As my pile of review DVDs persist, I thought it might be apt to do another collection for your giving needs. I am sure there is something in this lot to satisfy any hard rocker in your life.
Alter Bridge: Live from Amsterdam
I took some shtick for being rather harsh on the over-rated Creed last week. In the review I said I was looking forward to seeing this live DVD from Alter Bridge as I thought they would better deliver the goods. After viewing it, I feel vindicated. Now how is that possible considering Alter Bridge is made up of one half of the current Creed and 2/3rds of the original version?
It's down to front-men, ladies and gentlemen, Myles Kennedy is by far better than the Creed singer. He has a better voice, stage presence and can play as well as he can sing. It's no wonder the guy was rumored to be part of the Robert Plant-free Led Zeppelin and has appeared to be considered to replace Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver, maybe even Tyler in Aerosmith. The guy has a four-octave range and just oozes personality like a proper front-man.
Rather than having a couple of decent tracks, everything on here just bleeds class and talent. This is not post-grunge, it's just proper hard rock done very well by a great band. The DVD has no extras, but the gig is long and good enough to satisfy your Alter Bridge fix.
This is a great release and well worth the investment whether you are a die-hard Alter Bridge fan or just a hard rock fan looking to see what all the fuss is about.
Voivod: Tatsumaki
This is a celebration of the early albums from the band in tribute to Piggy. Piggy died having his wish to play Japan unfulfilled; this gig is to make up for that. Interestingly, sometime Voivod bassist Jason Newsted, is not on hand, instead their original bassist Away has resumed his role. The gig was filmed in Japan in 2009 to a packed club of enthusiastic Voivod fans.
For a change there is some useful extras including an interesting interview with Dave Grohl about his love for the band. Dave worked with Away on his Probot project and has been a long time fan of the band. There are three tracks recorded live in Quebec this year to round out the bonus bits. Not that you really need anything else besides the original gig. Voivod can still deliver some uber-clever, heavy music that is as much King Crimson as it is Venom.
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