Death Angel – A Thrashumentary DVD

Posted on July 20, 2015 by News Team

Three-decades into a career that has seen the kinds of highs and lows that most bands that few else could make it through, Death Angel is riding as high as ever. Emerging a mere teens in the second wave of Bay Area Thrash, Death Angel evolved from rambunctious youths to one of the fiercest bands on the planet. Rough life experiences can leave you with scars, but it’s what you do with those marks on the tableau of your psyche that define you, that guide you. For a band, that from the beginning was made up of family members, they have been re-writing the end of that script for over fifteen years.

A Thrashumentary (Nuclear Blast) starts like a standard band DVD with the history and the making of type of things you always want to see. The archival footage of the bands earliest shows, including their very first opening for Megadeth at San Francisco’s seminal metal haunt The Stone, are an amazing look into the genesis of a band. They transformed early from a more NWOBHM sound to thrash over their first few years in existence. One of their earliest and ongoing patrons has been Kirk Hammett of Metallica who produced their first demos. Hearing tales of how the nascent band booked a national tour on the strength of hastily made three song demo tape makes the legends come true. This band was built for greatness from the start. Terrific early accounts from thrash kings such as Gary Holt, Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Chuck Billy, Scott Ian, Andres Kisser discuss the formation of the group and the legit early hype around them. The story of the band is re-told trough the eyes of the current band, and their continuing story takes shape over the course of two hours. Their awful bus accident that changed their lives forever in 1990, critically injuring founding drummer Andy Galeon, and ultimately leading to the end of the band at that time. The accounts are harrowing, and will shake you to your core.

Reuniting for Chuck Billy’s benefit concert “Thrash of the Titans” in 2001 sowed the seed for the band to reform and stay together. Although only Rob Cavestany and Mark Osesgueda remain today from the early core lineup, the band is as strong as ever with Ted Aguilar, Will Carroll and Damien Sisson. Death Angel are one of the most potent veteran thrash bands around. It’s great to see some of their more modern contemporaries, such as Chris Adler and Michael Amott talk shop about the band too. The more recent live footage of the band is phenomenal and another highlight of the DVD. The CD portion of the package is also a great live document to have for fans. A Thrashumentary is a great way to appreciate one of the scene’s most vital groups, then and now.

8.5/10

KEITH CHACHKES

Tesseract – Odyssey/Scala (Live)

Posted on May 20, 2015 by News Team

The ever daring and polarizing TesseracT continue to keep their ambitions high with the release of live album and DVD Odyssey/Scala (Century Media). Forgive the odd title as both sides contain the same set of songs. Odyssey was recorded across Europe during the Altered State tour while the Scala visual supplement was recorded at the posh London club of the same name.

What? Simply naming it Alive doesn’t quite cut when you’re used to adding ‘Concealing Fate’ to like half of your song titles.

Most importantly, Odyssey/Scala finds guitarist and ringleader Alec ‘Acle’ Kahney and the boys reuniting with original singer Daniel Tompkins 3 years after their last collaboration. And Tompkins does not disappoint, as his soaring vocals translate perfectly to the live format and shows no issues handling former lead Ashe O’Hara’s parts. Spending an afternoon with these kinds of talents seems like a good time, but something doesn’t quite work for me.

I have to wonder if the idea to make a concert film came after they planned on releasing the live LP. The only reason I ask is because Odyssey is the best way of the two to enjoy this evening with Tesseract. The songs feel much more alive on Odyssey while Scala has a very polished mix that almost gives the impression of being dubbed over at points. The heavier, double bass segments in tracks like ‘The Impossible’ and ‘Perfection/Epiphany’ sound like Tesseract want to give the most aggressive Periphery tunes a run for their money. Also the rousing closer ‘Acceptance’ make you wish they would let their hair down to the windmill headbanging position more often. Seriously dudes, the soaring melodies and quiet passages are great, but it’s fun to thrash out sometimes.

