Customer Reviews

Satan's Circus (w/ Bonus Live CD)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Death In Vegas has always been one of my favorite bands. They started out as this hiphop band with samples, then they were this cool electro group with angry vocals, and they would occasionally rock out. They were a live band too. They had recorded with Iggy Pop and Liam Gallagher and so many others. It was hard to keep up with the ever changing and morphing shape of the band. I spoke to them on the phone a while back and it seemed that a change was brewing. The members of Death In Vegas are Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes. After ten years they have created a mostly instrumental album that harkens back to German minimalist techno. Whereas many dance and techno pioneers like The Prodigy and Fatboy Slim have put out records that add nothing new and are now forgotten, Death In Vegas have really done a radical album. This is a shock to the system. They have created an underground masterpiece. Every song spits and sputters like a great DIV track. It's totally them. It's totally fearless and unsentimental. This collection also includes the Live at Brixton CD, which chronicles their live show in 2003. This shows how they sounded as a live act. It includes some cool songs like "Rekkit" and "Scorpio Rising" and "Hands Around My Throat." They were an actual band of musicians and not two dudes behind some gear. Death In Vegas are one of the most innovative artists of this time and they continue to be relevant.

It's not like Death in Vegas had any dismissable albums behind them. Not even close. All their previous efforts had attracted considerable attention from those that truly understand and recognise great music. Plus, their progress had been geometric from album to album.

Because of reasons such as these many had anticipated a seriously grand album coming from this band. And sure enough it came.
"Satans Circus" is an absolutely masterful album. It might be different than previous DIV lps but it's also so much more mature and multilayered. An element that's missing is the bombast which prevailent in the past, but that has been more than compensated for with some very intriguing melodies and a stunningly crafted atmosphere that keeps up on a high quality level throughout.

As many reviewers have correctly pointed out the influences of the album are to be found in 70s Krautrock for the most part. Exactly this fact might be responsible for the album having received some not so welcoming reviews. Krautrock was and is difficult music to appreciate. It's meant for the seasoned and intelligent listener. To have it as a main influence on your album only means you're aiming at such listeners. By definition then you're not aiming at the masses.

I'm greatful that DIV defied the commercial advantages they would have had having stayed on their so far laid path and instead went on ahead and boldly did what they're truly capable of: very intelligent timeless music.

This double limited edition CD comes with a live CD. Normally live cds dont exactly rock my world. But this is in another league again. It's one of those few and rare cases where it pays to rush and get the limited version because of something like a live CD. It's a great show that has been saved in this recording, a great selection of songs and an execution which will surprise even the knowledgeful Vegas fans.

One of the very best albums not only of the year but in recent time as well.

I purchased this two-disc set for 14 bucks at a used-music store, mainly because of the cover's eerie drawings, and I expected the music to match the look and feel of the cover-art. I was dead wrong, but that wasn't necessarily horrible. SATAN'S CIRCUS has a very happy feel to it, and one is hard-pressed to admit that he / her has never gotten the urge to jump up and perform the "robot" dance while listening to this album (it happens almost every time I listen to). I knock off a few points for having misleading cover-art, but it loses more points for being repetitive, unoriginal, and having annoying drums that don't come anywhere near complimenting the keyboards and exquisite sampling. Overall, SATAN'S CIRCUS' first disc is a huge disappointment from such a promising band like Death In Vegas.

All hope is not lost, however, because the second disc is a true gem. Not only do all the songs sound wonderful (which is becoming increasingly rare with most modern live-discs) and flow together effortlessly, but they sound subtly different then their album versions, and in some cases, they even surpass their album-counterparts. None of them are featured on the first SATAN'S CIRCUS disc, so you have no worries about overlapping tracks whatsoever (even if you own all of D.I.V.'s previous albums). I find myself listening to the live-disc more and more, and sadly, the first disc is acquiring quite a bit of dust as the days pass by.

The good (but not great) tracks on disc one that aren't too terrible are "Sons Of Rother," "Head," and "Heil Xanax" (the later being the only track on the first disc matching the gothic cover-art). As for the second disc, all the tracks are wonderful, except the overly-drawn-out intro "Leather." My personal faves are "Flying," "Help Yourself" (both bare a close resemblance to Bilinda Butcher's sensual voice), "Scorpio Rising" (which sounds startling different then the one off of its original album), and my favorite of either of the discs, "Hands Around My Throat". It's truly one of the best songs of all time. Emotional, tragic, sarcastic (at times), and brilliantly preformed, it is one of the best album-closers of all time (akin to Joy Division's "The Eternal" and NIN's "Ring-finger").

Bottom line is that, while this album is a treat to listen to, it's not very good. However, I do recommend it as a wonderful starting place for people interested in D.I.V. (mainly because of the live disc). It probably doesn't deserve it, but I'm going to grant it 4-stars simply because of the second-disc. Now I must leave, and please forgive my liberal use of parenthesis (I can't help it, I swear!).

. . . mechanical, repetitive, kinda trippy -- the songs on SATAN'S CIRCUS (disc 1) are all slowly evolving instrumentals. To me, this is great chill out/coming down music. Great background music for working on the computer or whatever. Truthfully, I'm not sure why else you'd listen to it. It's not exactly rockin'. I wouldn't say it qualifies as party music (not for your average party at least). It's cool though.

