Samael: Black Trip

Rating:
Summary: Must try to see it in context.....
Review: As this is the only chance many of us have to see Samael live, it is a good thing. Unfortunately, the poor recording quality of the audio--even on the "professionally" done shows--merges the music into one big giant unlistenable sludge. All you can hear are the drums and between-song banter on the 1994 performance.
Considering the quality of the band's music, that is a real shame.
The brief interviews with Xytras and Vorphalack (or Xy and Vorph as they like to be called now) in the studio during the "Passage" recordings are excellent inclusions, but you've got replay it a few times to decipher their thick accents.
No extras here, but who needs them in this case? This is plenty of Samael for the fans, and any dvd by them is a bonus in itself, as far as I'm concerned.
Overall, it's great to be able to see them time and time again on this format, but the terrible sound quality will make the luster quickly wear thin.

Rating:
Summary: Must try to see it in context.....
Review: As this is the only chance many of us have to see Samael live, it is a good thing. Unfortunately, the poor recording quality of the audio--even on the "professionally" done shows--merges the music into one big giant unlistenable sludge. All you can hear are the drums and between-song banter on the 1994 performance.
Considering the quality of the band's music, that is a real shame.
The brief interviews with Xytras and Vorphalack (or Xy and Vorph as they like to be called now) in the studio during the "Passage" recordings are excellent inclusions, but you've got replay it a few times to decipher their thick accents.
No extras here, but who needs them in this case? This is plenty of Samael for the fans, and any dvd by them is a bonus in itself, as far as I'm concerned.
Overall, it's great to be able to see them time and time again on this format, but the terrible sound quality will make the luster quickly wear thin.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat lacking production, but worth it for any fan
Review: The 1994 show is a bootleg, so it's rough, but that's expected. The 1996 show feels pretty solid. The audio mix isn't perfect, but it's good. The 2002 show though seems more like a high-quality bootleg than a professional recording. The sound is kind of thin and stadiumlike and has a few tiny hiccups in it, and the camerawork is a bit cheap. It's too bad, since it's an awesome show, but it's at a festival so that probably accounts for the negatives. The DVD menus are also pretty basic, which always surprises me on music DVDs (especially for Samael, who seem very aurally/visually oriented). The 2nd disc menu doesn't even separate the two concerts, which isn't a big deal but seems kind of half-assed.

Now, the shows themselves are great. Especially the 2002 one, which is pretty visually impressive. Across the three concerts, most of their catalog gets some representation, and it's all played very well with quite a lot of energy. I don't ever get tired of watching Xy alternate between playing keyboards and doing live drumming on his stand-up kit. The extras are good too, though more studio footage would have been nice. As it is it's just one very dark clip of Vorph laying down some vocals. But the interview is interesting, and it's nice to have their three music videos in a high quality form.

All in all, this is worth buying. You get a ton of stuff (double-disc DVDs usually cost more too, but not this one) and it's generally quite well-done.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Yet!
Review: This DVD represents a new high point in the impressive career of what has been called by some "One of Industrial Black Metal's mosts inspirational bands." Continuing the brilliance of Eternal ad Passage, Samael bring a new visual dimension to their work on this amazing 2 disc box of goodies. For old fans, there are echoes of many classics like Shining Kingdom and Decay, and the unforgettable Infra Galaxia . For the neophyte to Samael's unique universe, there is more than enough here to raise yoour consciousness to a new plane. Put it in, [turn] it up and prepare to be blown away!

Rating:
Summary: Sound please!
Review: Yes, I too agree the main concert's sound is pretty abysmal. I found (in the case of my DVD sound set up)that the Live Passage Tour 1996 in Krakow, Poland show on DVD 2 is much more listenable than the main concert. The bootleg isn't something you can really listen to, unless you've drunk a six-pack or something! Overall, considering the relative cost - if you must have some live Samael the Krakow concert will probably be the main one you listen to.