Hard Vision |
May 2007Europe | Obscene Extreme 05 | Hawkwind | Kiss | Megadeth | Live at the Rock 'n Roll Palace, Volume 2 | NRBQ | Racing Cars Europe So what can one say about one of the most commercially successful metal bands to break out of Sweden? Not a damn thing. They did it. They've done it. And now we reminisce about it. Most of you by now have already heard that a couple years ago (2004) Europe reunited with the original members and put out a new album and play a near sell out tour of over 100 dates. I also think they have another one that was done just a few months ago. I think it's great to see some of these older bands come back and try to make a second round of things. As long as it's for the right reasons. Here we have a live DVD of the ever so successful 'The Final Countdown' tour. This show was filmed from Solnahallen in Stockholm. It has been re-mastered and has come out quite good. I'll admit that back then, I did have a copy of the album. There are a few good rockin' tunes on it. As for the show itself, same goes here. 12 tracks of Europe at their hey day. The interviews are interesting as well. I actually sat through the whole thing. (interviews) There is also the usual biography, picture gallery and a visit to the studio 20 years after the recording of 'The Final Countdown'. Any one who was a fan of Europe's back in the day will really enjoy this one. As with any of the newer fans they have picked up along the way. OBSCENE EXTREME 2005 A double disc of 45 bands playing grind at some grind fest. The problem with this is, after about 5 o6 bands it all begins to sound the same as each band plays quick fast tunes with growled cup the mic vocals. A couple bands do stand out such as Pungent Stench and Blood Duster, but to my ears this all sounds the same and a few of the bands use the dual vocal thing, which as been done to death. To me grind music has a very short shelf life and after a few of these bands it all sounds the same at least to me. If your into the grind thing, there is over 6 hours of music and the camera work is good and the sound for the most part is not just noise. Info: http://www.obscene.cz HAWKWIND I had never heard this band's music before only that Lemmy from Motorhead was into them. Well, after watching some of this I can see why. This band is really spaced out and really play some fucked up music. They are metal, but like a Pink Floyd version of metal and I can see a hint of Motorhead here and there. This band sounds like no other and the cameras work and sound is excellent on this too. Almost 2 1/2 hours of music and stuff and after watching some of this I am a fan of the band as they won me over with the originality and performance. Info: http://www.mvdvisual.com KISS What a rip off this is. Only a couple interviews, no music and not very long at just under an hour. The only cool interview was the 1st one from some show from the 70's with the original members. The other couple are more recent and offer nothing. This is just a pure rip off trying to make money from die hard Kiss fans. I like Kiss, but this isn't worth trust me. No contact info was included, sorry. Megadeth Megadeth's performance in Argentina, in Oct. '05, was captured on this DVD. They perform a bunch of Mega-classics, as well as some more recent tunes, in front of a wild bunch of Argentinian fans. The songs need no discussion, they're ones everyone should be familiar with-"Peace Sells", "Wake Up Dead", "Holy Wars", "Symphony Of Destruction", "In My Darkest Hour", "Hangar 18", along with some more current tunes like "Kick The Chair", "She Wolf", "A Tout Le Monde", etc. Dave Mustaine is the only original member left now. He's been doing the Megadeth thing for over twenty years now but it seems as if time has yet to catch up with him. He still plays and performs brilliantly, and is as charismatic as ever. The crowd was eating out of his hand! Even that arm injury he suffered a few years back seems to have not phased him. He can still play a mean guitar and gives it everything he has in this performance. Same can be said for the rest of the band. All are relatively new to the band but they didn't miss a beat when it came to playing those Mega-tunes! It was as is they all had been in the band the whole time. Close your eyes and you'll think it's the original Megadeth! The band rip their way through every song, putting on a killer performance. When Dave Ellefson left the band, he left a big place to fill. He and Dave were like Butch and Sundance, and "Junior" was a big part of Megdeth's legacy. His replacement, however, seems to have a filled his shoes quite well. He's a great bass player and while players like Ellefson are hard to replace, this new guy takes the torch that was passed to him, very well. The Mega Metal Machine rolls on. Also on the DVD are a few excerpts of the band members discussing the concert at the beginning, Dave and his shotgun guitarist playing unplugged to some fans in a park, and an alternate version of "Symphony Of Destruction" as bonus item, the only one on the DVD ROCK 'N' ROLL PALACE I don't know if you would call these "vintage" performances or not. But, it's definitely a nice slab of rock 'n' roll history for those of you who appreciate early rock 'n' roll music. Sixteen performances by artists such as Johnny Thunder, The Crickets, Tommy Sands, The Platters, Johnny Tillotson, The Diamonds, Bobby Vee and Ace Cannon, all recorded at the Rock 'N' Roll Palace in Orlando, Florida. Some of you old timers may remember some of these tunes. "That'll Be The Day" and "Peggy Sue" by The Crickets. "The Beat Goes On" by Tommy Sands or how about "Tuff" by Ace Canon...you remember that one, don't you? The stuff on this disc was way before my time and I don't really have an interest in it. However, I was rather fond of Johnny Thunder's "Suzi Q" and "Loop De Loop." It's got a 60 minute running time and the main program is pretty much all you get. But, if you happen to have a taste for this music, it should be worth it for you. NRBQ & The Whole Wheat Horns There seems to be a lot of NRBQ material floatin' around out there and this release, while being somewhat short, was rather entertaining. The main program is a 13 song concert performance that was filmed in Louisville, Kentucky back in 1982 and even though I have no idea how you would describe the musical style of NRBQ...because they seem to do a little bit of everything...I'd have to say that this show was a very raw, rock 'n' roll show. You won't see a performance like this in this day and age. It's a band gettin' personal with their audience. Great stuff, especially if you're a fan of the band. The bonus material isn't much of a bonus. Three items, the best of the bunch being a 1981 television performance of a song called "Me & The Boys." The other two items are short promo films and what they were meant to promote, I have no idea. The band I guess. Both of those were filmed back in 2000. Wrap it all up and you have a nice, neat little NRBQ package. http://www.nrbq.com Racing Cars Racing Cars got stuck with the dreaded "one hit wonder" label. But, here they are, thirty years later, and they've got a new release out and even though I'm not really a fan, this concert performance was rather interesting to watch because it was set up more like a movie. The camera work is excellent and it takes you right up on stage so you can get up close and personal with the band as they go through their sixteen song set. They're not exactly a flashy band and it seems to me that they would much rather let the music do the talkin'...and that's exactly what they do here. It's a good, strong, solid performance. There's some additional bonus footage that's worth watching as well. I was especially interested in the interview with Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, who sits down to share his thoughts and opinions on the band. That was probably the most entertaining part for me. Bottom line...if you're a Racing Cars fan, this is a DVD that you'll want to add to your collection because they did it up right. You won't be disappointed. |