I have been taking my time reviewing this, because I have just been enjoying listening to it. I found Iotunn's last album, Kinship, an unexpected pleasure, and this is now a near-perfect live show, displaying all the epic sound, heaviness, and sharp playing this band has on their recordings, while also capturing the energy and conviction they bring in a live setting on their home ground. On this recording it becomes obvious to me—as it has not before—that this band is massively influenced by Bathory and Moonsorrow, as well as more progressive bands like Primordial or Enslaved.
It may seem weird to give this a perfect score when I didn't give that to their studio album, but only one of these songs is from Kinship, the other four are off the debut, Access All Worlds, and all these versions sound better than the studio recordings. There's an edge, a vividness to the songs live, especially when they are played so well, with none of the flubs, muffled sound, or off-key singing that are often a price you pay for live recordings. Here you just have the sound of a band being carried away by the music they make and having a tremendous time. This is one I can't recommend highly enough.
