Album Review: Crystal Viper – The Live Quest
Review By: George Andritsakis
Review: 7.5
By definition, live albums are raw, unvarnished sonic glimpses into what a band is like out in the wild and on stage. Some bands make phenomenal studio albums but really lack live and those recordings show that, with a lot of post-production going into those albums to make them palatable. Other bands are the opposite. Then there’s the bands whose studio efforts are foreshadowed and discarded after seeing them live as they are far better live than they are cooped up in the recording booth. Then there’s bands who are utter perfect both live and, in the studio, (Def Leppard, Judas Priest, and Hammerfall come to mind).
Coming off the heels of a month-long European headline tour in support of their ninth album The Silver Key, Polish-bred Crystal Viper recorded several of those performances and will be releasing their first live album, The Live Quest, this summer via Listenable Records. The production is top notch, with some insanely killer and raw guitar work being caught on tape. The soaring vocals and crowd work done by frontwoman Marta Gabriel are rallying cries that would make Emilia Plater proud. Marta’s vocal acrobatics are something to behold in the open, reminding one of Metal Gods like Michael Kiske or Matt Barlow with serious high register shrieks that would make the Gods on Mount Olympus sit up and take notice.
The album starts off with the fantastic intro “Return to Providence” which dovetails nicely into “Fever of the Gods”. Track after track I found myself subconsciously banging my head and throwing up the horn in regular intervals, as if I were in the Viper pit myself. Huge album standouts are definitely the should’ve been combined Return to Providence/Fever of the Gods”, “The Cult”, the crowd pumper “Metal Nation”, and album closer “The Last Axeman”.
My biggest critique is the fact I can barely hear the crowds, making it sound like the Live albums from certain bands that have been worked over to make them sound more polished, something that should be avoided with live albums at all costs, in my humble opinion. Also, when they were in post-production, why couldn’t they have just combined the intro “Return to Providence” with “Fever Of The Gods”? I might be the only one, but if I’m cranking the album in the car, or anywhere at all for that matter, I don’t want the audio cut between the two tracks. It’s like getting pumped up by the intro, like you’re at the show, then the audio cuts out, even for that split second, then the next track launches. It’s annoying. To me at least. If I’m cranking live, I want to feel like I was there or reliving those memories if I was fortunate enough to be at the shows.
All in all, as far as live album go, it is a very good effort put forth by the band. This definitely an album I would be happy to add to my collection, which, I think I will now that I have perused the pre-order offerings. Especially the Limited-Edition Marble Yellow Vinyl.. Yum. It’s earned its place in my collection, right alongside Iced Earth’s Alive in Athens, Judas Priest ’98 Live Metal Meltdown, and Hammerfall’s Live at Dalhalla. I’m very interested to see where Marta and the other Vipers venture next. I’m here for it.
Genre: Power Metal
Label: Listenable Records
Release Date: June 27, 2025
Tracklist:
1. Return to Providence
2. Fever Of The Gods
3. The Silver Key
4. The Cult
5. Metal Nation
6. Night Of The Sin
7. The Witch Is Back
8. Still Alive
9. The Last Axeman
Line Up:
Vocals/Bass: Marta Gabriel
Guitars: Lukasz “Andy Wave” Halczuch, Eric Juris
Drums: Kuba Galwas
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