It has been a few years since The Aurora Project has released an album. Their 2016 album World Of Grey (see review) was a more than excellent album that honoured the passed away guitarist and songwriter Marc Vooijs. The new album Grey_World_Live is a live recording of their Parkvilla Theater show in early 2017, which was the last show of the tour promoting the World Of Grey album. The first in a seated theatre setting. Grey_World_Live sees solid and dedicated versions of all the songs of their last studio album, extended with an emotional acoustic track; Alles Is Eén, which is the Dutch version of Event Horizon, followed by the also acoustic Nocturnal Lament, both from The Aurora Project's memorable debut album; Unspoken Words. Especially during those acoustic compositions, the musical atmosphere is outstanding and truly represents the emotions, when you see them play live. Due to the loss of one of their guitarists, keyboard player Marcel Guijt has become more prominent, perfectly backing up the guitar melodies and solos of Remco van den Berg. Solos that combine raw power with subtle emotions. Vocalist Dennis Binnekade remains one of my favourite Dutch singers in the progressive genre; expressive and emotional at the same time. During the memorable evening, The Aurora Project also played three tracks of their Selling The Aggression (2013, see review) album; Tuning The Tide, Selling The Aggression and Newtopia. Songs I highly regard, but are only available as download or through streaming. Grey_World_Live turns out to be a very honest, emotional live album, perfectly reliving their World Of Grey album in a musically perfect way. Too bad the three Selling The Aggression tracks did not make it to the CD. ****+ Pedro Bekkers (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
