| Musical Style: Melodic Heavy Metal | Produced By: CJ Grimmark |
| Record Label: Independent | Country Of Origin: Sweden |
| Year Released: 2018 | Artist Website: Narnia |
| Tracks: 13 | Rating: 90% |
| Running Time: 68:23 |
Many of you know I am not a big fan of ‘live’ albums due to the fact they, well, do not always come across all that ‘live’. It has been my experience - at least beginning with the advent of the CD in the mid-eighties - live albums are dying a slow and painful death. Gone, for instance, is the double live album to embody the true concert experience (and better part of a bands performance), replaced with what I like to think of as compilation albums encompassing tracks recorded live made to fit within the 80 minute confines of the as noted CD. Place a label of ‘live album’ on it and you are done! Missing in many cases are the elements that make a live album truly live, such as banter between the bands vocalist and audience, jam sessions, introduction of band members and accompanying guitar, drum and bass solos. In other words, a live album is more than just the music, which often ends up doctored in the studio to a fault and accompanied by a canned audience track.
Enter into the equation the most recent live album: the summer of 2018 released We Still Believe - Made In Brazil from Narnia, which is actually the group’s second live album, noting At Short Notice… Live In Germany from 2006. As far as live albums go, We Still Believe might not be perfect but it comes close. No, it is not a double live album (single CD instead), but We Still Believe successfully captures Narnia in peak live form with top notch performances from all members and solid production that both sidesteps the thinness that can accompany live albums and accurately depicts the audience, whom sings along in its native Portuguese. When further factoring how it also brings needed live album ingredients in the form of said banter with the audience, band members introductions and solos - and give Narnia a great deal of credit in this regard - We Still Believe presents with the true live album feeling!
We Still Believe, on the other hand, is by no means without flaw, at least when factoring track listing, which is weighted a bit heavily towards the first two Narnia albums Awakening (1997) and Long Live The King (1998) in featuring two cuts from the former and three the latter. That said, I also cannot fault the groups decision to prioritize its most recent album by including three tracks off Narnia from 2016, but where things get problematic (and disappointing) is how it overlooks what in my opinion are its three prime releases, Desert Land (2000), The Great Fall (2003) and Enter The Gate (2006).
Inexplicably, only one track is included from Desert Land in the incredible “Inner Sanctum”, none from The Great Fall and just one off Enter The Gate, “Into This Game”. It might have worked better if Narnia had instead performed just two songs off its first two albums, which would allow it to add “The Witch And The Lion” (another great Desert Land cut) and either “Back From Hell” and “No Time To Lose”, two strong numbers off The Great Fall that you will also find on At Short Notice. As for Enter The Gate, I find it the crime of the century that Narnia did not include at least one of what (again, my opinion) are three of the best songs it has recorded in “People Of The Bloodred Cross”, “Enter The Gate” and “The Man From Nazareth”.
Moving forward, I will not be going into too much detail regarding individual tracks but rather focus on key ‘live’ moments, such as opening cut “Inner Sanctum”. Also ranking among my favorites from Narnia, “Inner Sanctum” extends an additional two minutes with a keyboard introductory build up as the audience cheers in the backdrop. Otherwise, it maintains a heavier guitar driven focus to play up the work of mega talented guitarist CJ Grimmark, whom takes opportunity to exhibit his live licks and chops, particularly for the complementary extended stretch of lead guitar.
“The Mission”, first of the Long Live The King tracks, ensues and translates better live in featuring the more exact balance between guitars and keyboards, with former taking a forthright heading and latter an accenting role. Still, I see it more as a vocal cut in comparison from playing up the talents of front man Christian Liljegren, singing smooth and clean while also revealing the full range to his voice, as found in the soaring falsetto he cuts loose with near the end.