On the other hand, the bonus live CD sounds much more like a rockin' good time. The audience definitely sound like they enjoyed themselves. Consisting of two guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, plus whatever main members Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes do, the live band changes up the original recordings enough to keep things interesting. This stuff is loaded with cool beats and bubbling electronics. Sometimes the atmosphere gets pretty heavy and intense, other times, it's gorgeous and serene. Although most people wouldn't call these guys musical geniuses or anything, what they do here is very cool and pretty tripped out. You can really groove on this one.

Both of these disks are very good in their own way at doing what they're intended to do, so for that I recommend this release. Most people seem to prefer their dubby debut DEAD ELVIS over everything else, but my fav Death In Vegas by far is still CONTINO SESSIONS - I recommend getting that one first if yer new to DIV.

This is fun music. The bonus disc via a live concert is awesome. A must buy if yu enjoy Death In Vegas

With _Satan's Circus_, Death in Vegas moves away from their rock-electronic hybrid and embrace a more pure electronic front -- or maybe simply replace the rock element with droning krautrock. Either way, the results astound: the brittle delicacy of "Zugaga" sounds unlike most of the oeuvre so far, while "Sons of Rother" takes a simple loop and adds the layers until it has expanded in all directions. And while the dubby of "Heil Xanax" doesn't seem like a far step for them, the more abstract space-dub of "Candy Mackenzie" reaches further out into the vacuum. And although Death in Vegas has never really aimed for the dancefloor, tracks such as "Reigen" and "Head" seem to go for the rock/electronics/dance hybrid most recently embodied by the DFA label. And the final track, "Come On Over to the Other Side, Softly Softly" goes totally abstract with its looped tones. The _Live at Brixton_ cd, serves as a benchmark to show how much this album differs from their others (but that's not to say that it's not rocking fun in its own way).

There've been quite a number of bad reviews for this for some reason or another. There have been some praising this as a more interesting and intriguing entry from DIV so you'll either see this as genius or god-awful rubbish. I think it's rather good actually, perhaps this is due to liking/owning some Krautrock albums and on some of these they nail it perfectly without sounding like a bunch of imitators. Some of it does border on imitation, Zugaga being a rather almost perfect rendering of Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express and Heil Xanax and Sons of Rother being rather Neu/La Dusseldorf influenced. But that doesn't detract from the album in my opinion - it's only helpful to show that they're not stabbing around in the dark - they know what they're doing. The live album that comes with this though is rather pointless.....although if it were a DVD I would probably tell you otherwise but I can't. It is good but why need it is all I ask. Most electronica live albums are sheer lunacy and a prime example of bloodless music even if you do like them. Regardless of that, this album is well worth the effort although maybe you might want to question the price first....although I'd say you should get it right away

Great album not as good as their first two but really solid 2nd cd is a lil techno

As one previous reviewer pointed out: these two discs are vastly different in both texture and effect. I found this dual CD at Hastings for like 6 bucks, and by the end of the first disc I was totally ready to try and sell it to my buddy or another used shop for 3-5 bucks. But, when I put in the second disc to confirm the set was crap, I was suddenly suprisingly won over (perhaps to the point of eventually legitimizing the first disc). The texture changes drastically from long, minimal, uneventful, very mechanized feeling loops that just sit there (disc #1) to instrumental/atmospheric synth rock that really gets up and participates with the listener (disc #2). My interest in this group starts with my buddy trying to turn me on to them. This guy loves Kraftwerk, but loves dub style music even more. I fear he too will have mixed feelings about Satan's Circus (pun intended), because althought it is absolutly drenched with the influence of the droning loops of groups like Kraftwerk and even Front 242 or Nitzer Ebb, what it sorely lacks is the identity lent to those groups due to them having vocals, and my friend should be dissapointed to discover Death in Vegas being absent of Dub almost entirely (on both discs). Disc two is proof enough that vocals are not the only solution, but it's also proof that disc one's approach is consistently both sterile and almost painfully monotonous (I like industrial and I hate techno). I compose beats myself and I understand the ethics of droning loops, but I must say that I have completly failed to put this release into any context that can justify Death In Vegas resorting to such a dated sound--only breifly nostalgic or retro really, but mostly just dated and mundane. This is especially sad since the second disc goes so far as to prove what Crystal Method lack, which is an organic and beleivable flow to their hi-fi synth fuled rock anthems (CM depend on guests). I trully beleive that Death in Vegas had the chance to come out and crush all the post-techno dance duos trying to inch into live band territory (and out of the decaying American rave scene), but instead they emerged with a batting average just below the new Chemical Brothers CD and WAY below the new Prodigy CD. None the less, I am keeping it in hopes that it might grow on me.

I'm a diehard DIV fan so I was pretty stoke to see a new release.
The disc of the new material is pretty weak sauce, nowhere near the content of the previous three. Maybe I'll grow to like it's minimalist content after a few more spins but really I can't be bothered at the moment.

The second disc, a live recording of one of their shows totally kicks ass!!! It's amazing and I can only hope they decide to come to Canada @ some point becasue I'd love to see them.