I just saw on the Southern Lord site that Om had released a new live album, “Live in Jerusalem,” so I thought I’d check it out, especially as it’s probably the last evidence of Chris Haikus’ influence in the band–he’s left, after all.

So the thirty-five-and-a-half minute album is not too bad, but it’s not too good either. It doesn’t add anything to their studio albums. It sounds like it was recorded in their garage without much forethought to the fact that they would be releasing it as an actual album. In other words, it doesn’t sound much better than a bootleg.

I think the highlight is when someone in the audience screams their approval during “Flight of the Eagle” about 15 minutes in. “Bhima’s Theme” is, of the two songs, the most solid, but still, I feel like I need more substance to a band that is fairly droney and hopes to induce that Om feeling.

This is probably more a release for hardcore fans than newbies. -enjoy