Customer Reviews

The Cult - Live Cult (Music Without Fear) [VHS]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Throw in ex-Guns 'N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum and you have the best "hard-metal" dvd available (outdoing my former favorite, Judas Priest's "Live In London". While not the most animated band, no other rock band comes close to the pure "Marshall Stack" power presented here. The sound quality is great and the camera work is steady and "spartan", without alot of quick all over the stage camera shots that plague alot of other live videos. We get great camera work during the guitar solos which put me in "Nirvana". Great track selection mixing songs from the recent "Beyond Good & Evil" album with classics such as "Rain" and "Lil' Devil". Billy Duffy flat out jams; and, although Ian misses a few high notes here and there, his vocals are flat out killer. If you are a Cult fan, you already own this dvd and most likely are not even reading this review. For anyone with even a remote interest in the Cult's music.... pick this one up and treat yourself to a "headbanging", "air-guitar" good time. Do not buy this if you can't play it loud!

Having seen the Cult 10 times over the last 16 years, I can tell you that their brand of music is difficult to replicate night after night in a live concert. Ian's voice does not hold up well if the band plays 3 or 4 nights in a row. This show sounds as if they were on vacation for about a week before it was recorded and they're literally at the top of their game.

I've seen Ian "mail it in" in live concerts before, and either wuss out and not sing a difficult part, or do it haphazardly, dissapointing the loyal fan base who comes to hear his leather lunged howl. Maybe he knew he was being recorded for the DVD, but the effort to do a good job was there.

I am pleased to report, he doesn't mail it in too often in this particualr show! "Rain" is excellent, he even does the "Yeah, Yeaayyyyah yeah" at the end of "She Sells Sanctuary." The crowd is a bit subdued, but let's face it, the Cult's fan base are 30 and 40 somethings now, not exactly the kind of crowd that 'moshes.'

The mix of old and new is quite good and the majority of their classics are present. It is a little disappointing that "Nirvana" was not on the DVD, but then again, I am never satisfied.

I've been a huge fan of the cult ever since I picked up Electric and had it as one of my few tapes on some boring family vacation back on march break in the mid eighties.

While I'll agree that Ian mails in some songs throught the concert, and wimps out on some tough notes, he certainly delivers some power vocals for his newer stuff. Rain was quite stellar too, but how could he wimp out on Love removal machine like that?? grrrr:)

Although I'd rather he put a better effort singing some of my classic favs, I can understand why he'd want to change them up after playing them so many damn times. I really liked Peace Dog, despite its differences. He is a bit older but can still put together a great albumn in the studio and belt out the notes when he wants to.

His voice isn't shot!

The intro to this concert is just incredible (Rise), it gives me chills every time I play it. The sound quality is outstanding, and Billy Duffy has never sounded better. Too bad Matt is in Velvet Revolver, I'd like to hear Ian and Billy record another albumn with him.

This concert is a must own for anyone claiming to be rock fans, and anyone even remotely a fan of the greatest rock band of all time, The Cult!:)

I am enjoying this DVD! The song selection, sound quality, and video quality are all superb. Prior to purchasing this DVD, I had purchased The Cults most recent album in Japan. I had never really fuly listened to it. When I received the DVD, the most notable songs were not the ones we all grew to love (no pun intended), but the new songs performed live. They sound very powerful and the musicianship is extremely tight.

The video quality is excellent. The only downside is the special imaging effects the producer included on a few songs. Some songs appear to have an old time "showreel" look with a dull bronze coloring to it. Some of the detail and "live" effect is lost. However, this is not a major distraction.

The audio quality is excellent on 2.0 Dolby Digital and 5.1 Dolby Digital. The separation of instruments is very clear and really makes you feel like you were there. The most notable are the bass and guitars. The imaging and sound is phenomenal. The drums could have been a little more polished in the mix, but still sound great! The downside to the audio is two-fold; (1) Ian's voice is mixed too high on the center channel requiring the end user to turn the center channel down anywhere between 7-10 db and (2) the DTS mix is very clear. In fact, its clarity is moreso than 5.1 Dolby Digital. However, ".1" or the bass is mixed extremely low to where on my system (I utilize a Revel B15 1000W subwoofer) I have to increase the level by 12db to get good output.

Lastly, the "behind-the-scenes" footage is average. I would have rather seen on-the-road footage rather than a CD signing event and watching fans coming into the stadium making outrageous faces and stupid generic remarks. This portion could have been produced better in the fashion that AC/DC's newest release was or even the Eagles - Hell Freezes Over.

