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Rating: 2 DVD (limited version 2 DVD + 1 CD, in box set), 2002
Sound: Stereo 2.0
DVD 1 (95 minutes):
Experience All Misanthropy: 1. Blessing upon the throne of tragedy 2. The blazing monoliths of defiance 3. Indoctrination 4. The insight and the catharsis 5. Puritania 6. Tormentor of christian soul 7. Kings of the carnival creations 8. The maelstrom mephisto (each track is followed by backstage material, interviews and on-the-road snippets)
Experience Live Misanthropy: LKA Stuttgart, Germany, 04/04/2001 tracks 2, 4, 6, 8 from the previous list. Live at Wacken Open Air 03/08/2001 tracks 1, 3, 5, 7 from the previous list.
DVD 2 (45 minutes):
Live in Poland 1998: 1. Stormblast 2. Entrance 3. Hunnerkogengens sorgsvarte ferd over steppene
Festivals / Live 1999: Lowlands, USA, Mexico (full live tracks interspersed with on-the-road scenes)
Clips: 1. Alt lys er svunnet hen 1995 2. Spellbound (by the devil) 1997 3. Arcane lifeforce mysteria 1999 4. Puritania 2001
Photogalleries: 1. Official press picture 2. Live pictures 3. Backstage and friends 4. P.E.M orchestra studio recording 5. Dimmu Borgir available merchandise
Can someone tell Dimmu Borgir that in the contract with Nuclear Blast the ones who have lost the most are them? Unlimited budget, international promotion, and princely tours are inviting factors... but at what price? This double DVD is the other side of the coin.
The structure of the first disc is unsettling. The first part features eight P.E.M. tracks in their live form (see initial notes), energetic and divinely played (almost seem like playback), interspersed with frolicsome snippets (inflatable dolls, burps, trips to the sea... sigh...) and interviews (not subtitled). Despite a somewhat plastic feel, the pieces are engaging and lead to virtuosity (Vortex and Nicholas) that is truly exciting. However, the second part presents the same tracks, without the backstage material... a mouse click would have been enough to skip the unwanted parts. Pointless.
The second disc instead showcases the band live, but goes back a few years in time (from 1998 to 1999); the repertoire is that of the "central" period, and the band tackles a breathtaking version of "Stormblast". A series of video clips complete this interesting but brief second DVD.
However, "World Misanthropy" casts a sinister light on the relationship between Art (the band) and the Media World (the label): Nuclear Blast knows how to achieve its goal, it doesn't aim to make the Borgir million-dollar clones of Cradle of Filth, instead it maintains that black and dark aura, modernizing it with industrial and sci-fi touches making them a sort of Emperor (modern period) all the rage. The elaborate artwork, the photogallery, the cleaned-up image clash with the raw aura that characterized the band until not long ago.
The disparity of treatment between new material (worse and covering an entire disc) and glorious past (better and half as long), almost relegated in the shadows, is chilling.
The rating is a synthesis between the skill of Dimmu Borgir on stage (4) and the piratical operation of Nuclear Blast (2). Fans of the band's new course can add two points to the final score: this DVD was conceived for them... they should at least enjoy it!!
WASTED OPPORTUNITY rating 7 - -
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