Europe - Live At Shepherd's Bush, London
(Balls 'N'
Banners Tour 2011)
Performance
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Europe - Live At Shepherd's Bush, London
Performance
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It's hard to believe that I am actually reviewing another Europe concert video, which could only mean that these veteran Swedish rockers have risen from the ashes of the '80s hair-metal heap, and are once again giving their devoted fans the melodic hard-rock that they still crave. Europe has actually been back together for some time now, officially reuniting in 2003 after taking an eleven-year hiatus starting in 1992 when the 80's metal scene began dying its slow and agonizing death. In 2004, Europe released their sixth studio album, and first in about 13 years, Start from the Dark, which saw the band going for a much heavier and more modern sound than the lighter, keyboard dominated stuff that most casual fans will remember them by when The Final Countdown was dominating the charts in the mid-'80s. This album would mark the return of their classic lineup of Joey Tempest (vocals), John Norum (guitar), John Leven (bass), Mic Michaeli (keyboards) and Ian Haughland (drums), and they would also be responsible for two more albums to follow, 2006's Secret Society, and 2009's Last Look At Eden. Earlier this year, Europe finished up their two year long Last Look At Eden world tour with a second leg in the U.K. that was dubbed the "Balls 'N' Banners Tour 2011." The band filmed their sold-out show at London's Shepherds Bush Empire on February 19th 2011, for this excellent new concert DVD/BD. The band kicks off the concert with a couple of tracks from their latest album, Last Look At Eden, with the title track, and the heavy-as-it-sounds, "The Beast." "Last Look at Eden," with its soaring chorus of the gods, is slowly becoming one of my favorite Europe songs, and it most certainly lets you know that these boys are back and sounding better than ever. Joey Tempest was one of the better singers from the 80's metal scene and his vocals are also as strong as they have ever been. They then jump back farther than most of you kids have been alive to revisit their sophomore, Wings Of Tomorrow, album with "Scream of Anger," as well as The Final Countdown's super-anthem "Rock the Night." I still cringe when I hear songs like this. I mean, I know "Rock and Roll All Night" (and Party Every Day) was already taken, but come on man! Granted, it is a world class fist-pumper. The setlist features a great mix of old and new material, featuring eight songs from their three most recent albums of the last decade, and seven from their pre-hiatus releases. You also get a brand new song, "The Doghouse," and John Norum also pays tribute to the recently departed Gary Moore with a smoking performance of his 1987 instrumental classic, "The Loner." Highlights of the show were the middle-eastern flavored "No Stone Unturned," from Last Look At Eden, and "Superstitious" and "Seventh Sign" have also never sounded better. Look up sappy power-ballad in the dictionary and you will probably find Europe's latest one, "New Love In Town," listed as a frigging synonym. These guys can sell it like no other though. And can you guess what they closed the show with. That's right, "The Final F'ing Countdown," and it still sounds as gloriously bombastic as ever. The production quality of this Blu-ray was all over the place. Strangely, the only audio option offered is DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, which was fine with me, but for those of you without a DTS decoder, you might be shit out of luck. The DTS audio mix sounded damn near perfect to my ears, and the hi-def picture looked extremely sharp and vibrant, but the camera editing left much to be desired. God, I'm getting tired of writing that. The combination of constant, rapid fire, camera angle changes mixed with the abundance of strobe lights used on stage, are a sure fire recipe for seizure. Watch with caution. The bonus features on this disk are worth the price alone. Included are a professionally shot 13-song performance (with four songs that are not in the main feature) from a December 28, 2009 concert at Stockholm's Hovet Ice Stadium, and three more from the band's performance at the Grona Lund amusement park in September 2010. Both shows were filmed much better than the main feature, and the Grona Lund footage looked particular amazing with all of the amusement park lights in the background and the abundance of pyrotechnics used at this show. The band was particularly jazzed by the enthusiastic crowd and the unique atmosphere of the venue, and their performance was a knockout. Also included was a picture gallery, the music videos for "Last Look At Eden" and "New Love In Town," and some behind-the-scenes footage, but none of the video for this material would display at all. I could hear the audio fine, but the picture was blank. I have only confirmed this problem with only one other Blu-ray owner so far, so I do not know how widespread this problem is yet. Even with its flaws, Live At Shepherd's Bush, London provides a wealth of great new live material for Europe fans to sink their teeth into, and it certainly piqued my interest in the band again. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - January 2012 |
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Running Time: 92 Minutes (main feature) |
DVD Release Date - October 2011 |