite band with thousands of other people, all singing along at the same time, as they slam into each other. The best live shows surpass the experience of your cds greatly, and the only thing that comes close to the experience at home is maybe a party with many close friends, all drunk or stoned, jamming to your favorite music.

 

[dune_666]

In my experiences, and I have been to quite a few metal shows, I usually come away from a live show disappointed. There are many reasons for this. Number one, most clubs that have metal shows, and even the big venues that host the Milwaukee Metalfest and such, don't really understand how to mike up metal bands properly. Especially for fast bands, it always ends up sounding like a wall of noise, and you lose all of the subtle nuances.

Another contributing factor to my all to often disappointment is that a lot of metal bands just aren't that polished. They can pull it off in the studio but live it sounds like ass. One glaring example of this is when I saw Dimmu Borgir. At this time Galder had not replaced the old lead guitarist, who messed up every single solo. He doesn't even solo that much. I wonder why?????

So my rule is this, studio is always much more satisfying. Especially if its the first time hearing a band.

Exceptions to my rule:
In Flames -- Hey they're cheesy, but a lot of fun live
Neurosis -- Holy fucking shit! Amazing live show!
Nile -- As fast as they play on the albums, even faster and just as tight live. Without a doubt the best live show in metal. They bring their own roadies to mike them up and it shows.

 

[warsofwinter]

Originally posted by dune_666

In Flames -- Hey they're cheesy, but a lot of fun live

In Flames cheesy? , not at all

 

[Russell]

One thing that really annoys me is the live sound. They put so much bass on that you can't hear vocals or the melody. Apart from that I find that it depends on the band. Some bands are bettter live when they start to improvise and change their songs, which I like, but some bands just play a few songs without really getting into it so you might as well buy an album and get better quality recordings. I like the covers some bands only do live tho

 

[Demonspell]

I know this may sound like I was disappointed with them on the latest tour (well, having a deficient sound system in Assberry Park wasn't their problem, and they did their best to overcome it), but I've always thought of Opeth as primarily a studio-based entity, one that uses every facet of production to enhace the listening experience and has an ambience that is impossible to replicate amidst the spontaniety of a live show.

 

[benighted]

well, i saw opeth play in chicago at the house of blues, and i gotta say the sound there is incredible. they play great live; no mess-ups really. i saw them in milwaukee, too -- the sound was terrible so i didn't really know if they could play well live (this was before the chicago show), but the vibe was great there, and their set rocked. in flames plays really well live.

kevin

 

[Graveless Soul]

Originally posted by Confessor

As far as live metal albums, well most of the bootlegs suck because of the sound quality so you cant really enjoy them.
But official live albums like the ones by Emperor and Children Of Bodom are fantastic. Its just like seeing them live in ur living room

As I've mentioned in another post, I have to disagree. I much prefer complete bootlegs to polished official live albums, that have most of the time been overdubbed in the studio.

Not all bootlegs are bad sound quality, I've got quite a few Led Zep recordings and they are amazing. It serves as an accurate reflection of just how amazing they were live, and they piss all over The Song Remains The Same soundtrack! You can pick up some really good soundboard stuff as well as some pretty good audience recordings aswell.

As for playing live to being in the studio, it has to be live every time. I'd say about 40% of the bands I've discovered I've seen live first. Playing live also allows for improvisation, which is good for a band like Opeth (extend the solo a bit and maybe arrange a song slightly differently to suit a live atmosphere).

A live show is more of an experience and a coming together of people, all of whom share the same interest. This in turn creates an atmosphere that you can't recreate sitting in your bedroom listening to an album....

 

[Soul Forlorn]

I, too saw Opeth in Chicago at the House of Blues. It was an incredible experience. The sound was good, not great. I've heard a lot of people overate the sound at that show. What I love about live shows is that is completely raw, and the fact that there is so much power and energy. It's a completely natural state. The artist can't use technology to cover mistakes. Also, more often than not, when songs are performed live there are a lot of sublte changes in the music. It's these changes that make it interesting. You get to see even more the true style of the artist. Unfortunately, I don't go to many shows. When I go see a band live I go to see them perform, and for no other reason but that. I absolutely can't stand dealing with the loads of kids that go there to mosh, crowdsurf, etc. There are always these annoying people there that go for no other reason than to do these things. I just want to see the show. If it is confined to certain areas, then fine, I have no problem with it. But too many times I've been dissapointed in a show because I spent more time trying to not get trampled on or punched in the face than I did actually watching the performers.


www.mp3.com/soulforlorn

 

[justHerb]

I saw Opeth twice this year and as good as they were, I think I have to agree that they're more of a studio band. I do happen to like Mikael's extremely dry stage presence. It's really refreshing after listening to most Metal frontmen scream at me and call me "motherfucker."

I saw CoF last week and I left early because Dani's screams all started to sound the same.

 

[Russell]

Hehe, yerah Dani Filths "scream" are like a lost child crying 4 his mummy compared 2 Mikael's!

 

[Raining Blood]

Studio recordings are something you obviously must have. You can live without seeing a band in person (unless it's Machine Head or Opeth).

But if you are going to a live show, the studio recordings are what you need so you know the songs and aren't confused as to what is going on.

The live experience is the best, but without the CDs, it wouldn't be nearly as good.

 

[Demonspell]

The best comment about Dani I've heard was by the often clueless but always interesting Martin Popoff..."he sounds exactly like Beavis in one of his nervous tics." I hate Cradle Of Filth.

 

[GUNDAR]

I saw Opeth live in L.A and they sounded awesome. Only time they fucked up was when Mikael's guitar had some problems so the roadie came out with a new one and it didn't have a strap... so Mikael started playing squating down while the strap was put on. The roadie also was holding the mic at that moment. It was extremely funny and for about 30 seconds, we only heard peter's guitar... So I guess that wasn't really a fuck up but amusing nonetherless... things like that makes a live show unique.