Audio-Visuals
CARPATHIAN FOREST: WE'RE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD FOR THIS - LIVE PERVERSIONS
GREEN CARNATION: ALIVE AND WELL…IN KRAKOW
Directed by Grzegorz Kupiec
(Metal Mind/MVD)
Serious fans of extreme metal are probably wondering just what the heck I think these two bands have in common. Outside of recording these shows at Studio Krzemionki in Krakow, Poland, both of these Norwegian groups share the services of guitarist Tchort and drummer Anders Kobro. Musically, though, there's admittedly little similarity. Carpathian Forest, which is pretty much the brainchild of lead singer Nattefrost, bills itself as "True Norwegian Black Metal," i.e. vicious, Luciferian thrash with only the barest concession to conventional musical attributes like melody and harmony. To the band's credit, it's definitely several steps above the usual tuneless explosion of calculated shock tactics. There are real riffs buried under the earbusting volume, and Nattefrost varies his vocal attack with death grunts and the occasional hardcore shout to leaven his throat-lacerating shriek. It helps that Kobros rarely gives into the usual black metal drumming style of simply hitting every skin within reach without regard to meter or rhythm—this guy can really play, and his efforts give the tunes their drive. If the banners proclaiming "Fuck You All" and the constant exhortations of "Hail Satan!" come off as a bit juvenile, the sheer force of quality headbangers like "Mask of the Slave," "Knokkelmann" and the band's eponymous theme song (which sounds like Motörhead with a raspy singer and a Black Sabbath breakdown) mostly makes up for it. The perversions in the DVD title, however, come mainly from outside the music in the form of the Carpathian Dancers, two topless females in the 300 pound range, one of whom is pushing senior citizenry. Not to mention bassist Vrangsinn, whose corpulent form comes wrapped in only a g-string and a couple of chains. Thank god for strategically-placed instruments.
For a band that's supposedly all about spreading the hate and evil, Carpathian Forest shows a great deal of consideration. Besides politely thanking the audience between numbers, the band also includes a veritable shitload of extras on this DVD. Besides a self--penned biography, an extensive discography and a slew of photos and desktop images, the disk also includes a bunch of audio demos which are far less monochromatic and more interesting than the fully-developed songs in the live video. Also within is a handful of bootleg live videos from back in the day and a whole other concert from the Wacken Open Air Festival, in which the band tries not to look befuddled at playing "Angel and the Sodomizer" in full corpsepaint in broad daylight. [buy it]
Green Carnation is a completely different proposition. Masterminded by Tchort, the Norwegian sextet fits more comfortably under the banner of progressive metal. The Carnation's songs are much less heavy and much more melodic, if no less dramatic, than Forest's, with fairly straightforward arrangements enlivened by expert musicianship and none of the Satanic trappings. Korbos is especially impressive, showing an obvious jazz influence. Frontman Kjetil Nordhus is also a sight to behold, his bald, burly form housing a soulful voice that would as just as appropriate singing torch ballads as the mini-operas found here. If only the tunes were stronger. While there's nothing here I'd call lame, the songs are blander than they ought to be, and the band's no-frills presentation does them no favors. Nordhus looks unsure of what to do with himself during the instrumental passages; only guitarist Michael Krumins, a flashy picker from the 80s shredder school, looks like he's having a good time. There's nothing wrong with letting the music speak for itself when it's strong enough, but only one piece here, the lengthy excerpt from the band's highly acclaimed one-song concept LP Light of Day, Day of Darkness, really stands out as something special.
At least Green Carnation is just as generous as Carpathian Forest when it comes to extras. There's the usual interviews, bios, bootleg performances (which boast an energy level a damn sight higher than that in the official video) and discography, of course. But the disk also includes a generous helping of bonus audio-only tracks that present the band running through acoustic versions of its "hits," plus covers of, a-Ha's "Stay on These Roads" and Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" that really allow Nordhus to show off his pipes. Indeed, Carnation staples like "The Boy in the Attic" and "Into Deep" fare better in this stripped-down presentation than they do at full strength. These songs alone make this DVD worth checking out. Michael Toland [buy it]
