...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI...



..::OPIS::..

The influential nature of Teutonic legends Kreator cannot be stressed enough, and yet is an often ignored aspect of extreme metal history in the eyes of the mainstream, that has all too often directed unwarranted focus towards what is often deemed the heralding location of thrash metal, i.e the west coast of the United States. The rise of the most ground breaking, stylistically defying and unconventional genres in the cryptic extreme metal movement of the late 80’s and early 90’s was simply a reciprocal exaltation to the formative influences bestowed upon the innovators of extreme metal. The raspy screams, percussive insanity and the battering riffs of these disgruntled, ferocity-driven youngsters from the industrial town of Essen would prove to serve as an influence for a legion of the band’s followers across the world, that would in turn further intensify and shatter the artificial stylistic boundaries that had been set in stone and give birth to furthermore intrepid and adventurous styles such as death and black metal. The innovators of these aforementioned genres were looking for and consequently developed even more radical music in various parts of the world, having grown tired of the conventional modes of action already available in heavy metal, and one can quite easily draw a line tracing it back to the early musings of these German trailblazers, alongside similar innovators of the era such as Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Sodom, Destruction, Possessed, Sepultura, Bathory and Slayer.

Having formed in 1982 as Tyrant, quickly shifting to the moniker Tormentor, the band has seen a varied career graph, starting with their debut Endless Pain (1985), which was essentially a rehashed speed-metal indulgence with a blackened edge. The band truly made a torrential entrance with 1986’s seminal Pleasure to Kill, deemed by many as the heaviest thrash album of all time and widely known as one of three releases that comprise of the infamous trio of 1986, along with Slayer's 'Reign in Blood' and Dark Angel’s ‘Darkness Descends’, all these albums being characterized by a very relentless, speed-driven and frenzied approach, which brought a new touch of heaviness and brutality to the genre at the time. Soon after, the band’s work up until the early 90’s was characterized by a new found ambitiousness, with the band reaching for the stars as far as technical dexterity, unique song-writing and thematic intelligence was concerned. Thereafter, an experimental phase saw the band dabbling in groove and industrial elements alongside a slew of line-up changes. Not surprisingly, this didn't go down well with their long term fans, but the dawn of the new millennium saw them return to their classic thrash sound, albeit with an audibly pulsating melodic twist, and has characterized the band’s sound to date, and the current line-up seen on the DVD.

‘Dying Alive’ is the band's latest live DVD, released via the band’s long term record label, Nuclear Blast Records and could be viewed as the summation of the shows the band played in support for their latest masterpiece, Phantom Antichrist (2012), which won the band both critical and fan acclaim. The show that was used to record this live DVD was a gig in Oberhausen, in the Ruhr area of Germany and a mere 13 KM away from their hometown, Essen. The DVD’s main menu has a rather user-friendly interface that is fairly simple to traverse through. The graphics of this menu are in line with the cover artwork of the DVD and is nothing short of vivid and detailed, and truly reflects on the rounded vision of the band. While the main DVD presents the concert as a whole, there is also an option to choose select songs to view, in addition to other DVD bonus material such as the official music videos for the album’s singles – ‘Phantom Antichrist’ and ‘Civilization Collapse’, behind the scene footage of the DVD’s making, as well as a generic settings function that serve to adjust conventional particulars as per the viewer’s preference.

Onto the actual live experience, I would first like to say that I have had the pleasure of seeing the band live, coincidentally in the very same Phantom Antichrist support tour at the Bangalore Open Air on June 16th, 2012; and mere words cannot express the sheer intensity that the band brings to a live setting. Lest I digress into my own concert experience, the DVD starts with ‘Mars Mantra’, an excellent choice for an intro, which starts of as a somber dirge that descends into epic rhythms and melodies that serve to build up excitement for the thrash-tastic assault that awaits the audience. During this intro, lyrics across songs from the album are projected on the stage curtain against a backdrop of various paintings, which also have a thematic consistency, with the paintings all depict a variety of situations concerning war and general disarray. The band invokes nothing short of an adrenaline rush as the curtain drops and the band kicks off with the anthemic ‘Phantom Antichrist’, which bleeds directly into ‘From Flood into Fire’. The set-list is fairly diverse and touches upon every era of the band, and is a rather accurate representation of an average Kreator seltist. All the songs blend with each other in a similarly seamless fashion. However, it is fairly evident that the band’s set-list choice is skewed towards the promotion of Phantom Antichrist, with five songs in all. Save for the crowd favorite ‘Phobia’, the band is seldom known to play songs from their experimental era, and this is reflected in the set-list choice on ‘Dying Alive’ s well. Despite some songs having been conceived almost two decades apart, they fit flawlessly into the band’s set-list and there is no discernible obstruction in the flow and congruency of the set-list whatsoever.

