MY DYING BRIDE - "FOR DARKEST EYES" (PEACEVILLE)
MY DYING BRIDE - "FOR DARKEST EYES" (PEACEVILLE)
In 1996 I got the original "For Darkest Eyes" VHS. It contained the six promo video clips My Dying Bride had by then made (from the cool and rather weird "Symphonaire..." until the more slick and professional "For You") as well as a (complete?) performance taped on March 1st 1996 in Krakow, Poland. That's classic My Dying Bride playing classic tracks from their albums until "The Angel and the Dark River".
The DVD takes it further. I for one very much encourage DVDs to feature more than the original videos. Considering that the production process of a DVD is no doubt cheaper than that of a VHS video, it's stupid that DVDs are quite a bit more expensive. So the bonus bits make up for that (at least partly).
The bonus bits, in this case, include the band's full Willem II performance (November 7 1993), a live clip of them playing "Sear Me" in 1992, and a professionally shot performance at Dynamo Open Air (June 3 1995). The Willem II gig has a bit of a bootleg quality, with the drums rather loud, dark visuals, and almost the entire first track suffering while the technicians get the sound right. It's pretty cool, especially for me because I was there (though you can't see me anywhere, which is probably for the best). "Sear Me '93" is boring, but they do play part of "Symphonaire" which is cool. The whole video part lasts 62 minutes.
My Dying Bride's performance at Dynamo Open Air in 1995 was previously used for the double-CD version of "The Angel and the Dark River". That second CD featured "Your River", "A Sea to Suffer In", "Your Shameful Heaven" and "The Forever People". This DVD features "Your River", "A Sea to Suffer In", "The Songless Bird" and "The Cry of Mankind", so those are two different tracks. And the quality is awesome - both of the performance and the recording.
A very cool DVD.
RK
Written May 2002