!!!IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!
It came to our attention from some readers of ours, that this album isn't 100% live. We were also provided a url of an official statement from Asis Nazeri (leader of the band) that verifies that.
Under those circumstances, we feel obliged to re-acess our review, and comments. We feel bad about that, but we also have to congratulate Asis, who had the courage to admit this.
You can ignore most of the comments (except those about the quality of the video - it really is superb!) and the previous rate (8,5 out of 10).
Here is the url of the post by Asis (in German): www.haggard.de/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?board=general&action=display&num=1003263220
You can find a english translation (kindly done by Daniel Klein) here: www.haggard.de/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?board=general&action=display&num=1003263220&start=15
Thank you for your understanding
The Metal Temple crew
I was curious, how would Haggard sound on a live show, and having heard good comments about their Wacken appearance, I got my hands on this CD without a second thought.
First of all, Awaking The Gods will be released in 3 versions. One on CD, one on DVD Plus (one side with audio contents and one with video contents on DVD format) and finally one on DVD/VHS. The one that I'm about to review is the DVD Plus version.
The album was recorded in Mexico City, at Mexico, during their tour to promote Awaking The Centuries. Although Haggard's songs are difficult to perform (just think of synchronizing 16 performers!), you can hear from even the first track how amazing they play. All the songs are almost perfectly the same as in the albums. The recording quality is breathtaking, with the sound of violins being so clear, as if been a playback!
The second side contains 3 video tracks on DVD format. The quality of the image is superb, and the production/directing is very good and rofessional.
Overall, Awaking The Gods is a complete, by all aspects, live album, and sets the standards on future live releases. A true example of professionalism.