Sylvan - Back To Live - BLU-RAY

SYLVAN concerts have always been something special. The Hamburg-based 'New Art Rock' band has been presenting its breathtaking music at countless festivals and concerts worldwide since 2000. As with many artists, their concerts have been somewhat rare recently due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they didn't let this unsettle them and made a clear statement and sign of life with their successful studio album 'One To Zero'. On their tour in 2024, SYLVAN showed why their fans love them so much: a perfect show with an enthusiastic and tight band, a perfect show with lighting effects and visuals that were coordinated down to the last detail and a setlist that really left nothing to be desired.

The venue was the Poppodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer in the Netherlands. A venue that is rightly described by many as the 'Prog temple' par excellence. The "who's who" of the international scene are literally holding hands here. 'We feel extremely comfortable here on this stage - a fantastic audience, a great and professional crew and perhaps the best food in the prog scene,' says frontman Marco Glühmann.
The five musicians from Hamburg know how to take their audience on an emotional journey like no other band. A journey full of extremes: sometimes loud, sometimes quiet - sometimes fragile, sometimes bursting with energy - sometimes seemingly simple, sometimes complex. But always melodious and focussed on the current main protagonist: be it exceptional singer Marco Glühmann, keyboard wizard Volker Söhl or guitar virtuoso Johnny Beck, who enchants the audience with his grandiose and unmistakable guitar playing and is a true enrichment for SYLVAN on stage. The foundation is formed by the extremely solid and well-rehearsed rhythm section with bassist Sebastian Harnack and drummer Matthias Harder.

A full sixteen years have passed since their magnificent last live album 'Leaving Backstage' until SYLVAN decided to finally realise another live album. Sebastian Harnack: 'Especially after the long live break and with our last album in the bag, we really wanted to capture the 'Sylvan spirit' on stage for all the fans.'
The song selection is a mixture of the best of the band's long history, garnished with songs from the last album, which they had not yet been able to present on tour for the reasons mentioned above - this mixture unfolds a true live spirit and brings a very special touch and power to the music.

'Part of Me' in particular really ignites on stage. Here SYLVAN can 'lay down' all the emotional power, the elegiac melodies and a fantastic guitar solo at the end. We've never seen SYLVAN like this before!
Even 'Trust in Yourself' from the last album suddenly crystallised as a real live hit. What brute force, what bombastic grandeur - no studio album can convey this, it can only be experienced live. No wonder this is the first single release.
Of course, classics from 'Posthumous Silence' are not to be missed: 'The Colours Changed' or 'Posthumous Silence' itself. Even after more than 20 years, SYLVAN can still conjure up this pathos, this melodic density and this 'very special moment' on stage. This time, SYLVAN is also more approachable, informal and direct. You can always feel the intimacy with the audience and the fun both on and off stage.
SYLVAN provide irrefutable proof that they are now back on stage in full force.