Tiamat: Church of Tiamat (DVD)

Using their first DVD as a sort of Greatest Hits package was an incredibly smart idea for the band Tiamat. It seems as though there are not as many people aware of them as there should be and now 16 years after starting out is the chance for a larger group of people to get with the program. Filmed at the Krzemionki TV Studio in Krakow Poland, the attending audience finds Tiamat to be both a tight musical force as well as a foreboding presence (especially with singer guitarist Johan Edlund) during the show. From start to finish I found myself enjoying their blend of The Gothic along with some Hard-edged Atmospheric feels and having never really been much of a study on the band I admit I appreciated the chance to get so many of the groups popular tracks in one sitting. Songs like "Vote For Love" and "Cain" fit right along with a vibe introduced by bands like Type-O-Negative and while Tiamat is not as Metal I am pretty certain that fans of the Brooklyn group would also enjoy them. Digging deeper to the songs made me wonder why Rock radio hadn't picked up songs like "I Am In Love With Myself" since that is a more contemporary rocker with a fist-pumping beat. Edlund has a very unique voice as he not only talks but sings in the lower register and this is what makes me come up with the ToN similarity but this ends, as musically the bands are polar opposites. It's a true Gothic Rock band and the audience seems mesmerized by their performance only applauding lightly between song breaks. Having seen DVD's filmed in this studio before I am beginning to wonder if the audience is instructed to not go overboard. Maybe they feel this is bad television, but I know seeing this band in my area might find crowd surfing and most pits right from the seats. If the Gothic sound is up your alley then I cannot stress strongly enough for you to give this a try, it is loaded with bonus tracks and will clearly give you an education in what the group is all about. There is limited stuff in the book, but you don't really need one based on the DVD contents. The level of performance is top-notch and should help to cement more of a fan base and bring these guys out of the Cult status and into larger levels of acclaim.

BONUS: The single DVD features thirteen bonus video clips that are either live or studio produced. Entitled "The History Of Tiamat" the viewer gets to enjoy the following videos: Where The Serpents Ever Dwell, Whatever That Hurts, Gaia, Undressed, The Ar, Alteration X10, Cold Seed, Brighter Than The Sun, Vote For Love, Phantasms De Luxe, Angel Holograms, Cain, Do You Dream Of Me.

Track Listing

1. Vote For Love
2. Children Of The Underground
3. Cain
4. Brighter Than The Sea
5. To Have And Have Not
6. Whatever That Hurts
7. I Am In Love With Myself
8. In A Dream
9. Wings Of Heaven
10. Cold Seed
11. Clovenhoof
12. As Long As You Are Mine
13. Love Is As Good As Soma
14. The Sleeping Beauty
15. Gaia

Added: August 28th 2007
Reviewer: Ken Pierce
Score:
Related Link: Tiamat Website
Hits: 2550
Language: english

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