Virtual Symmetry – Xlive Premiere

In all my two-year career here on Metal Addicts, I reviewed a few alive albums. If memory serves me right, Virtual Symmetry’s “Xlive Premiere” is the third. Only those. Unfortunately, alive albums are getting scarce. Back than, there were the cherry of the cake of a career or the one to lift a career as they did to Kiss. Alive albums are the ultimate oportunitty to bands show all their resources and the response of the public. Many artists say that the public response is the best thing they have in music. That’s one of the many reasons I loved to receive this Virtual Symmetry’s “Xlive Premiere.” Better yet, it’s a double alive album. Besides the extreme quality of the musicians and their music. “Xlive Premiere” is an ode to good music.

“Xlive Premiere” is composed of ten songs from “X-Gate” and “Message to Etternity,” both reviewed here (click on the names to read the reviews). Virtual Symmetry intent musical proposal is to be a Progressive Metal band, though they don’t forget all the power and aggression that is needed in Heavy Metal band with the plus that they are amazing songwriters  and even better musicians. And this intent gets even bigger alive. The guys play much, my child of the night. So, it makes listening to “Xlive Premiere” very delicious. Even though some songs are pretty long, “Message to Eternity Suite” is twenty-four minutes longs, listening to them goes easy. Of course, as expected from a band with so great musicians, there are lots of solos: guitar solos, keyboard solos, and drums solos. All of them with a technically and emotion that a few have.

This is the album to make you, who are the ones who think Prog Metal bands are boring, to think otherwise. Virtual Symmetry do their jobs with lots of passion and emotion, besides being resourceful musicians. But music comes first, not only technicality as many may think. Another good thing from “Xlive Premiere” is that it made me notice the tons of jazzy influences Virtual Symmetry have that I hadn’t noticed before in the previous albums.

Virtual Symmetry “Xlive Premiere” was released on November 10th.

Track Listing:

Disc 1 (CD)
1.    Darkened Space
2.    Program Error (We Are the Virus)
3.    Soul’s Reflections
4.    Pegasus
5.    You’ll Never Fall Again
6.    Silent Sweetness

Disc 2 (CD)
1.    Eyes of Salvation
2.    Alchymera
3.    Elevate
4.    Message from Eternity

Watch “Elevate” official video here: