Since its announcement, fans have been eagerly anticipating the release of the new Enter Shikari live album Torn Apart: Live at Alexandra Palace. However, in October, fans were told that they would have to anticipate for a little bit longer as “unavoidable delays at the manufacturing end” had caused the album to miss the scheduled release date of November 4th and pushed back to the 18th. Being the class act that they are, the band released one song from the album, the title track “Torn Apart” to tide over their fans until the full album hits the shelves later this month. How many times have you listened to that track so far? 10 times? 20? Well, I hope you enjoyed it, because that’s just the tip of the iceberg for what Enter Shikari has in store.
Recorded at London’s Alexandra Palace, the concert was a sell-out show, with 9000 fans in attendance. The live album itself contains almost the entire set, with only one song missing due to technical errors. This is the sixth release as part of Enter Shikari’s “bootleg” series of albums, following the previous live recording Enter Shikari Live at Deezer, released earlier this year. Tracks from across the band’s discography are crammed in to the album, ranging from classics such as “Sorry You’re Not A Winner” and “Solidarity” to more recent fan favourites like “Anaestheist”. The live set also includes some remixed songs, such as “Price On Your Head”.
The quality of this recording definitely shows, as unlike many live albums where you struggle to actually hear the band play over the yelling and screaming of fans, when you listen to Torn Apart, you hear every note the band play. This brings us to the next point about the album: how well Enter Shikari play. Clearly rehearsed to a tee, Enter Shikari play a very, very, tight set, with the band sounding at almost album quality. With Chris Batten on drums and Rob Rolfe on bass, the rhythm section plays solidly together, allowing Rou Reynolds to preform at an impeccable standard, while Rory Clewlow provides hard, deep djent-style riffs as well as clean, technical solos. Not forgetting the synthesizers which play a big part in this release and the unique sound Enter Shikari have, as well as the solitary “moo” at the end of “Sliplord/The Jester”. Truly, the entire band’s ability to play has been proven.
Aside from the sound of the band, the interaction with the audience is humbling to say the least, with Reynolds mentioning how he doesn’t believe where they are, that it was a “Hobby that got out of hand!”. A spectacle to listen to, the album does not sound out like a band playing a venue, but like a bizarre hard rock opera, complete with pre-recorded narratives between tracks telling of a space-exploration/global conflict style story.
This is a must for any fan of not just Enter Shikari, but of hard rock and metal alike. The album will be released on to all music streaming sites, as well as a special, limited “splatter coloured” vinyl and on limited edition 2xCD. If you pick it up from Amazon, you can help this site: [amazon text=&asin=B01LQT2TWA] / [amazon text=CD&asin=B01KPG26AK] / [amazon text=vinyl&asin=B01KPG26AU]
In celebration of the ten year anniversary of the release of Take To The Skies, Enter Shikari will be playing a limited “A Celebration of 10 Years of Take To The Skies” tour around the UK, starting in May 2017. Listen to Torn Apart: Live at Alexandra Palace now to get you ready!
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