which is the best live album in metal history?

for me it's like this:
1.judas priest-98 live meltdown
2.iced earth-alive in athens
3.judas priest-unleashed in the east/rising in the east/ nightwish-end of an era (i honestly don't know which to pick, they're all tied)

1.this album really has the guitar tone from hell. rapid fire is one of the most brutal songs i have ever heard, diamonds and rust is just fantastic and the sentinel is much better than the album version, and the green manalishi is awesome too. also, the boring jugulator stuff is quite good on here, and the ripper talks with the crowd, which i love.
2.this album is just perfectly performed. i tried to find any flaw in the whole 3 cds, but i couldn't. pure evil is a really good live version, and so is dante's inerno, diary, almost all songs, but the highest peak is "iced earth", a fantastic track. i wonder why in the hell didn't the crowd sing along with the short interlude(can't you see this barren land ...).
3.unleashed in the east is a really good live album, but i value immensely a band that talks with the crowd. the album vocals being re-recorded in the studio, that being near impossible. rising in the east is a really good dvd, although i consider it an album, the intro for painkiler isn't something i'll forget easily. "*stomp, stomp* the pain...KILLER!!*insane drum intro*" and the ending for "exciter" and it's half-brother, "painkiller" are just... hail rob!. end of an era is what would you expect from the last gig with tarja, a grandiose performance, and i love the fact that they brought the indian shaman or whatever he is.

Iced Earth's Alive In Athens is probably my favourite. I think you've already given a very good description of it. Everything is just perfect on this album. The vocals, the music and the crowd singing along is just amazing. Was a bit surprised as you mentioned that the crowd did not sing along in some parts of the album. As a whole, it's a great album and had a great setlist.

Also, Iron Maiden - Live After Death would probably be very close to Alive in Athens. I think that Live After Death portrayed Iron Maiden's real sound the best. As with Iced Earth's album, it also had a great setlist and just vocally and musically it is a masterpiece. There's really not much more I can say about this album. Anyone who has heard it will agree with me that it is one of the best.

Lastly, Manowar's Hell on Stage would probably be another of my favourites. Now I don't know why they decided to release another live album right after they released their first one, however I think this one had a far better sound the Hell On Wheels. The only complaint I really have against it is that the setlist was not that great. I would have replaced a few songs with some of their more "well known" songs, nevertheless they still had some very good songs on here.

Iron Maiden's Live After Death is hands down the best live album the sound is so clean and fuckin amazing. Rising in The East by Judas Priest is fuckin good and so is Pantera's Offical Proff 101

Undenialble Alive in Athens from Iced Earth, Live Kreation from Kreator and A real live dead one from Iron Maiden!!!

Live In Leipzig : Mayhem



Now i dont have to explain , why i think that this is the best Live album

for me its "Wrecking Everything" by Overkill, its pretty much flawless, even the vocals, and the crowd just adds to the greatness. Overkill seems alot heavier live.

A Night to Remember !

Iron Maiden - Live After Death! The best live recording from that band! And The song list is just a classic. Maiden at its best!

Definitely DEEP PURPLE - Made in Japan 1972 , the ultimate live album,after this album every band wanted to make a live album

I think Iron Maiden "Live At Donington" is the best live album

I havn't heard many live albums, but out of the ones I have heard I suppose Ozzy's Speak of the Devil or Sabbath's reunion album is good. Maiden Live at the Rainbow Pwns them both, however.

Definitely Cryptopsy's None So Live for me. It's one fuckin beast of an album that's for sure, and Martin Lacroix may not be Lord Worm but he's an amazing vocalist and put on a hell of a show.
Death- Live In LA is also awesome.

Stockholm Knockout Live by Children Of Bodom means a lot to me since I was there, Iron Maiden's Rock in Rio means even more because it got me into Metal. But they're not the best. Metallica's S&M is really great but not the best either. I've hard time choosing between Dream Theater Score with it's orchestra, Live Scenes from New York from the same band because it has such a great setlist and the third one is End of an Era with the lovely Nightwish. Reeeeeeaaaaaaaallyyyyy good, Tarja's last concert, great songs, good chemistry... I can't choose between these last three mentioned ones.

my favorite is probably the show on the used and abused dvd by In Flames when they play the entire Soundtrack to your escape album live. + many of their older and kick ass songs that is one hell of a concert
And Iron Maiden Rock in Rio and Children of Bodom Stockholm knockout is some of the best live albums i have heard.