The band’s performance is nothing short of fantastic, and the chemistry between the members of the band’s current line-up is akin to the type of live harmoniousness seen during their career peak in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The axe duo comprising of Mille Petrozza and Sami Yli-Sirniö produce riff after riff in an effortless fashion. The interplay between the two is nothing short of enthralling, and the trade-offs in lead parts is beyond drool worthy. Sami Yli-Sirniö’s performance cements his status as a sorely underrated guitar virtuoso. His guitar work is both technical and melodic, and yet does not descend into mindless noodling and also evokes and reinforces the mood of each song. The precursory acoustic intro to ‘United in Hate’ is an excellent reflection of Sirniö’s versatility and showcases an unseen, elegant side of the band. Founding member Jürgen ‘Ventor’ Reil was often criticized for his apparent sloppiness and overtly speed-driven style of drumming in the early years of the band, but this live DVD makes any such notions invalid and his technical dexterity is a sight to watch. As an aside, the calmness and composed expression that Reil maintains while belting out his tireless brand of mayhemic drumming is also rather amusing. Christian ‘Speesy’ Giesler’s bass is barely audible, but likely contributes to the overall heaviness wholeness of the band’s sound. It must be said, however, that Kreator has essentially been a band driven by the distinctively ingenious and enjoyably esoteric guitar work of Petrozza. However, a band devoid of a bassist generally sounds thinner and more sterile, and to that extent Giesler’s presence in the band is imperative, but not specifically something that adds to the distinctiveness to the dynamics of the band. Mille’s vocal delivery has undoubtedly been subject to the inevitability that is aging, but still manages to retain the razor-sharp, raspy quality that came to characterize his vindictive sonic pillage. Petrozza’s crowd interaction is genuine and evocative in a powerful and invigorating manner. Mille alternates between German and English, commanding for mosh-pits, crowd approval and the completion of lyrics in an assertive manner. One of my favorite aspects of the band’s approach towards a live performance is the manner in which they prolong the space between two songs, by letting the feedback flow. During these intervals, you can hear the crowd chanting the band’s name, and the general tension that builds up during these intervals effectively increase the level of excitement in the arena. Thus, when the band finally starts off with a new song, the crowd reaction is extremely uproarious.

The quality of the footage in the DVD is very high-quality, courtesy of the 24 cameras that were placed in strategic positions to cover every aspect of the show. Thus, the viewer experiences every aspect of a Kreator live show, and is shown footage of not only the band on-stage, but also a panoramic view of the stadium, close-up footage of various parts of the crowd, the circle/mosh-pits (a specific mosh-pit camera was set-up for the making of the DVD). The conventional guitar cams are satisfactory, as well.

In essence, this is a must-have for any Kreator fan, thrash metal enthusiast or live DVD collector, and yet is also an excellent gateway to newer fans who are looking to get into the band’s sound, as it chronicles and covers both various eras of the band’s creative musings through its set-list, as well as the band’s sheer combative tenacity as a live force. The band presents a monolithic, momentum-driven performance with healthy doses of ruthlessness and palpitating doses of sensible melody; and merely reinforces its status as one of the premier live acts of the genre, apart from its position as one of the most influential yet underplayed acts of heavy metal music. Apart from the fact that this live show might not be wholly universal in nature given the usage of German during crowd interaction every now and then, I truly cannot find any prominent flaws apropos this DVD offering, and is in summation and immensely gratifying experience. The band seems to be in a very healthy place now, in terms of its preferred stylistic mode, creativity and popularity; and ‘Dying Alive’ is most certainly testament to that.

Achintya Venkatesh



..::TRACK-LIST::..

Recorded live at Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen, Germany, on 22-12-2012.

1. Intro: Mars Mantra
2. Phantom Antichrist
3. From Flood Into Fire
4. Enemy Of God
5. Phobia
6. Hordes Of Chaos
7. Civilization Collapse
8. Voices Of The Dead
9. Extreme Aggression
10. People Of The Lie
11. Death To The World
12. Endless Pain
13. Pleasure To Kill
14. Intro 2 - The Patriarch
15. Violent Revolution
16. United In Hate
17. Betrayer
18. Flag Of Hate
19. Tormentor
20. Outro / Credits

Bonus Material:
21. Behind The Dying
22. Phantom Antichrist (Backstage Video)
23. Phantom Antichrist (Music Vedio)
24. Civilization Collapse (Music Video)



..::OBSADA::..

Mille Petrozza - Vocals, Guitars
Sami Yli-Sirniö - Guitars
Christian Giesler - Bass
Ventor - Drums




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txRGO9sZMw8



SEED 14:30-23:00.
POLECAM!!!