Live album ‘knot' a great performance

During the winter break, I received the new live Slipknot CD from my sis (thanks!). I was on the fence about buying it because I already have all their CDs, and even though I am a big fan of live albums, I already have their Disasterpieces DVD.

9.0 Live features 24 tracks (23 if you leave out the drum solo) that spans Slipknot's 10-year career. The nice thing about this live CD is that it features live performances of songs from their newest CD, The Subliminal Verses.

Maybe I've been spoiled by the Disasterpieces DVD, but I didn't think the sound of this CD was that powerful. Joey's bass drum seems to overpower the other percussionists during some of the songs. However, when you can hear all the guitars clearly, they do seem to have been mixed really well.

The band's performance is pretty solid compared to their studio work but there is one thing that is kinda disappointing on this live disc: Corey's vocals. This band is very intense and full of energy, so I know that you're going to run out of steam during some parts of your set but there are times where Corey sounds so exhausted that you can't differentiate anything he's saying (or screaming). There are also other times where he just misses the mark on a scream or a note that you know that this really is a “live” performance. I give them kudos for that, but on the other hand, on the Distasterpiece DVD, he has a very solid performance and doesn't run into the difficulties found on 9.0 Live.

They could have even put a bonus song or two or some unreleased tracks to make people feel that this was worth the money, even if you have all of their other releases.

If you don't have the Disasterpieces DVD and do enjoy Slipknot and live albums, then you should pick this one up. Just expect that you may find the same faults on it as I did.