Live Retaliation

Another concert from the Metal Mind's, Kremionzki polish TV studio-live series. These puppies are hit-and-miss regarding the filming and the sound, and this one is no exception.

But first, to the concert : An even mix of old and new songs, with an amazing cover thrown in for good measure; I consistently found myself liking the older, more Viking black metal-oriented and the newer, more progressive material alike, unlike their studio counterparts, which I had never enjoyed before; the live versions are wild and provide a twist not present on the studio albums. Performance is practically flawless; the mix strikes as a bit raw with a few misses and non-intentional feedback here and there which only add to the realism of the live sound, warts and all. The guys don't use flashy, black metal-styled ESP or BC Rich instruments, but plain SG and Les Paul Guitars and a Rickenbaker bass the singer wields, which unfortunately is not audible at any time.

While the takes and camera angles are perfect, being neither MTV-paced nor traditional, the laser/strobe lights flooding the stage are excessive and mess with the picture in a not very pleasant manner, saturating the screen with wide horizontal interference-like flashes and pixelation that somewhat detract from the visual experience . There is also excessive bright spots on the picture that hinder the visuals, but that strikes as more of an artistic choice than a flaw. The picture is a bit noisy, and the director could have put some more effort editing the TEN camera angles he had at his disposal.

The mix gets a tad too bright and thin at times, needing the occasional slight cranking of the bass knob to correct it . The volume varies quite a while between one song and the next, which could have been normalized in my opinion. The drums have an incredibly meaty double kick thump and killer snare sound; almost every snare note is joined by a loud rimshot; TWACK !. The keyboards are OK, they kick in at the right times, but are not overpowering, kind of taking a back seat, just the way I like them.

Get this; thank me later.

Originally written for amazon.com by yours truly.

Let's start at the beginning.
BOX:
-Great design, the booklet is a little bit Spartan but heck, you can't have it all.

MENUS:
-The intro menu is great. Good graphics, the best title music possible (the Outro from Monumension), easy to navigate.

-All the other menus are good to navigate as well, although some content is obviously included only to fill up the DVD (like logos and stuff like that)

CONTENT:
-The concert was filmed in Poland. The lighting is good, so is the sound. Enslaved perform brilliantly, and the setlist is also very good, save for the lack of any Eld songs, but that is strictly a personal opinion. Oh, and not many people are headbanging or moshing...I guess they didn't sell alcohol at the gig :o)

-The interview gives good insight into Enslaved and I absolutely love it, save for one detail: WHERE THE HELL DID THE INTERVIEWER LEARN ENGLISH? I know it was obviously done by one of the Poles, but come on...they could have at least voiced him over when putting the DVD together.

-Discography and stuff. Good!

-Extra stuff include screensavers, etc. Your standard stuff basically, but with one extra goodness. Never before released Enslaved songs! Some first class stuff!


The general impression of this DVD is one of getting absolutely immersed in the songs of Enslaved and their life work. Whenever I play this thing, I am transported to a different time and place. Oh let's say Scandinavia, about 1000 years ago:)

I give it 93/100. Keep it up, Enslaved!