On a completely different note, I'm on a bit of a Neal kick at the moment, due to some catching up and getting a massive NM-related haul as part of my Christmas gifts. Got Sola Gratia, JCTE Live (Morsefest 2018), and BRNO (TGE live).
Just watched the making of Sola Gratia DVD. This one was different, for obvious reasons. But still VERY entertaining. Going back to my post above, this is yet another reason I prefer buying the physical media. I often really enjoy this sort of bonus content, and am willing to pay a bit extra for "special editions" and such, so that I can get it. And yeah, I know a lot of that stuff eventually gets pirated and put up on YouTube. But if I am going to consume official content, I think it is only right to pay the artist for that.
Watching JCTE live now. I am only a few songs in, but WOW! I enjoy the studio version a lot, but I had a feeling it would REALLY come alive in a live setting, and I was not wrong. SO powerful. Everybody so far is just crushing it. In particular, a couple of early shout-outs:
-Forget what I have said in the past about Ted Leonard as Jesus. At least from the intro, he completely crushes it. I mean, for those who may not remember my comments about him in the past, I have no criticism of his voice in general. He is a really good singer. I just felt that his voice lacked a bit of power and gravitas for this specific role. And, to me, that is highlighted when he is contrasted with so many powerful singers on the album. But I don't get that at all in the live setting. He is absolutely fantastic in this role.
-Eric Gillette on drums is killing it. The guy is just such a talented all-around musician. I love his drumming here (and the mix, which gives his drumming a lot of punch).
-The guitarist adds quite a bit of fun stage presence. I don't know this guy, but he is a lot of fun to watch, and is obviously having a lot of fun onstage.
-Interesting to see Neal's setup farther back from front stage to give the vocalists their space to shine. Which is how it should be. Glad he thought that through. It is subtle, but important to the overall presentation. When a singer comes to the front to perform his or her role, you rightly focus on him or her without having to force it. Again, that should be a no-brainer. But given that Neal has literally decades of setting up a certain way, I give him credit for thinking that through.
-The stage is relatively simple. And that's fine. At least so far, the simple things like lighting, the fog machine, and the video screen nicely set the mood and atmosphere for the songs. I don't feel like anything is "lacking." But it would have been nice if they had more time to make it a bit bigger of a stage production. But this is just an observation, not a criticism.
I look forward to watching the documentary on this.
-EDIT: OK, Rick Florian is AMAZING as Satan! Not only his voice, but his stage mannerisms. Just...
He is just perfect. And going back to Ted, his voice stands up to Rick's nicely in a live setting.