Something else not helping Scala is the unfortunate truth that Tesseract tend to be static as performers. With the exception of the charismatic Tompkins, the rest of the Milton Keynes’ crew is keener on standing in place. I’m not naïve, I didn’t expect the Dillinger Escape Plan style antics. That being said it’s a trend I’ve observed since I saw them open for Between the Buried and Me back in 2011. Also the bizarre MTV style editing can be jarring upon first viewing. For a band as sharp as Tesseract we shouldn’t have to sit through so many blurry and shaky camera angles.

Perhaps the decision to make this both an album and DVD was hatched after realizing that it’s barely over an hour’s worth of content so it was best to offer both variants as the greater value to the fans. While flawed, Odyssey/Scala is a testament to the appeal and skill of Tesseract who are able to release a quite capable live recording with only two proper full lengths under their belts.

7.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ

Pentagram – All Your Sins DVD

Posted on April 14, 2015 by News Team

You know them. They laugh, talk, seem pretty normal, then they suddenly stop and glaze over. The Affected, they have stared into the eyes of Bobby Liebling…

Pentagram has as long a history of spellbinding gigs as that of its figurehead’s appetite for self-destruction. This exhaustive DVD of live performances spans thirty years and is, according to the sleeve notes of long-suffering guitarist Victor Griffin, merely the first such offering. The notes further allude to this episode being the cathartic ‘split’ between the band’s tumultuous past, including their brief stint as Death Row, and their more peaceful present. A collection comprising mostly home videos chosen by the band, it surely meets their collective approval.

Our copy highlights inaccuracies in the list of contents, 1983 being the actual year for the solitary Death Row recording on the first of this 2-disc, seven-hour extravaganza. The vast majority of these outings are in intimate settings and intimately recorded: many stage-side which, of course, leads to some seriously distorted sound, though it does enable the 1993 camera to pick up a “Fuck yeah!” close-up from Griffin. It also gives the uninitiated the chance to see why early Pentagram shows were so legendary – the powerful Doom / Classic metal crossover coming out as a booming groove, Griffin’s leadwork as intricate and stellar live as on record, and Liebling’s outfits and alarming antics bewitching. Bobby’s electric, unnerving, occasionally camp and comedic stage persona would arguably have been less startling, less intense and claustrophobic, without those well-documented issues. Indeed it’s easy to forget that his craft would have been well honed by the time the 1985 CBGB’s antics – climbing all over Griffin during his solos, at one point biting his unfortunate guitarist’s arm – stare out from the screen.

That outing as Death Row gives some of the most striking visuals of the whole package: Bobby appearing to be whacked off his tits, his stare ghoulishly affectionate; then-bassist Marty Swaney doing his best ‘Lou Reed‘ impersonation; the face-paint of Liebling and Griffin, plus the latter’s massive poodled hair, not detracting from the weighty music one iota. There’s a moment, during ‘When the Dreams Come’, where Bobby stares round the corner of a shadow: it’s a one-eyed mindfuck that’ll stay with you forever.

Most of the sets here demonstrate the improvement of a band in terms of both presence and musicianship. By 2010 you’d expect some serious slowing in action but Liebling remained at that time a potent force: eyes wild; bony fingers curling frequently around Griffin’s shoulders; biting the mic stands with an uncontrollable tension. Sadly the last two offerings are a major disappointment, with the tinny sound of the distantly-filmed 2012 Oslo concert leading into two songs from the only multi-camera experience, just over a year ago. Thankfully this makes up merely a sixth of the total which, overall, gives a comprehensive and thoroughly enjoyable, if a little over-long, journey through the live history of one of metal’s most intriguing, enduring, and lovable outfits.

7.0/10

PAUL QUINN

Katatonia – Sanctitude

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Steve Tovey

Initially pulled together as a tour to promote Dethroned & Uncrowned (KScope), which reworked the bands 2012 album Dead End Kings (Peaceville), the Katatonia acoustic tour of 2014 took on more significance with the decisions to expand the set to a full career-retrospective, booked in cathedrals, churches and chapels, and documented via Sanctitude (KScope), a live DVD (plus audio CD version) filmed at London’s Union Chapel.