I highly recommend this disc as essential to any Cult afficionado and non-afficianado given its detail to sound and video quality. 5 stars from

I'm a longtime Cult fan, from the Electric era and I've got to admit Ian really brings this DVD down. I've never had the oppportunity to see The Cult live before so I am not sure how this performance compares to others but Ian just seems to yell or speak the lyrics more than sing them and he in my opinion needs to talk way less between songs. The song selection is awesome, the sound quality is awesome, and Billy Duffy's guitar absolutely rocks on both new and old tracks. Ian needs to watch something like The Cure's Trilogy DVD for a clue on how to preserve their art for all time's sake in DVD form. Worth watching for Cult fans but not as good as it could have been.

This show is one of the best concerts I have ever witnessed and The Cult's performance on this DVD is THE definition of hard rock.

Pure, powerful, high-octane, adrenaline fueled rock 'n roll with no frills... Wham baby! The Cult delivers.

The concert is well filmed with great sound quality.

Highly recommended, even for casual Cult fans.

I'm confused at the reviews dogging Ian but still giving it 4 stars. Well, did you like it or not!? I think he does a great job and he's working his ass off to keep that crowd going. In 20 years I've never heard a live recording of Ian where he isn't at times indistinct, out of breath or skipping lines. I cut a singer a lot of slack if their working the stage and Ian does it in spades. I was more disappointed in Billy Duffy seeming to be a wax statue. His playing is great but I don't think he moves from his spot once!
You definitely get the impression that Ian is truly greatful to the fans and you can feel a real sincerity in his performance.
As others have said the footage and sound is stellar. The extras are minimal with backstage footage that, apart from showing how bald Nic Cage really is, is forgettable....but hey it's a concert DVD, what extras do you need!
If you like the Cult through all their incarnations I can't imagine you wont like this DVD. It's a very solid.

Truely a very good dvd, especially for someone like me who doesn't especially likes to watch concerts at home...no the great thing is that you can watch it once or twice-and see Ian astbury's new rap-metal attitude-and then just listen to it(tv off) as the only true live recording of the cult since the lyceum or the hard-to-get Live at the Marquee.
The sound is excellent, the playlist mostly based on new material and songs from ELECTRIC is very heavy and consistant- amazing versions of BREATHE and LOVE REMOVAL MACHINE.
THE CULT is a real rock'n'roll machine on stage, and like I said the tracklisting , the sound but also the performance is one of their best-I own all official live recordings and some bootlegs, and trust me it hasn't always been that great!
If you don't like their last album you still might wanna reconsider your opinion, LIVE, those songs reach a higher level of energy!
Also features some classics like she sells sanctuary, The Witch, Fire Woman, Sweet soul sister, Rain...
Best CULT LIVE ever released and maybe also the last so you(we)better enjoy this one!

This DVD is truly a Cult lovers delight. To be honest, I really never listened to the new album (I bought it the first day it came out in Japan) until I got this DVD. The live performance of their new material is VERY good; very polished and great hard rocking tunes. Witch and Rise are two tunes that come to mind as excellent examples. I tend to watch the new material as much as the old, which is not why I bought the DVD.

The video quality of the DVD is excellent. The only downside is the video filter used on it during certain songs on the DVD to give it a more old-style/artsy feel. Nothing too distracting.

The audio is SUPERB! Audio comes in Dolby digital 2.0, 5.1 Dolby Digital, or DTS. 5.1 Dolby Digital mix sounds fantastic. The center channel is devoted to the vocals and seems to be recorded much higher than any other channel, so you will have to turn it down quite significantly to get a good mix between the front 3 channels. DTS is a dissapointment. When played, everything sounds a good deal more crisp, but the bass is mixed extremely low in the mix. My subwoofer output is 1000 watts RMS and I have to overcompensate by 12db to feel the impact. If they had mixed the bass to be more prominent, this would be hands down the best DTS disc out.

The "Behind-the-scenes" footage is average and marginally entertaining. I expected to see more interaction from the band rather than the fans and maybe some sound check as well as on-the-road footage like Ozzy did for his Live at the Budokan.

Overall, I rate this disc a 5 even with some peculiar video and DTS issues. Out of the 55 concert DVDs I have, this disc (in sound quality) ranks up there with the Eagles Hell Freezes Over. I am hoping that when Rush comes out with the DVD from their Vapor Trails tour in Brazil that it is as good as this disc.

This band deserves Kudos for a smoking high energy live performance but I'm a little suprised that there seems to be nothing but 5 star reviews. I'm as much of a fan as anyone, but lets face it, Ian's voice is shot. Gone are the soaring vocals which were a cult trademark. Astbury can't hold a note that last more than 2 seconds anymore. I found myself gasping for breath for him the whole time I was watching it. Give Ian credit, he still puts a lot of energy into his performance, but the pipes just arent there any more. Thier last release showed no indication that his voice was failing. So now I'm wondering if this was just a bad night or if heavy production was used to enhance the vocals on the last CD. I would still recommend the DVD to true fans because the band still sounds awsome. I just would warn them to temper their expectations when it comes to Ian's vocals.