So here it is in 2004 and the undisputed Kings of Happy Metal, Freedom Call have decided to grace us with a live album. With only three studio albums and one formerly hard to find EP this is a little surprising that the guys decided to gamble on a live album and I was pretty skeptical at how this would turn out. I was expecting a rush job, a poor setlist, low quality recording, fade outs, a one page booklet, the whole shebang of crappy live albums. I don’t know why I was expecting that though because I really do like Freedom Call a lot, but because of my initial expectations that were near the floor I was delighted when I finally got this in. The first thing to stick out to me is the extensive and colorful booklet, there are many live shots, screwing around shots, and tons of smiles all around. A professional booklet that is miles ahead of many live albums released recently, it is as fun to look through as it is to listen to the actual music.

The live portion of this two disc set is evenly split between their three albums. With four songs each, (five from Eternity if you count the minute long intro The Spell) there is a fair representation for every cd. I’m satisfied with what songs they chose to play and like with any live album I would liked to have seen my personal favs included in place of certain others but if that were to happen this would have been a hundred and fifty minute cd and as of now, those don’t exist. What I really like about Live Invasion is that it plays like an actual concert. From the first cymbal hits of We Are One to the crowd cheering after Hymn to the Brave you have the authentic live feeling, and that, that is very rare in a live album. The energy level is at a constant high, the crowd is very responsive and is mixed at just the right level to fill you with that live energy yet at the same time it isn’t overbearing. Another highlight to me is that the band doesn’t use a backing choir track or samples for the huge choruses. They employ the “Def Leppard” technique where everyone becomes the singer. All the mics are turned up really high so when the time comes for a huge fifty track choir, Dan, Cede, Ilker, Chris, and their new keyboardist Nils all fill in and it works, it works great. Instead of feeling like there’s something lacking I feel that the songs are more vibrant with this method, they sound more real like they’re breathing with a vital energy. All in all, the live portion of this album is a terrific example of how to deliver the goods when giving your fans what is essentially a cd full of songs that they’ve heard before. It’s funny though, for a band that has taken as much shit as Freedom Call has, one wouldn’t have expected a live album as good as this.

The second disc is the long sought after Taragon EP with two extra tracks, a cover of Hiroshima and a cover of Dr. Stein. The original version of the EP had three unreleased songs, Warriors of Light, Heart of the Brave, and Kingdom Come. The first two are speedy numbers not unlike some of Freedom Call’s best work, and the latter is a ballad yet a primitive one compared to Turn Back Time off of Eternity. Also there was another cover, this one a quirky version of Dancing With Tears in My Eyes by the electro group Ultravox. For being strictly limited to France and Japan which also brought about high prices when tracking this down originally, it’s nice to have this included for everyone to hear. Songs like Heart of the Brave and Warriors of Light should be live staples in the future.

Will this covert someone new to Freedom Call? Probably so. Live Invasion radiates an infectious energy that can appeal to non fans just as easily as it did to me. In this day and age where so many live albums seem like they’ve been crapped out by the record label to get in a few bucks or to delay the band for another year in having to write new material, Live Invasion stands out for its class and its quality.