With the reverent gothic backdrop of the inside of the chapel, and accompanied on the stage only by candle light and music stands, it is not only in the re-arrangements of the music that this is a different Katatonia, with vocalist Jonas Renske and guitarist Anders “Blakkheim” Nystrom the only remaining members from the band’s “classic” line ups. Even the group for Dead End Kings has been torn apart, with Per Eriksson replaced by Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief) and Daniel Moilanen filling in on percussion, for the tour.

Unsurprisingly, the focus of the film is Renske and his world-weary croons and Nystrom’s and his reworked guitar lines. The addition of Soord is beneficial, as his supporting strums, softened backing vocals and supplementary keyboard work swell and embellish the Swedes delicate framing of a selection of their back catalogue.

With the bonus features of the DVD extending to an overlong and, sadly, boring interview only (which is a shame, as Nystrom in particular has a passion for the band that glimpses out of some of his answers that is untapped by the lack of interaction with a presenter), the focus of Sanctitude is the live performance. Unobtrusively filmed so as to feel as though the watcher was front row of the show, the band are sat throughout with Renske displaying dry self-deprecating wit during his low key exchanges with the audience.

While the minimal staging and direction match the stripped down songs, there is a nagging feeling that a shorter set would have made a more striking impact as several of the songs, shorn of their apparel and original guitar lines, sound too similar and at 80 minutes, attention does wander, particularly early on, and it is interesting that the set draws you in as it unfurls rather than impressing from the outset. Indeed, the opening five songs pass by pleasantly and prettily enough, nice renditions that blur together, until ‘One Year From Now’, the first real standout moment, is unveiled, showing just how well an acoustic Katatonia track can be done.

Other notable moments include ‘Sleeper’ and a dark, melancholic ‘Undo You’, while ‘Lethean’ spreads out into an introspective chorus as Renske’s Maynard-esque harmonies lilt and drift with the song. ‘Omerta’ carries a folky edge and ‘The One You Are Looking For’, complete with guest performance from Silje Wergeland (The Gathering), is an understated and sparse ending to the performance. However, the true show-stopping moment is a bare version of the rarely visited ‘Day’ from Brave Murder Day (Avantgarde), the track that first showcased the real template for the Katatonia sound.

Where Renske and Nystrom take the band next will be interesting to see, but one can’t help feeling Katatonia are better with some oomph to their songs. Not one for the casual observer, this is a release for the dedicated as Sanctitude draws a beautiful, if not fully encapsulating, end to another chapter of the bands career.

7.5/10

Katatonia on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY

Ufomammut – XV-15 Years of Ufomammut DVD

Posted on March 30, 2015 by News Team

Fifteen years is a lifetime for some bands. For Italy’s venerable psychedelic doom masters Ufomammut, they have existed solely outside the mainstream, making their longevity and high quality output all the more respectable. Toiling early on as an underground curiosity, they forged a path on their own before there was hipsters, festivals such as Roadburn, or entire websites dedicated to giving props to these kind of bands (like ours). Still, you have to admire the temerity of artists who stay the course and never stray for a second. Celebrating their achievements while prepping for the next chapter (the impending Ecate on Neurot Recordings), the band has released a comprehensive documentary, history lesson/performance with the 15 Years of Ufomammut DVD (Supernatual Cat).

The band are part of the visionary art collective Malleus and with Barbara Baader Meinhal, helped craft DVD from the filming, to the art and the packaging. The band and some of their peers tell the history of the group, from its inception up to now in a casual, matter of fact manner that is disarmingly honest and humble. Drawn together by almost cosmic forces, the music they have conjured is practically another member of the band. They definitely feel beholden to a force that compels them to do what they do. It’s hard to tell if they are playing the movements together, or the other way around. Shot mostly in a sepia tones and black and white, it does have hint of seriousness about it. The packaging, created for collectors is stellar. Later on during the extras and the hilarious outtakes, any sense of that disappears until you are almost in tears from laughing. Yes, an extremely metal (supernatural) kitty cat was involved in said outtakes.

