"Dying Alive" is filmed with 24 cameras, including a fret cam stationed upon the snapcase strumming of
Mille Petrozza and even a pit cam that takes the viewer smack into a constant mosh. The colliding bodies during
"Voices of the Dead" and especially the vintage circle pit conjured by
Mille from the Oberhausen faithful for
"Endless Pain"
are amazing to behold. While implemented by a mostly younger generation
(many hilariously wearing Santa hats), those from the old guard will
feel vicariously catapulted back in time to the mid-to-late Eighties.
For a kick, there's even a roadie cam whisking viewers to the urinal for
a backstage piss; consider that as you will.
Bringing to life one of the biggest stage sets ever in
KREATOR's history, the engulfing miasma and hellspawn torching the world around the band is a huge aesthetic.
Mille
has not one but two mike stands on this massive stage, one at the fore
and another with a bisected and eyes-peeled dummy head dangling from it
stationed upon the risers near
Ventor's drums. Other beheaded
props are found in the apocalyptic stage design, along with chewy raptor
heads and fog cannons that escalate the constant pounding of the band.
Sami Yli Sirnio has proven be a major force in
KREATOR since hooking up with them on the
"Violent Revolution" album. The delicate acoustic touches he laced through
"Phantom Antichrist" helped make it one of
KREATOR's strongest albums in their catalog. Watching him lavish the intro to
"United in Hate"
from that album lends a textural grace to a set that keeps its foot
firmly stamped upon the accelerator. The homogeneity between
Sirnio and
Mille is exhibited twofold by witnessing them trade solos in fluid and gentlemanly fashion onstage.
Mille has all but met his match with
Sirnio, and along with bassist
Christian Giesler and recurring-term drummer
Ventor, this lineup of
KREATOR is one of its finest and now its most proficient.
While it seems a hair dubious nothing appears in this set from
"Terrible Certainty" (one of
KREATOR's Eighties breakout albums alongside
"Pleasure to Kill" and
"Extreme Aggression"), there's more than enough speedfreak juice for fans to amp up with. You have to figure
Mille's had enough of
"Toxic Trace" for a while. Still, it's nothing short of remarkable the guy can whip an old-school thrash frenzy along with the band on
"Pleasure to Kill" and
"Flag of Hate". Set upon their tasks,
KREATOR proves they're still one of the fastest bands in the land.
Added to the bonus features of this package are the venomous promotional videos for
"Phantom Antichrist" and
"Civilization Collapse" plus behind-the-scenes footage of the concert and the
"Phantom Antichrist" clip.
As far as live albums and videos go, most are worth digging into,
particularly if you've never had the experience of the subject in
question.
KREATOR went the extra mile with
"Dying Alive", both in their scorching performance and in the expansive video capture. Not since
MOTÖRHEAD's
"Stage Fright" DVD has the viewer been this invested along with the band itself. Mandatory.
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