Author: Rok Klemše
Performer: Machine Head
Label: Roadrunner Records
Release: 2005
After a few misfires, Machine Head made an incredible comeback with the excellent record Through the Ashes of Empires, and now they’ve topped that return off with the DVD Elegies.
VIDEO:
The video quality is very good. The picture and colors are extremely clean and vivid, and the clear image is occasionally swapped out for various effects, e.g. grain, blur, different cuts, which I think is great since it adds to the variety and dynamism of the show. The downside is the too-fast cuts (just like on Iron Maiden: Rock in Rio), since the camera never holds still for more than a few seconds, constantly jumping from one band member to another to the crowd. That sort of fits the dynamism, energy and aggression of the music itself, and at first it doesn’t bother you at all, but pretty soon it starts to wear a bit thin.
AUDIO:
Sadly, we only get Dolby Digital Stereo, which is also the disc’s weakest side. Personally, I’d have wanted at least Dolby Digital 5.1, which absolutely belongs on a release like this.
CONCERT, SCENE, CROWD:
After the release of the excellent album Through the Ashes of Empires, the band set off on a massive tour and in December 2004 played the sold-out Brixton Academy in London. That concert is the centerpiece of the DVD. The band is at its peak and on the rise after the troubled release of Through the Aahes of Empires. The show is energetic, spiced up with an excellent light show and pyrotechnics. The playing is perfect, and personally I’m most blown away by drummer McLain, one of the most underrated drummers in metal today (behind the kit he’s a real machine!!!). The 5,000-strong crowd goes absolutely nuts for the wrecking balls Imperium, Davidian, …
You can choose to watch just the concert, or the Concert Movie, where two short films, Life on the Road and Machine Head Fans, are added between the songs. A praiseworthy move if it bugs you when an interview interrupts the concert.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
A very strong side of the DVD.
There are three music videos to choose from: Imperium/The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears/Days Turn Blue to Grey, and all three come with a short Making of.
Imperium and Days Turn Blue to Grey are two of my favorite videos, and I really recommend checking them out.
The main extra is the excellent documentary Making of Through the Ashes of Empires. It shows the incredible difficulties the band had releasing this record, and it’s downright unbelievable to see that even a band with such a big name can have problems that almost buried them. I won’t give too much away, I’ll just say that while recording the album, they secretly signed a deal with the label at the studio so the studio wouldn’t find out they were actually broke.
A DVD that’s more than worth buying. In the words of the famous film critic Roger Ebert: Two thumbs up!
Lineup
Robb Flynn: vocals, guitar
Phil Demmel: guitar
Adam Duce: bass
Dave McClain: drums
Track list
1. Intro
2. Imperium
3. Seasons Wither
4. Bulldozer
5. Old
6. Days Turn Blue to Gray
7. The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears
8. Ten Ton Hammer
9. The Burning Red
10. In the Presence of My Enemies
11. Take My Scars
12. Descend the Shades of Night
13. Davidian
14. Covers Medley
15. Block
Duration: 90 minutes