The performance is really the desert. A jaw-dropping performance on display, each of the players Poia, Urlo and Vita pay a deep homage to all that is heavy, transformative, and weird. The set list is superb (all three parts of the ‘Eve’ suite, ‘Stigma’, ‘Zerosette’, and ‘Sulpherdew’ are just a few of the endless highlights. They soak up each note in the collective unconsciousness that united them in the first place, wringing every bit of emotion from each note. Note only are there terrific singular performances captured, one gets a feeling that the live environment is really where they create and destroy the most. Many deft shots, Dutch angles, overhead shots, special effects, and keen eye for innovative perspectives make this a visually stunning performance film as well. At the 15-year mark, Ufomammut is clearly just getting warmed up.

9.0/10

WORDS BY KEITH CHACHKES

Soilwork – Live In The Heart of Helsinki

Posted on March 12, 2015 by News Team

Soilwork’s first concert album/DVD, Live In The Heart Of Helsinki (Nuclear Blast) is everything it should be. They cover songs from every album and yes, there’s about 3-5 more songs I wish they had included. What’s there is good enough for me. This is the second recording with the guitar tandem of David Andersson and Sylvain Coudret, and they perform older tracks like ‘Bastard Chain’ and ‘As the Sleeper Awakes’ with conviction and the passion of the original players. With 23 songs here, I’m extremely impressed how strong Bjorn Strid’s voice sounds. His power is intense regardless if its a song like ‘Overload’ or ‘The Chainheart Machine’. He is joined on the mic by Revamp/Nightwish singer Floor Jansen on ‘Let this River Flow’ and Sonic Syndicate’s Nathan James Biggs on ‘Black Star Deceiver’.

The production on here is superb, visually and sonically. No one gets lost in the mix here, keyboard maestro Sven Karlsson and bassist Ola Flink are upfront and as clear as everyone else. With all the extra drum cams of Dirk Verbeuren it’s worth it alone to watch him casually run through the his insane performances of the songs. I’m really happy with this release. It truly pays homage to the bands’ almost twenty-year long career. No album is forgotten here, and I wish more artists would remember that in general. You never know what was a fan’s first album and this right here satisfies all that. Plus, The Circus Club looks and sounds like a place you’d want to see a show.

Live In The Heart Of Helsinki is available as DVD/2CD and Blu-Ray/2CD and the following tracks:

DVD/Blu-Ray/CD:

01. This Momentary Bliss
02. Like The Average Stalker
03. Overload
04. Weapon Of Vanity
05. Spectrum Of Eternity
06. Follow The Hollow
07. Parasite Blues
08. Distortion Sleep
09. Bastard Chain
10. Let This River Flow (feat. Floor Jansen)
11. Long Live The Misanthrope
12. Tongue

CD 2

13. Nerve
14.The Chainheart Machine
15. The Living Infinite I
16. Rise Above The Sentiment
17. Late For The Kill, Early For The Slaughter
18. Rejection Role
19. Black Star Deceiver (feat. Nathan J. Biggs)
20. As The Sleeper Awakes
21. Sadistic Lullabye
22. As We Speak
23. Stabbing The Drama

DVD/Blu-Ray bonus material:

Documentaries:

01. Spectrum Of Eternity: A Brief History Of Soilwork
02. Behind The Scenes Of The Living Infinite

Drumcam Videos:

01. Long Live The Misanthrope
02. Rise Above The Sentiment
03. Spectrum Of Eternity
04. Tongue

8.5/10

WORDS BY OMAR CORDY

Anthrax-Chile on Hell

Posted on September 15, 2014 by News Team

There is a reason why Anthrax has stayed around as long as they have and are considered one of the big four bands of thrash metal despite all their lineup changes. For those who have never seen the group live, their latest concert DVD, Chile on Hell (Megaforce), shows why.

Nothing seems to be glitzy in honor of it being a filmed performance and is therefore an accurate portrayal of an Anthrax concert. As soon as the band comes out to ‘Among the Living’ the audience starts moving. The next song, ‘Caught in a Mosh’ is appropriate and proves that Anthrax knows their fans well. As always, Joey Belladonna runs around the stage and interacts with the audience as though he is still in his twenties. Lead guitarist and newest member Jonathan Donais is a bit more stationary than the other band members although this changes as the show progresses. Thankfully the set is a good mix of old classics and newer standout songs.