First of the three Narnia tracks follows in “Reaching For The Top”. No, Narnia is not my favorite from Narnia, referencing the 75% Angelic Warlord review, but it is worth noting its material comes across with higher energy levels live. That, however, is does not override the main complaint I have with the album due to drawing too heavily from the groups previous material, noting the riff to “Reaching For The Top” is reminiscent to that of “Inner Sanctum”, which is only two songs previous in the track listing.
I like to think of Awakening as being musically superior to Long Live The King, the least of not which being how it is the stronger guitar driven album in better highlighting Grimmark’s playing. Hence, my elation at the inclusion of “No More Shadows From The Past”, understated in terms of its catchy hooks but put over the top with its neo-classical shredding galore, which shines that much further live. Timekeeping Andreas Johansson plays no small role in this regard, with his precise playing, obviously, outperforming the drum machine to the studio version. I would love to hear Narnia re-record Awakening to give it the overall full and more up to date sound.
I identify with “I Still Believe” as the best song off Narnia. I prefer the live rendering from giving prominence to a slight medieval bent not found on its studio equivalent, while maintaining the metal anthem feel and inspiring refrain to make a statement of faith: ‘I still believe in the Maker. One by one, we all must bow down. I still believe in the Father, the Son and the Fire’. Liljegren’s gritty and gravel performance helps build up the heartfelt scene.
It is over its final six songs that We Still Believe hits its stride and replicates that true ‘live’ album feel. It begins with self-explanatory cuts “Drum Solo” and “Guitar Solo”, whose presence Narnia once more deserves full credit in that solo sections sadly often end up edited out of live recordings. Liljegren initially introduces Johansson, whom proceeds with a pull out all the stops four-minute drum solo certain to turn the head of any timekeeping aficionado. Grimmark ensues with his solo, albeit shorter at two and a half minutes but displaying a neo-classical flair similar to those attributing to Rex Carroll (Whitecross). Quality, needless to say, is the same!
In “The Awakening”, Narnia takes a five-minute studio track and turns it into a seven-minute shred fest, with the additional two minutes found in a jam session to feature a lengthy lead guitar run and Liljegrens’ improvisational vocalizing at the end. Likewise, with arena rocker “Long Live The King” from extending an additional minute and a half to include another protracted instrumental run (this time jazzy with rolling bass presiding over the low end) and Liljegren singing along with the audience in Portuguese. Once more, crucial live elements to serve either way to reinforce by point there is more to live albums than just the music.
“Into This Game” extends another three minutes as a fast and catchy hard rocker with a forthright message: ‘Into this game. Running through fire and water. In Christ I am strong’. Following the completion to the songs main section, there a long pause with clapping from the audience ensued by a several minute keyboard instrumental build up to the albums encore track, a rousing version to the high energy “Living Water”.
We Still Believe - Made In Brazil adds up to a first class 70-minute live album that, as noted, comes with the needed elements one expects of live recordings. Kudos to the group for not skimping out in that it could easily have compiled a sampling of songs recorded live accompanied by a canned audience track; rather, it went the extra mile to provide the listener with a true live experience. For that, I rank We Still Believe alongside what If find other crucial live albums produced by the Christian hard music scene in Barren Cross’s Birth Pangs (2013) and Rez’s XX Live. If a fan of live albums or Narnia in general, then We Still Believe- Made In Brazil is certain not to disappoint.
Review by Andrew Rockwell
Track Listing: “Inner Sanctum” (7:52), “The Mission” (4:47), “Reaching For The Top” (3:57), “Shelter Through The Pain” (5:26), “No More Shadows From The Past” (3:54), “I Still Believe” (5:11), “Messengers” (3:31), “Drum Solo” (3:43), “Guitar Solo” (2:40), “The Awakening” (6:54), “Long Live The King” (7:27), “Into This Game” (7:14), “Living Water” (5:41)
Musicians
Christian Liljegren - Lead Vocals
Carl Johan Grimmark - Guitars
Martin Härenstam - Keyboards
Jonatan Samuelsson - Bass
Andreas Johansson - Drums
