Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
When all that remains is love, the human heart will feel peace. It is a love that has been kept firmly in the hearts of the tens of thousands of Marillion fans since the first moment they came across the band. When all that remains is love, then the complexity of human emotion can come shining through like the Lighthouse of Alexandria, it is talked of for all time and the beacon searches out both wrecks and salvation alike.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Progressive Rock royalty comes in many different forms, many distinct tastes and moments that in the end the fans list could so wildly dissimilar that they would surely encompass the whole colourful spectrum. It is in the nature of such lists that one name would positively stand out, would always grab the attention of the crowd, Steve Hackett, the quiet man of Progressive Rock but also arguably the most prestigious and creatively entertaining; it is no wonder that he was amongst the headline musicians for the inaugural Stone Free Festival.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *
It is hard when you are on the edges, when thrown to the sides like an outcast sat at the city gates, looking for scraps of comfort and knowing that deep down your thoughts are about as welcome as the plague, but as you sit in the far reaches of a gathering and you don’t get the hype, the sentimental leaning of those caught in the whirlwind of supposed excitement at the front of the stage, the slight stance of indifference towards the middle and the abject mind wanderings at the back, that just how you are supposed to feel about The Darkness.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
The master looks down from the pulpit on high and sees the heaving throng, the swelling mass of humanity, writhe in a perpetual rhythm before him, and the scene registers visibly as one to make experienced eyes well up with pride. For Alice Cooper, the veteran of the shock rock musical hall extravaganza, this may have been the only performance in the U.K. during the whole of 2016 but it was one that was steeped in glory, in beauty and dripping with excitement from the off.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 30th 2009.
For a time it looked as though the band that had spawned classic albums such as Master of Puppets, …And Justice for All and Ride the Lightning had reached a dead end, in the studio and on tour. So much so that even loyal fans and critics started questioning the band’s future when they released St. Anger in 2003.
With the release of Death Magnetic last year, all of that has been forgiven and forgotten. This album has transferred so well to the live show that the band have largely, (with a couple of exceptions) scrubbed clean the years 1993 to 2007 off their set list.