After a short clip of the band arriving at the show beforehand, the filming gets a little more creative with the use of split screen and more movement with the camera. There is a more interesting clip after ‘A Skeleton in the Closet’ is played where members can be heard and seen talking about how the band has been around for thirty years. Judging from all the shots with fans, the band realizes just how much they owe to the metal community for their continued success.

Around the halfway point of the film, there is footage from the celebrations of the band in New York including interviews with David Ellefson of Megadeth and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. Although the interviews are not very long, they are sincere. Ellefson shows much respect for the band and Benante expresses his gratitude when talking about achieving his dream of playing the Garden in 1991.

Closer to the end of the concert is where the band seems to have the most fun by playing ‘I’m the Man,’ the opening from Slayer’s ‘Rain in Blood,’ ‘Madhouse,’ and ‘Antisocial.’ The group has kept up with the energy throughout the entire show and so have the fans.

The documentary aspect was interesting and made it more than just a performance based DVD but there was not enough of it to make sense. The best guess is that the DVD is supposed to be a celebration of their thirty years as a band. A better choice would have been to establish a more concrete concept around the concert parts. Because of this, the DVD would be most worth a purchase for those who are specifically fans of the band. Not a whole lot is revealed about the band, but it is a nice way to celebrate their longevity.

6.0/10

Anthrax on Facebook

Melissa Campbell

Steve Hackett – Genesis Revisited: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Posted on August 11, 2014 by News Team

Memory doesn’t half play tricks on you, you know. I don’t think there was ever a time when the live album was an important part of the progression of an artist but I seem to remember from my own youth that the arrival of a live record was considered to be AN EVENT. An event you could have endless arguments about, for example, whether the live version of Iron Maiden’s ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ on Live After Death (EMI) is superior to the studio version on Number of the Beast (it is, by the way). Today, the live album appears to be the perfunctory release of the couldn’t-be-bothered brigade, the contractual cash in, the how-can-we-milk-them-some-more cynicism.

It was with this context and mindset that I approached Steve Hackett’s latest souvenir of his Genesis revivalism from the Royal Albert Hall. The Genesis Revisited experience has been captured on live DVD and 2CDs – your humble scribe has had to make do with an MP3 download so I can’t comment on anything like multiple camera angles, artistic direction or anything like that – it’s just the soundtrack I’m going to review. But what a soundtrack!

“Welcome to the Last Night of the Progs” says Hackett at the start of ‘Dancing with the Moonlit Knight’. It’s part gag, part slight embarrassment – you get the idea that Hackett knows that the passionate throng in front of him are coming to this gig with massive expectations and Hackett is humble enough to not want to let them down. He doesn’t as ‘Dancing with the Moonlit Knight’ is just, well, fantastic actually. You won’t get me to suggest that I didn’t miss Peter Gabriel’s eccentric and evocative vocals, but Hackett’s singer, Nad Sylvan does a terrific job and if you haven’t got to grips with how brilliant a guitar player Hackett is then this is a great jumping on point. His solo on ‘Fly On the Windshield’ is spellbinding, and I say this as someone who usually finds this sort of stuff irredeemably awful.

With an artist like Hackett you were never really going to get short-changed though were you? This is a man who cares too much about the music, the fans and the experience than to turn in a “will this do?” effort. The set list appears to have been curated with care, respect and with an ear for the natural ebb and flow of live performance; there’s an attentive and graceful rendition of ‘Return of the Giant Hogweed’, a heartwarming ‘Fifth of Firth’ and when we get to it, as you know that we inevitably will, a performance of ‘Supper’s Ready’ that only the most churlish would consider to be anything other than exquisite.

Truly, there has been a huge amount of care into this event: whilst I would not be as daft or effusive as to suggest that this is better than the original what the performance does do- and in spades- is remind me of how brilliant Hackett is, how great Genesis were and how much of a prog-head I really am. That’s quite a feat. A lovely, lovely album of what must have been a lovely, lovely night.

