Bloodbath
The Wacken Carnage

THE REVIEW

Today I would like to draw your attention to a live album by a very interesting Death Metal band, namely Bloodbath. The work in question is: "The Wacken Carnage", which is the concert our guys held at the famous German Heavy Metal festival in the summer of 2005. Since the release includes two discs, the live on CD and a DVD with the same performance, I would like to discuss these two products separately to make the reading more orderly and fluid.

Let's start with the CD. An unsettling "Intro" makes us immediately realize that the band is about to take the stage to commence the massacre. Indeed, shortly after, we are immediately assaulted by the splendid "Cancer Of The Soul", performed with technical skill, precision, passion, and with Mikael Akerfeldt in perfect shape (for me, he is one of the best Death Metal vocalists out there, along with Dave Vincent of Morbid Angel and Nergal of Behemoth). Since you all more or less know the songs, I won't describe them individually and will simply say that the band maintains the performance at very high standards, without any lapses in tone, aided by a tracklist that well retraces the brief career of Bloodbath. Worth noting are the speeches that the good Akerfeldt gives us between songs, which can be judged in two ways, depending on the listener:

1. Positively: they capture the live atmosphere well and, for a moment, if you close your eyes, make you imagine being there, enjoying some good Heavy Metal;

 

 

2. Negatively: they come across as trite and boring.

Let's now move on to the DVD. This is the real gem of the work, in fact, with this disc, we can sit in the proverbial comfortable armchair and, while nibbling on something, enjoy the entire concert of the Swedish band. The menu is practical and essential; indeed, you can choose to watch the entire concert or just a particular excerpt of our choice; an additional option allows you to select the audio output, meaning you can enjoy the DVD in Dolby Surround or in stereo. The footage, in black and white, is well-executed (it gives that "lead-like" feel) and the shots smoothly transition from one band member to another without causing "headaches," and also don't lack those always pleasant and characteristic shots of the audience (I've always loved them personally, after all, what’s a concert without the audience?). As I mentioned before, the band seems relaxed and at ease, constituting a well-oiled note-grinding machine, even if Akerfeldt, without his guitar, seems a bit "stiff."

In conclusion, a truly excellent and well-packaged live album, recommended for lovers of good European Death Metal.