EDGE OF NIGHT (DVD)

After having found far greater success with Arena and Threshold respectively, Clive Nolan and Karl Groom reformed Shadowland after many years to perform some concerts. Clive announces between two of the songs that this show in Poland was the first Shadowland concert in 13 years. Surely, the popularity of their more recent musical projects was a large part of what made a reunion like this possible? Fans should rejoice!

The set list consists of songs from the three albums that Shadowland released in the 90's plus one brand new song that gives the DVD its title. As also announced by Clive, the band never toured in support of their third album, Mad As A Hatter. This is therefore the first time that material from that album was performed live. Three songs from that album are played here; Mephisto Bridge, U.S.I (United States of Insanity) and The Seventh Year. The second album, Through The Looking Glass, is represented by four songs in total, two of which merge together and open the show (just like they open said studio album). Finally, with the exception of only one track, the debut album, Ring Of Roses, is represented in its entirety.

Songs like Ring Of Roses, Dreams Of The Ferryman, The Waking Hour and The Hunger all have very catchy choruses that I would say are perhaps a bit too catchy for my taste. But they work slightly better live than on the studio albums. The best moments of the show for me are the instrumental The Kruhulick Syndrome (the mysterious title of which Clive explains during the bonus interview), the longer Hall Of Mirrors and The Seventh Year, Mephisto Bridge, the new song Edge Of Night and, of course, the masterpiece that is Jigsaw. Oh what a great song the latter is, both musically and lyrically - an all time favourite for me!

For those who have never heard the music of Shadowland it might perhaps be described as Arena light. As I said in one of my reviews of their studio albums, fans of Arena and/or Threshold are bound to find Shadowland rather lightweight both in terms of sound and quality of the songs. But we have here a nice set of songs. Groom is a very good guitarist and his playing in Shadowland is very different from what can be heard on Threshold's albums. But the most surprising feature for newcomers will be to see Clive Nolan as a singer and front man. I must say that Nolan does a very fine job singing lead in Shadowland.

Since the three studio albums are hard to get your hands on individually (I own them as part of a box set called Cautionary Tales that also includes this DVD), this live DVD is a good way to discover Shadowland without spending a fortune. The sonic and visual quality of this DVD is flawless and the musicianship is also. Great cover art too!

Highly recommended in addition to the Ring Of Roses studio album

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