Long touted as the progenitors of progressive heavy metal, these stalwarts from Hartford, Connecticut have been at it since 1982.  Since then they have circumnavigated the world and ruled festival stages globally.  For the most part, this live collection is fantastic.  There are no duds to speak of.  There are longer numbers and shorter ones, as is to be expected.  Hell, there are two numbers on here that could comprise a CD of their own!  Many oldies but goodies are pulled out of the hat, such as Wish from the X album and The Eleventh Hour from the Parallels LP.  Two CD’s is probably barely enough to contain such prog wizardry.

Still Remains, from the Disconnected LP, is one of the leviathans I spoke of before.  It is a full 15-minute jam, and is pretty much unhinged from beginning to end.  It signals the beginning of CD 2, as its monster counterpart, And Yet It Moves, does a 14-minute close on CD 1.  Do not be daunted, dear reader.  It may appear as if there is a lot of material to process, and there is – but it is not in any way overdone.  There are beautiful melodic passages, crushing rifferamas, super-human drumming and some of the funkiest bass playing this side of Mars.

Other highlights of this behemoth set include A Pleasant Shade of Grey (Part IX), which again features some gorgeous vocal work and guitar playing.  Nothing Left to Say is a textbook example of  an introspective mellow piece that gives way to some considerable interplay by the band.  Lot of guitar, as is par for this group.  The highlights, however, only provide part of the picture.  This is a solid set from beginning to end.  To deny oneself any piece of it would be truly insane.  Please join me as we embark on a brilliant double live work from the masters of prog metal!