Halford - "Live Insurrection" (Metal-Is)

Rob Halford came back from metal mediocrity in 2000 and put himself back on the metal map with "Resurrection". Taken from the 2000-2001 Ressurrection world tour with Iron Maiden, "Live Insurrection" spreads 24 superbly produced live tracks over 2 CDs.

"Live Insurrection" serves as an aural history of Rob Halford, including not only materiel from the new album, but a healthy dose of Judas Preist as well. Halford's band excel with the old songs, updating venerable neck-benders like "Stained Class" and "The Hellion" to compete with the modern day power of Nevermore and Iron Maiden. Halford's band; Guitarists Mike Chlasciak and Patrick Lachman, along with drummer Bobby Jarzombek and bassist Ray Riendeau, seem to hit their stride on the road. The rhythm and instrumentation on "Live Insurrection" sounds universally fresh, fast and brutal. Halford's voice too, comes into it's own after being worked out on the tour, and seems to get better and better as the CDs go on.

Paced sublimely by producer Roy Z, "Live Insurrection" changes speed constantly, making it a solid listening experience, best absorbed a disc at a time. Slower songs like "Life in Black" make Insurrection worth the price of admission by themselves. The true treasures of the records, however, are the demos and "off-day" tracks included to give the records the touring atmosphere. "The One You Love To Hate" is a celebrity deatmatch we've all been waiting years for, pitting Halford's wailing roar against the air-raid siren himself, Bruce Dickenson. The demos "Heart of a Lion" and "Prisoner of Your Eyes" are both fine rarities, and th newly recorded "Screaming in the Dark" provides a dark view into what the future might hold for the Halford camp.

If you don't own one of Rob Halford's 15 odd records already, "Live Insurrection" is the only one you'll ever need to buy. In this sense the comparative brevity of the two CDs are the package's greatest strength; "Live Insurrection" cuts to the quick of Halford's talent, providing the best of the best, and leaving everything unecessary behind. 8/10

Reviewed by: Blake Jessop