8.0/10.0

Steve Hackett on Facebook

MAT DAVIES

Ministry – Last Tangle In Paris (DVD)

Posted on July 31, 2014 by News Team

In some circles, Ministry are spoken of in tones reserved elsewhere for Slayer. Reverence for their classic material combined with dissatisfaction over their current direction marks them as one of the “Untouchable Greats” in their field. This live DVD shows them touring their 2012 comeback album Relapse shortly before the death of guitarist Mike Scaccia, and is dedicated to his memory.

Having not paid serious attention to the band since 96’s Filthpig, my first observation about Last Tangle In Paris (UDR Music) was how the band have changed. Focussing heavily on tracks written without Paul Barker, we see a band operating comfortably somewhere between generic Groove Metal and mid-period Sepultura – crunchy, thrashy Metal built around repetitive grooves and simple choruses. Where Al Jourgensen once adopted a different vocal style for each song, he now employs the same angry sneer throughout, and their genre-defining “industrial” elements are now largely restricted to the use of samples and effects.

No band with their reputation can completely ignore the past, of course, and a barrage of four tracks finishes the set. Certainly crowd-pleasing, this section unfortunately raises its own problems; not only the contrast with the newer tracks, but also the authenticity of Jourgensen’s vocals. Put simply, the vocal performances on the classics are absolutely note-perfect imitations of the versions recorded two decades ago, and sometimes visibly out of synch with what Jourgensen appears to be singing.

A live DVD is about more than just the music, of course, and Last Tangle… aims to show us a band struggling to come to terms with their grief. Rehearsal footage featuring Scaccia is interesting for fans, but the poor sound quality reduces the value of these sections. Interviews with most of the current line-up cast light on their grieving process, and Jourgensen in particular speaks humbly and openly about the impact that Scaccia’s loss has had upon the band and his own life. Laudable and occasionally genuinely touching, but overall Last Tangle… is unlikely to be of much interest to anyone other than serious fans of their recent material.

5.0/10.0

Ministry on Facebook

RICHIE H-R

Rob Zombie – The Zombie Horror Picture Show (DVD)

Posted on June 6, 2014 by News Team

A DVD from rock showman, master of horror and satanic circus leader Rob Zombie means much in the way of monsters, pyro and fans dressed as the cast of Zombie’s films. All footage is culled from enormous open air show in Texas the atmosphere of which is palpable. Zombie’s vocals may differ wildly in sound from the way they do on his albums but that hardly matters when you consider he has never been a spectacular vocalist to begin with. Indeed it’s all about the full on gonzo theatrics which we have come to know and love and on that score he does not disappoint.

The set features all the devilman’s greatest hits The Zombie Horror Picture Show (Universal Music) gives us great performances of dancefloor fillers like ‘Living Dead Girl’ and ‘Sick Bubblegum’ as well as White Zombie cuts like ‘Supercharger Heaven’. Giant pseudo pornographic projections and some clever camera work make this a feast for the eyes, particularly where the psychedelic reflective images are cleverly employed.

Yet while the presentation is largely of a high standard which gives you a very real live concert experience, the absence of any extras is pretty disappointing. Save the gallery of images of the band to thumb through there are no interviews, backstage footage, music videos or any other titbits to tempt you into parting with your hard earned cash.

What there is however is lots of shots of bare breasted women which feels unnecessarily tacky. Indeed there is so much footage of topless women in the audience you have to wonder if the roaming cameraman had worked in the glamour industry. At the risk of sounding prudish, there is enough cheap titillation on this DVD without the bare fresh to grope at.

At least the camera work is particularly clever following Zombie as he walks through the audience during John5’s solo break in ‘Thunderkiss `65’. The Zombie Horror Picture Show was never going to be a high art concert experience granted but you get the feeling that a guy like Zombie who is famous for his attention to detail and presentation has allowed standards to slip just a little.

7/10

Rob Zombie on Facebook

ROSS BAKER

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