UMUR
"Live War" is a live album release by UK death metal act Bolt Thrower. The album was released through Earache Records in December 2010 as part of Earache Records "Into the Pit" live album series. "Live War" features a live show recorded in 1992 in Manchester on the tour supporting "The IVth Crusade" (September 1992, Earache Records). While this is the first time "Live War" is released as an individual release, the full live album was actually already released in 1994 on the deluxe 2CD version of "...For Victory" (November 1994, Earache Records).
It´s obvious that Bolt Thrower were touring in support of "The IVth Crusade" because six out of the nine tracks featured on the 45:58 minutes long album are culled from that release. The remaining three tracks are culled from "War Master" (July 1991, Earache Records). So there´s not a single track from the band´s first two albums. The recording quality is pretty good for a 1992 live death metal show, and having seen Bolt Thrower myself on this exact tour, I can attest that this is exactly what they sounded like in 1992 (tight, heavy, and commanding). What the recording is missing is a bit more audience noise. Karl Willets does what he can and speaks to the audience announcing songs and so forth, but there´s not much noise heard from the audience, which is a real shame as it could have created a more authentic listening experience. The few times the audience is audible it creates a lot of great energy.
Upon conclusion "Live War" is a decent and sometimes great live album, but overall these versions don´t differ much from the studio versions, and with the lack of much audience participation the listening experience is a little less than one could have hoped for. Still a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.