For me it´s Metallica´s S&M in first place, second one is Tokyo Tales (Blind Guardian), and third is Rock in Rio (Iron Maiden)

Dream Theater - Score. Doesnt get any better than this in my opinion, the sound is great, with all their best songs.

Okay, I've decided. Dream Theater Score must be the best live album I've heard so far. A cool setlist with some surprises, James LaBrie's voice is almost better than on the studio albums and of course the beautiful Octavarium Orchestra which gives a new dimension to some of the best songs ever.

Pretty much all live albums come to same for me... they are either bad, or good, or uncomparable.... Only one I can think of is The Gathering - Sleepy Buildings.

I have a mix ... I will go for Kreator's live Kreation... Iced Earth Alive in Athens and Iron Maiden's A real live dead one, why? Because these live albums besides are the only ones that I don't get tired of listening at them...

This would be a tie between four.

Iron Maiden - Live After Death (by miles THE BEST live album they ever released, musically they were at the peak of their career and that shows)
Motorhead - No Sleep Till Hammersmith
Blackfoot - Highway Song Live
Rainbow - Live In Munich 1977

Anything Motörhead.
Especially "Everything Louder Than Everything Else".

Written by Thrash666 on 19.03.2007 at 04:37

Iron Maiden's Live After Death is hands down the best live album the sound is so clean and fuckin amazing.

"...and that's what not to do if a bird shits on you..."

My personal favorite is Slayer's "Decade of Aggression" - it captured the furious energy of their live shows, sounds great, and catches them at the peak of their careers/output.

Iced Earth - Alive In Athens I discovered Iced earth with this album and had the hardest time getting into their studio album afterwards. Every single song on this live is better than its studio counterpart in terms of sound, production, musicianship, vocals, power and emotion. The best live ever released IMO

Iron Maiden - Live After Death Maybe the best setlist they could do with leaving the Killers album aside (I don't have the remastered 2-cd version with Wrathchild on it)

Slayer - Decade Of Aggression Recorded at the end of their great period, amazing setlist and sound. Pure aggression.

Therion - Live In Midgard I just like the fact that it's more a live compilation of different shows than a real live album. All the songs have different atmospheres, that's really cool. Ah well, we all know Therion always proposes the full package (see Celebrators of Becoming)

Pink Floyd - Pulse Ok that may be only out of nostalgy because I saw them live on this tour and everytime I listen to it it reminds me of the greatness of this show.

Deep Purple - Made In Japan You all know this one, right?

Nightwish - End of an Era...very speical concert and very best one 4 me

Metallica S&M

Written by Stalker on 21.09.2007 at 23:02

Pretty much all live albums come to same for me... they are either bad, or good, or uncomparable.... Only one I can think of is The Gathering - Sleepy Buildings.

That's so true, a great live album by a band you love can't really be compared to another great live album by a band you love!

Written by Warman on 19.04.2008 at 19:37

Written by Stalker on 21.09.2007 at 23:02

Pretty much all live albums come to same for me... they are either bad, or good, or uncomparable.... Only one I can think of is The Gathering - Sleepy Buildings.

That's so true, a great live album by a band you love can't really be compared to another great live album by a band you love!

Oh damnit. Ive read your post, and then my post again, and now Im confused.

i liked Dark funeral in Belo Horizonte... but the best live it's Mayhem's ''The Dawn Of The Black Hearts'' (Live In Sarpsbourg) horrible production, but with mayhem that's how it has to be only classic songs... and the cover...

Written by Stalker on 19.04.2008 at 20:19

Written by Warman on 19.04.2008 at 19:37

Written by Stalker on 21.09.2007 at 23:02

Pretty much all live albums come to same for me... they are either bad, or good, or uncomparable.... Only one I can think of is The Gathering - Sleepy Buildings.

That's so true, a great live album by a band you love can't really be compared to another great live album by a band you love!

Oh damnit. Ive read your post, and then my post again, and now Im confused.

I meant what you said about uncomparable.

Written by Warman on 19.04.2008 at 20:57

Written by Stalker on 19.04.2008 at 20:19

Written by Warman on 19.04.2008 at 19:37

Written by Stalker on 21.09.2007 at 23:02

Pretty much all live albums come to same for me... they are either bad, or good, or uncomparable.... Only one I can think of is The Gathering - Sleepy Buildings.

That's so true, a great live album by a band you love can't really be compared to another great live album by a band you love!

Oh damnit. Ive read your post, and then my post again, and now Im confused.

I meant what you said about uncomparable.

But, it was irony, right?? Because, when I read my post now, it seems little bit contradicting