Reviewed by Jessica Clingempeel
6/27/2018
Love to Hate was presented as the first single of the upcoming release of Act II. We were first introduced to this song back in August of 2016 when the sixth studio album, “The Shadow Self”, was released. This performance was recorded not in Milan, which is the second chapter of Act II, but the Metropolis Studios in London. This special show was performed in front of 20 lucky winners who were given the chance to hear the album before release. This first single gives us a glimpse of the intimate concert and I can see why the London performance was added to Act II as the first chapter.
I have seen every live release of Tarja’s including those filmed by fans. Love to Hate has got to be one of the most powerful performances I have seen to date. The video was superb! The song, with its emotional lyrics and awesome guitar riffs, was flawless already, but the live performance made it perfection. Normally I prefer videos shot in color, which the London gig (taking from this one video) is not, but they made it work. It adds more emotion to the performance in my opinion. The camera angles were shot perfectly and every musician gets their moment in the spotlight. I don’t know who the camera person is or editors, but kudos to them as well for the magnificent job in putting this together.
If this is just a taste of what to expect from Act II then we are all in for a real treat. This is going to be an amazing and flawless experience.
Standout Mentions
- Awesome riffs
- Emotional lyrics
- Powerful and emotional performance/vocals
Overall Rating: 5/5
Act II will be released on July 27th, 2018. You can purchase Act II in different formats, including special bundles here: https://tarja.tmstor.es/
Ethereal Metal Webzine 
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