Lillian Axe – One Night in the Temple
CME Records
https://www.facebook.com/lillianaxemusic

Rating: B-

Lillian Axe is one of those bands that never quite realized their full potential.  They were good enough to stick around, but never made it over the hump to stardom.  Led by Steve Blaze, the band made some unique hard rock songs and are still blazing their trail as much and often as they can.

The band’s latest effort is an unplugged set, recorded in a Masonic Temple in the Bayou.  The smaller venue and the hometown location meant that Blaze and band were able to play these songs, acoustically, to their biggest most diehard fans. 

The best songs are pretty much their best known and include "True Believer", "Show A Little Love", "Crucified", "Misery Loves Company", "Ghost Of Winter", "The Great Divide", "Bow Your Head", "Waters Rising" and the crowd favorite "Nobody Knows."  One of the best tracks, however, is a newer song in their catalog titled “Death Comes Tomorrow.”  This track just smokes acoustically, and provides the atmosphere for the gig to reach its full potential.

One Night in the Temple is a three-disc set, on either Blu-Ray or DVD and two CDs.  The video has the concert plus bonus footage, videos, and live concert footage from a July 4, 2013 gig. 

For the band’s biggest fans, this must be the best thing since sliced bread; but for the casual fan, it goes on a bit long and makes it easy to lose interest.  There is acoustic, and then there is too much acoustic.

For die-hard Lillian Axe fans, this is a must-own; for the rest, it is a worth watching and listening, too.  The DVD or Blu-Ray is where this comes across best, as it holds one’s attention better. 

The final thought here is that this is a good band still writing good music.  Once this acoustic phase is over, and Mr. Blaze fires up his amps again, good things should be in store for all hard rock and metal fans. 

One Night in the Temple track listing:

Disc 1:
01. Waters Rising
02. Death Comes Tomorrow
03. Ghost Of Winter
04. See You Someday
05. The Great Divide
06. Nocturnal Symphony
07. Sad Day On Planet Earth
08. Bow Your Head
9. Show A Little Love
10. Misery Loves Company

Disc 2:
01. Crucified
02. The World Stopped Turning
03. Dyin' To Live (Shades Of Blue)
04. Until The End Of The World
05. The Day I Met You
06. The Promised Land
07. Nobody Knows
08. My Apologies
09. True Believer
10. Nobody Knows (Crowd Version)

By Jeb Wright