IN CONCERT

Like many, I was relatively pleased to hear about DCD's reformation for an extensive world tour, though I was wondering what kind of sets they'd be playing before thinking about getting tickets to catch them live (since I'd missed them during their heydays). When the first echoes reached my ears, I decided to abstain, and this live album only confirms to me that I made the right decision. While not being a great fan of the band's "gothic" era, I really enjoyed their mid period around the Aion album; but to be honest, I never cared all that much for their brand of cheap Occidentalized "world music" they indulged in after that era

And indeed over the course of these two discs, you'll find mostly the latter period stuff, and not that much (read: none) of their early energetic gothic stuff. And indeed, the huge majority of the first disc is all too much of that "cheap Occidentalized world music" that I mentioned above. Why cheap, I hear you ask?? Well let's just say that a lot of it sounds like your average mid-eastern/Turkish band with cheap synths vaguely imitating a bunch of traditional instruments that specialize in weddings or Friday and Saturday night gigs in local Turkish restaurants in Western Europe. I know, that's one of the two reasons (the other being bad belly-dancers) why I avoid mid-eastern restaurants on those two evenings. ;o))) Anyway, if the first disc is relatively uninteresting, the second is relatively more pleasant (a few older tracks and a cover of Tim Buckley's Song To The Siren), despite still featuring that almost-infuriating ever-so-slow beat. Basically, what you've got on this album is the almost complete recent album of theirs Anastasia (released the previous year), and the odd tracks from their later albums Spirit Chaser and Labyrinth (96 & 93 respectively)? and a lone one from Serpent's Egg Host of Seraphim, but that's about it.

Actually the succession of the two discs can be a very arduous swallow in one take, because the huge chunk of their slow and relatively depressing atmospheres are tiresome and, let's face it, boring in the long run, much like their recent album, anyway. The good news is that if you indulged in this live album, you won't need their latest studio album?. But even then, I'm not sure you'd be winning.