I have an unwritten rule that a band should have at the very minimum ten years history behind them before they release a live product. Sure it is a necessary revenue stream for them but it is something that they have to be firmly established in before they do so. After this there should be a minimum of at least another decade, preferably longer before they release another. Being vampires this Italian band have plenty of scope to bring out lots of live albums during their immortal career and good to note they had been around just over the requisite decade before unleashing their DVD of the Addiction Tour in 2006. However they have seriously jumped the gun in my estimation bringing out another live DVD and limited edition audio CD just six years further down the line.
It seems a bit cheeky that the record company have gone and given us the limited edition CD aspect of the package to stream and download when the DVD is the main emphasis of this but the time of the physical promo is gone for many labels and that is how they work. I saw no point in watching a couple of video clips of songs from the DVD either as the review should be the whole package so I am just concentrating on the aural part.
Luckily this starts with three brand new tracks which is great as a stopgap for the next studio album. First of these My Winter Storm (which is nothing to do with the Tarja track) is a nice sparkling keyboard etched piece with strong orchestral elements and a persuasive melody. It is a bit on the maudlin side but with the backing choral aspects this just makes it seem more austere and neo-classical in its evolvement. Unfortunately the following two numbers ‘The Lost Grace’ and ‘Apart’ are really slow burning numbers and pretty much ballads that fail to ignite much in the way of passion from me. I do not mind the occasional track like this on a whole album but vampires need to remember to go for the throat and two out of three songs failing to do so is too much. We need more oomph to pick us up here.
So onto the live album, which as the group state is recorded inMoscow. Well live albums are a really hit and miss affair. For a start you miss all the atmosphere of actually being there and this is essential so it has to be a stunning album to catch your attention and keep you interested. How many fantastic live albums can you name if you were put on the spot? There are not exactly hundreds of them and a band simply going through what they do on a nightly album with simply your ears as the means of picking it up is not ideal in the slightest. You need to take in the sights, the sounds, and the smells be it beer, fire and in this lots case the blood.
The band do not do anything wrong, it is a good set and they are good live. Having seen them lots of times I can contest to that. Songs like ‘Keeper Of Secrets’ and ‘Lilith Mater Inferorum’ sound good but there is a spark missing. ‘Le Grand Guignol’ is without the all necessary spectacle and to be honest I find Sonya Scarlet’s in between song stage banter distracts from the music and quickly becomes annoying. Sure it is her job to interact with the crowd but I really would have preferred these parts edited out.
I really do like this band but I failed to interact with this, perhaps it would have been better if I had the full visual accompaniment to go with this but the mark reflects the audio segment, which is something I am afraid I won’t be quick to pick up and listen to again.
On a good point I am stoked about the prospect of a full length feature film coming towards the end of the year. Helmed by director David Bracci and staring Sonya Scarlet ‘The Cult Of Lamia’ looks like great gory fun and should re-energize the proud legacy of Italian horror cinema. Check out the trailer for this at the You Tube link below
(5.5/10 Pete Woods)
Leave a Reply