Customer Reviews

Gothic Industrial Madness

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OK - I got my replacement DVD (the first one was defective) so here goes. This DVD compilation of 40 industrial band music-videos from CLEOPATRA is a cool compilation featuring such groups as Die Krupps, Einsturzende Neubauten, Spahn Ranch, Chemlab, Throbbing Gristle, Test Dept., Leaether Strip, Razed in Black, Clock DVA, Pigface and more. This DVD basically compiles ALL the videos that were on Cleopatra's earlier three VHS releases: Industrial Revolution Vol. 1, Industrial Revolution Vol. 2 and Gothic Industrial Alternative Visuals. The digital mastering of the DVD is average and I compared it side by side with the old VHS releases. In some cases the DVD looks sharper (although with some slight artifacts), but in other cases the VHS has much better contrast. Just compare the shot of the demon in Chemlab's "Codeine Glue & You" video....on the VHS it's crystal clear, but on the DVD you can barely make out it's face no matter how much you fiddle with the controls. Other videos suffer in the same way, but all in all, the DVD is definitely satisfactory. There is a simple menu where you can access each song (and if you do it manually by skipping you will find that the 40 videos are broken down into 3 separate sections --- from the old VHS releases --- and you will have to fast forward to get to the next set! --- very strange). There is also extra information on some of the bands listing other video releases that feature them. There is also no booklet. A bare-bones DVD, but if you like the old Cleopatra stuff, it's a good purchase and way cheaper than buying the 3 separate videos.

This is a collection of 40 music videos from a great selection of industrial groups -- Clock DVA, Chrome, Frontline Assembly, Einsterzende Neubauten, Psychic TV, Pigface, Die Krupps, Test Department, Christian Death, Rosetta Stone, Executive Slacks, etc. Not every video is brilliant but the music is consistently good.

My problem with this dvd is the very lame formatting problems. There are some songs that don't allow you to advance so you have to fast-foward through them (and they seem to be the longest songs on the disk!) or go back to the main menu. It seems like they had to work at making this so lame! It would also be nice if you could check off the videos you want to hear and then have the disk play just those songs, but that is not a possibility.

This is a great selection of industrial music -- you even see three examples of that rarity, blonde goths -- but you WILL be frustrated by the disk!

If you're interested in the classic Cleopatra music, then you'll enjoy the videos. The DVD seems to have been mastered by someone experimenting with DVDs for the very first time. Menus and chapter headers are poorly done, some songs can't be reached by segment skipping and must be fast forwarded to, etc. Probably you'll just extract the videos to your computer.

Just about every style of industrial you could hope for is covered by this DVD, and even if we've all heard of Throbbing Gristle and Chemlab before, there are plenty of obscurities to keep the viewer's interest. The opening strains of Spahn Ranch's obscenely heavy "Locusts" resulted in me rushing to buy The Coiled One immediately afterwards, and since hearing the even less tasteful (but equally brilliant) serial killer-themed stomp Mr.44 I've become a rabid Electric Hellfire Club fan.

The old masters don't disappoint, either: check out Neubauten's live footage to see how a literal interpretation of the term "heavy metal" can have just as devastating an effect as bands who are fond of low-end riffs. Elsewhere on the disc, it's amusing to note GPO's transition from Throbbing Gristle's dangerously unhinged frontman (on a terrifingly intense live performance of "Discipline") to the gentle father figure who, a few years down the line, would be crooning gently to a little girl and her pet goat on Psychic TV's psychedelic pop song "Godstar".



Oh, and apparently there are some goth videos on the dvd too. They weren't that alluring--I chose not to watch more than a minute or so of the sub-amateur vampire-themed garbage so I can't really comment on them.

I bought this disk off the shelf and had problems getting it to play. After 6 or so trys it played. It's a good disc although the sound could be better. I've exchanged my disc in hope of getting one that will play straight away. A booklet would have been very nice...

I bought this DVD online. Owning many Cleopatra releases on CD, I knew most of the songs all ready. The music is often great, but this does not imply that the video will be good as well. In fact, most of the videos are quite awful. Many seem home made, like with a handheld camera. This, coupled with little or no direction, adds an amateurish quality to the videos. Most seem chaotic, distracting from the harmony of the music. A good video supports the music. For instance, most editing cuts are done very quickly, sometimes to a split second, often creating a strobe effect that causes a headache just watching. This was most true on Clock DVA's 'Hacker' video. I had to skip it because my poor eyes couldn't handle it. Furthermore, the music of these bands is powerful enough in itself not to need powerful images. There were many shots of violent or frightening images that, with the music, reminded me of the kind of propoganda films used to brainwash third world torturers. Furthermore, a video by Spahn Ranch (A great band otherwise) was a homemade version of a scene from A Clockwork Orange. It featured forced sex, something I still cannot fathom. All in all, I found very little in this DVD to be of value, save a few rarities such as videos by Die Krupps (the only semi-professional videos I have seen of yet, as I cannot stomach to watch more than a few videos at a time). There was also an interview with a text artist that I found quite interesting, although how or why it belonged on the compilation was beside me. Additionally, even live performances were off the mark in my opinion. The song from Throbbing Gristle was overly long and repetitive. The cut from Foetus was underlit, etc. If you love industrial/goth music as I do, you may find this DVD to profane that love. Recommended only for the most serious collector of industrial/goth. Overall, it was sadly unprofessional, almost as if thrown together at the last minute. I expected greater things from Cleopatra. Just listen to Virgin Voices or the Goth Box CD compilation and you'll know what I mean.