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Dark Funeral: Attera Orbis Terrarum-Part 1 (DVD)

The first ever DVD release from Swedish black metal legends Dark Funeral is about as pummeling as you are going to get. Two discs covering over 3 hours of material, Attera Orbis Terrarum-Part 1 offers up one show from Poland's Metalmania Festival in 2005, and two concerts from 2006, one filmed in The Netherlands, the other in France. While all the footage is visually quite good, and the sound quality superb, seeing as all three shows were recorded fairly close together, there's not much variety as far as the set lists go here, and both of the 2006 shows are identical in that aspect. Despite that, this is prime Dark Funeral here, in all their raging glory, Emperor Magus Caligula's vocals angry and spewing plenty of Satanic blesphemy, while Lord Ahriman & Chag Mal litter the landscape with speedy, almost symphonic torrents of tremelo picked guitar riffs.

As I mentioned previously, the overall quality here is very good, with the Poland set from 2005 being the most impressive visually, shot with a multi-camera crew that almost makes things look a little too slick (if it's possible that a brutal black metal show can look 'slick') but offers up the best presentation here for those who command top notch audio & visual quality. You also get classic tracks in this set like "Armageddon Finally Comes", "Secrets of the Black Arts", "Goddess of Sodomy", and "Thus I Have Spoken", which are not included in the 2006 footage. The Netherlands set has a more intimate feel, as the band was performing in a smaller venue, which results in many more close-up shots and quick cuts, which do get sort of annoying after a while. Performance wise, the band was in fine form on this night as well, serving up plenty of classics as well as material from their most recent release at the time, Attera Totus Sanctus. The France show differs little from this one, except that the overall presentation is much more raw, which will probably appeal more to black metal purists who feel that the genre needs to be presented from a more underground perspective.

Rounding out the DVD is a video clip of "Atrum Regina" and nearly 40 minutes of amateur footage shot throughout the years, much of which is a real blast despite the rather shoddy quality. If you are in the mood to spend a few hours with the Lords of corpsepaint, leather, spikes, and studs, you've come to the right place. Dark Funeral are ready to take you on a DVD journey into the darkest depths of hell.


Track Listing
DVD1
3/12/2005-Katowice-Metalmania (Poland)
1) Blood For Satan (Intro)
2) The Arrival of Satan's Empire
3) Ravenna Strogoi Mortii
4) The Secrets of the Black Arts
5) Hail Murder
6) Open the Gates
7) Thus I Have Spoken
8) An Apprentice of Satan
9) Goddess of Sodomy
10) When Angels Forever Die
11) Armageddon Finally Comes
3/5/2006-Tilburg-013 (The Netherlands)
1) Into
2) King Antichrist
3) Diabolis Interium
4) Ravenna Strigoi Mortii
5) The Arrival of Satan's Empire
6) Open the Gates
7) Vobiscum Satanas
8) 666 Voices Inside
9) Attera Totus Sanctus
10) Bloodfrosen
11) Hail Murder
12) Atrum Regina
13) My Dark Desires
14) An Apprentice of Satan


DVD 2
3/17/2006-Paris-La Locomotive (France)
same set list as Tilburg show
Bonus Material
Video Clip-Atrum Regina
Amateur Footage from Throughout Dark Funeral's career

Added: February 27th 2008
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Dark Funeral Website
Hits: 2924
Language: english

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Dark Funeral: Attera Orbis Terrarum-Part 1 (DVD)
Posted by Ken Pierce, SoT Staff Writer on 2008-02-27 06:39:16
My Score:

So you find that Black Metal is your thing and the more extreme and blasphemous that it is as far as overall content goes then all the better for serving your dark needs. You feel that Dimmu Borgir is too Symphonic for your tastes and that Cradle Of Filth is absurd and if any of this is right on target in describing you then there is no better place for you to direct your hatred for the pious and sanctified than at the feet of those masters from Hell - Sweden's mighty Dark Funeral. "Attera Orbis Terrarum" captures the band on their first ever live DVD and it is loaded with content that is sure to satisfy the hungriest of Black Metal appetites. It's also different from other DVD releases of this kind because with this one you don't only get one show but instead are treated to three professionally filmed appearances of the band in front of the most maniacal of followers. Each show differs in sonic quality and visual and some are better than the others but the bottom line is that this really delivers the goods should this be the band that is high on your list of favorites. The first DVD features the performance from Metal Mania 2005 in Poland and while a little older in terms of its content finds the most professionally filmed show of the three. The Metal Mania folks always manage to use several cameras to the best effect and while a bit streamlined for some of the purists tastes, it is literally best footage that has ever been presented of the band. The song selection is loaded up to the hilt with eleven trips into the profane and blasphemous. The second show comes almost a year to the date later from the Netherlands and is slightly different in terms of the song content. Highlights from both shows include "King Antichrist", "Goddess Sodomy" and "An Apprentice Of Satan" as each delivers the bands unholy images very vividly. The second DVD presents a concert from France that comes recorded one week after the Netherlands show and as result the set list is exactly the same. That might not appeal to the fans but at least the camera work is different along with the angles and production which make it a little easier to sit through without finding it an Extreme Metal version of déjà-vu. The second DVD also offers up about an hour's worth of fan footage and this is really something for the absolute diehard when it comes down to it. The footage is shot from the sidelines, photo pits and crowds it would seem from shows that occurred all over the world. While it's not my cup of tea, as I seldom enjoy "fan footage", I felt that it did give viewers a safe view inside the Black Metal hurricane that is a Dark Funeral concert. Having seen the band I can tell that the middle of the crowd is not the best place to be if you are the casual listener. Some of this footage is better than other and the sound seems to have been cleaned up a little so it does not sound as distorted as one often finds in such features. This footage covers the years 1994 until 2007 so perhaps some of you attended one of the shows on it. One special note is that the fan footage also features a little of the bands first appearance ever from May 4th, 1994.

A booklet comes with this release that gives you a lot of photos as well as some liner notes from the band. While you don't have to be an extreme Black Metal fan to enjoy this, but of course it helps, there is over 200 minutes of relentless bombardment here that shows why Dark Funeral is one of the leaders in this aspect of the genre and will probably hold that title for some time going forward.




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