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Title: Come Forward - Live in Berlin
Artist: Seabound
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 25th April 2008
Label: Metropolis Records



Album Review

How long have I been waiting for this, especially because I never had the chance to visit a concert of this extraordinary band and the US was way too far away, but anyway even before I heard the first track on that CD I was sure that it would be a worthy compensation until the guys will put out a new album and visit more familiar grounds again. This concert was recorded at the beginning of October 2007, the 6th October to be more specific and the second last concert in Germany so far.

The setlist on that evening contained well-chosen tracks from every album with the focus on the most recent album ‘Double-Crosser’. Let’s start with the first one which is a grandiose opener by the way, it’s ‘Scorch The Ground’ and is something to get the crowd warm for what’s to come with it’s many layers and the great atmospheric textures enriched with some gentle piano dabs in that live version which is an enrichment for the track in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong I really love that track even without that piano, but I find it adds a lot to intensify the atmosphere of the track. Let’s proceed to the next one or I’m writing a novel about this: The (new) ‘Exorcise’ which was subjected to a little update with fresher beats and here you can hear the influence of the live drums for the first time.

The next one is a song for friends, different friends, poisonous friends. Do I have to say more? It is the SEABOUND anthem par excellence and probably the SEABOUND track with the most remixes. I still prefer the good old original and as far as I can hear it is exactly that version plus some live drumming and additional live noises. The key element here as with all other songs of SEABOUND surely is Frank’s dynamic chant. Now it’s time to calm down, to cool down and to get lost in another world because the next song is a love song, a sad one, it’s ‘Avalost’ and as soon as the first tones sound through the venue, the audience gets very quiet and all eyes are fixed on Frank standing in the middle of the stage, surrounded by gloomy lights. His chant becomes fragile, at times very sad and these feelings will catch the listener of this recording as well as it makes SEABOUND rising above many bands in this genre. The sterility you notice with so many isn’t there. There just isn’t a barrier that locks it out.

Now get prepared for an earthquake because it’s time for ‘Contact’ and it unleashes a storm of pulsating and hammering electronic drums on you to wake you up again and to make you move. I noticed some additional synth work on the live variation, just another liquid layer of atmosphere, but it has an incredible effect on me and it just sounds great. After the song has ended, Frank has got a question for the audience: “Are you in for some Sex? The nasty kind?” and as we hear an OK, the answer must have been yes. No, nothing obscene happened on stage, it was just the introduction for ‘Domination’ from Double-Crosser different to the studio version, the vocals in the verses were presented as a kind of narration. It must have been a pleaser for the crowd at the concert as it’s still a dance track regardless of its rather complex nature.

Now we come to one of my favourites from ‘Double-Crosser’, ‘Castaway’ - very balladry kind of song which stays dark most of the time but has this beautiful uplifting chorus which bears the spirit of hope “If you save my life, we will rise and shine so bright that the stars go blind and leave the sky”. This part is still causing me heavy goose bumps. Now further on with another track from ‘Double-Crosser’ which is leading us back into club territory not the usual of course. The combination of the programmed and the live drums here is brilliant.

The next one leads us back in time to when it all started with the first album ‘No-Sleep Demon’. ‘Hooked’ is the next one. It’s one of the more jazzy SEABOUND songs, goes more into a Future Pop direction and has this deeply emotional and touching chorus. This is the song that actually brought me to SEABOUND and it’s a timeless classic. Who thinks the show is already over is wrong. The encore starts with ‘Watching over you’ which Frank introduces as follows “We wanna take you home to someone you love or someone you have to find yet”. I can’t find the right words to describe my emotions about this song, it’s just overwhelming every time I listen to it and for some reason the live version has an even greater impact on me. For one more time we return to ‘No Sleep Demon’ with ‘Torn’, for most parts, especially during the verses, extremely danceable and then the chorus comes in, turning the song into an almost balladry direction. The whole show ends with a bang with the probably least accessible track from ‘Double-Crosser’. It is fooling you, lulling you in security with slow rhythms and ambient-like atmospheres to transform into a rather harsh EBM Track. On an emotional level the song evolves from the deepest grounds of melancholy and sadness to the highest mountains of despair and pain. Can you hear the desperation in Frank’s voice when he creams “Hurt me, I need to know it’s real”?

To cut it short. The live recording of this show has crystal clear sound, but it’s not sterile. You can still hear that there is actually an audience. Frank is in top form and shows how good he’s as a singer. This album delivers perfect concert feeling for the living room.


Tracklist

01. Scorch the Ground - 4:55
02. Exorcize - 5:49
03. Poisonous Friend - 5:05
04. Avalost - 6:28
05. Contact - 5:39
06. Domination - 5:11
07. Castaway - 5:51
08. The Promise - 5:42
09. Hooked - 6:31
10. Watching Over You - 8:12
11. Torn - 5:37
12. Breathe - 7:52


(Live) Line-up

Frank M. Spinath - Vocals
Martin Vorbrodt - Synths
Daniel Wehmeier - Drums


Website

http://www.seabound.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/seabound


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total:  9

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