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(More customer reviews)In some of my other music DVD reviews, I take the tact of applying a set of standards to a release and establishing how the DVD in question measures up. Let me say in advance that when I take this tact, it usually means that I was disappointed in the release. Such is the case with Black Label Society: The European Invasion - Doom Troopin' Live.
A memo should go out to all bands and music DVD producers that says at minimum: "1) Music DVD's should be produced to the highest standards. 2) The musical performances within should represent the talent that made the studio recorded CDs sell. 3) Theatrics are very cool too, as long as you can pull them off without deterioration in the quality of the music."
Let's break it down then for Doom Troopin':
1 - "Music DVD's should be produced to the highest standards." - The picture quality in Doom Troopin' is average. Look, I understand that it's more expensive for the band to record in high def, but Doom Troopin' looked like it was recorded in the '80s. The picture just wasn't up to the standards set by some of the better releases of the past few years (click on my name above to see my Listmania List of The Best Rock DVDs With High Quality A/V).
Further contributing to a below average experience, the director has chosen to indulge in what he feels is "cool production" versus giving the viewer a front row seat to the performance. There are a lot split screens and funky video effects (you know, like image stretching and goofy '70s-like animated image overlays). This kind of junk really ruins the illusion of having a front row seat to the show.
The sound is okay. You get your choice between Dolby Stereo, Dolby 5.1 or DTS. But the mix is way below average. Either the producers of Doom Troopin' were novices or their equipment needs a big-time upgrade. I've viewed some recent rock music DVDs (again see the Listmania list that I referred to earlier) that sound as good as being at the show; a good recording shakes the foundations of my house through my 5.1 system but sounds as clear as if the band was playing live. Doom Troopin' sounds almost like it was recorded with the bass levels way down; it almost sounds like an amplified version of the way a live concert would sound from the lobby just outside the performance auditorium.
The one bright side to the video was that the shots actually lasted long enough to take them in before changing angles. Too often you find entire music DVDs where the visual often jumps around similar to the music video format of "4 seconds then cut to another view". Doom Troopin' gives you some good, long lasting looks.
2 - "The musical performances within should represent the talent that made the studio recorded CDs sell." - You say, "Eddie Van Halen," and everyone knows who you're talking about. You say, "Zakk Wylde," and everyone goes, "who?" Zakk Wylde is one of the best...no wait...IS the best hard rock guitarist on the circuit today. His riffs are heavy and melodic and his solos are complex and precise. He definitely brings his guitar playing talent to his live shows. And all of the guys in the band prior to hitting the stage must have huddled and committed to each other to go out and play the music true to the studio versions of the songs. All of the tracks on Doom Troopin' are performed very well (albeit with some jamming that gets a bit long in the tooth after a while).
And Zakk's voice is as good as it is on the CDs. Zakk's singing voice has the same nasally sound familiar with Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), Ryan McCombs (Drowning Pool formerly of SOiL) and...um...Ozzy!. Zakk's not quite as good as the three aforementioned fellows, but he gets the job done.
3 - "Theatrics are very cool too, as long as you can pull them off without deterioration in the quality of the music." - The theatrics were minimal in the show, and that's the way BLS is. They're about the music. Zakk, John DeServio (the bass player that looks just like Zack), Nick Catanese (guitar) and Craig Nunenmacher (drums) just go out and play the music. Pretty much the only attempt at theatrics was Zack stopping into his pub between each song to down a pint of ale. Some dude makes a guest appearance to help pump up the crowd, crowd-surf and sing along with some of the songs, but it's never really clear who the heck it is.
One other note is that a live performance includes getting the audience charged up. Man, was this audience charged up! Gotta hand it to BLS for establishing a loyal, rowdy following.
All in all...it's a decent performance with a very very distracting choice in video production. If you are a dedicated BLS fan that for whatever reason hasn't made it to an actual performance, Doom Troopin' is no substitute. If you don't care about a quality viewing experience then Doom Troopin' should work just fine.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Black Label Society: The European Invasion - Doom Troopin' Live (2006)
Black Label Society is the brain child of guitar great Zakk Wylde. Hard and heavy, big on riffs and even bigger on the solos, BLS is the bastard child of Black Sabbath only pumped up on steroids. Having graced the world’s stages for the last 18 years, both as Ozzy Osbourne’s right hand man as well as fronting BLS, Zakk Wylde has established himself as one of the few remaining guitar heroes. "European Invasion" captures BLS live on their sold out European tour last year - one of the most anticipated tours of the year and they didn’t disappoint. Witness the full Paris show as well as 4 tracks from the Astoria in London. Bonus footage includes a 1 hour long On The Road documentary, 3 promo videos taken from the Billboard top 20 album "Mafia" and the making of documentary for the promo video "Suicide Messiah".Tracklisting:Disc 1 Paris Chapter 1. Stoned and Drunk 2. Destruction Overdrive 3. Been a Long Time 4. Funeral Bell 5. Suffering Overdue 6. In this River 7. Suicide Messiah 8. Demise of Sanity 9. Spread Your Wings 10. Solo Acoustic Jam 11. Spoke in the Wheel 12. Fire it Up 13. Stillborn 14. Genocide Junkies London Chapter 1. Been a Long Time 2. Suicide Messiah 3. Stillborn 4. Genocide JunkiesDisc 2 Backstage Pass – On the Road Documentary. Promo videos for Suicide Messiah, Fire it Up and In This River. The making of the Suicide Messiah promo video.
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