Chainsaw: Live XV (DVD)

Chainsaw, one of Poland's finest heavy metal acts, have just released a live DVD to celebrate their 15th anniversary. Most probably, their major problem prior to playing and recording the show in Czluchow was choosing the right tracks from the cornucopia of great compositions they have under their belt. And although one could complain that several more killer songs should make it to Live XV (especially those from the band's last masterpiece, Evilution), this is definitely one hell of a show with no place for weak material.

After a short intro we are treated to an older and lesser known Chainsaw song "Kill Yourself" which didn't appear on any of the band's official studio albums. And, wouldn't you know it, it's yet another winner - a very energetic heavy metal piece that does great job electrifying the audience and kicking off the show. As the musicians then go through some of their classics, including "Masters of Shattered Dreams", "Deserted Land" and the ultra-catchy and irresistibly Maidenesque "Guardians of the Ice Void", it's easy to notice that despite some serious personal turbulence within the band in the recent years, they are all in perfect shape and truly enjoy being on stage again. The cover version of Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law" only makes this more obvious and the charismatic vocalist Maxx must be praised for doing one of the best Rob Halford impersonations I have ever heard.

My only problem with Live XV is breaking the show in half, soon after the performance of the aforementioned Priest cover, and playing a longish Intro II before the musicians come back on the stage. For me, this slightly disturbs the flow of the whole set, but it must be said that when the speakers are then blown away by the guitars announcing "Significance", it makes a truly huge impression! "Significance" and the song the follows it, "Strength of Purpose", are in fact two brand new tracks and they both work pretty well live, making me all the more curious about Chainsaw's upcoming studio album. For the finale, however, they once again serve some of the most loved compositions from their back catalogue: "The Carving", "Canton Eyes" (complete with a lovely homage to Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" near the end) , "Supernature's Queen", "Doringen" and "Obsession", all of them adrenaline-drenched pieces which prove that the heavy metal genre is still fresh and powerful after all these years.

The show is nicely shot, too, even though it's obvious it wasn't a big budget affair. It's the music, the energy and the stage presence that really count here. And hearing Maxx scream "We are the Chainsaw, my friend!" to the melody of the famous Queen hit, or seeing three members of the band jump in unison while the guitarist is playing a particularly fierce solo are worth the price of this DVD alone.

Tracklisting:
01. Intro
02. Kill Yourself
03. Welcome To Hell
04. Masters Of Shattered Dreams
05. Deserted Land
06. Guardian Of The Ice Void
07. Breaking The Law
08. Otchłań
09. Intro II
10. Signifiance
11. Strenght Of Purpose
12. The Carving
13. Canton Eyes
14. Supernature's Queen
15. Doringen
16. Obsession

Added: March 20th 2013
Reviewer: Bartek Paszylk
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1762
Language: english

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