Here it is, our second Live DVD has officially been released. When we were planing out the DVD, we didn't want to give you the average show, we organized a massive never before seen documentary with pre-show, sound check, the opening band performance, and The Wicker Man's ground breaking set of 18 of their greatest hits, along with a few covers and some very special guest.
Quote:Brian:We really wanted to capture the feeling of going to a show and being part of the crew behind the scenes, instead of just filming us doing a normal show. We've pulled out all the stops for this one.
The DVD was filmed Sept. 14th in Rio De Janiero, and comes with a second CD of 18 of the band's most infamous covers. Here it is, from the start:
(In the Dressing Room) Brian and Charlie of TWM along with Jackson (Nile's Fear) sit, chatting about the past night's after party, which was particularly wild, and how they could possibly top it tonight, when a venue staff member enters, bringing the pre-show rider, which was a energy drink for Brian, 3 shots of whiskey, a chaser of vodka and a small flask of Jaeger for Charlie, and some water for Jackson, who was afraid about throwing out his voice for when he had to do back-up vocals. The camera switches rooms multiple times, displaying Moose playing some intense warm-up licks on his guitar, Mike chatting with 2 girls in the hallway, and Vinny exiting the Transferium Project bus, finished explaining the way the show would go to Pauli and Vlad. One at a time, each member of Nile's Fear sound check and then jam as a band. The Wicker Man and Transferium Project complete the same process. Fast forward 2 hours, and dispersed camera men capture excited Brazilians flooding into the soccer field, which has been transformed into a massive dirt pit capable of holding 60,000 fans, plus the 40,000 in the stands. Needless to say, this sold out show would be massive. A curtain is over the stage, blocking any view of what was is happening behind it from the audience. A wide mix of music, from Cynic to Led Zepplin to The Black Dahlia Murder is being played through the speakers. The crowd, bursts into a clamber of excited voices as a riff is played from behind the curtain, signaling the arrival of Nile's Fear, a band alien to 95% percent of the crowd, but radically popular among the other 5%.
The curtain drops, revealing four musicians, a medium sized drum kit and some amps, altogether taking up a quarter of the massive stage.Matt: How the fuck are we doin', Brazil?!?
Mumble from a couple of the audience.Matt: So that's how we're gonna have ta do things, huh? Well in that case, this is a take no prisoners hostile takeover, so you better be ready mother fuckers!
The band blasts straight into 'The Siege of Berlin', a real headbanger, seeping over with epic melodies and smashing blast beats, calling images of a crusade to the mind. At first, only a few timid moshers join in on a weak pit, but by halfway through the 9 minute master piece, a sizable pit is raging stirring up enough dust to obscure part of the stage. Jackson takes an extended solo, adding another 2 minutes to the lengthy song, which blows everyone with any idea of what good music is away.Matt: You like that?!?
Mediocre cheers
Jackson: Fuck yea, and to any haters out there, this next ones gonna come right up your ass. Off our new album, 'This Blackness'!
The crowd is taken off guard by a sheer wall of melodic death metal savagery, intermixed with sudden pauses, where only a faint clean arpeggio by Matt can be heard. The song really kicks in around 2 minutes, following a carpal tunnel resistant shred-tastic solo, where Matt begins shouting out violent and faintly melodic lyrics of torture, suffering and disease, in true thrash form.Matt: Wall of death Brazil! NOW!
The band enters the metronome breaking bridge riff, and an impressive wall of death forms, smashing into each other like two armies of vicious Spartan warriors with no hope for survival, leaving the wounded to crawl back to the outskirts of the crowd. By the end of the song, the crowd is ecstatic, yelling with joy.Jackson: Very nice, very nice, think we've got some new fans, am I right?
Loud shouts of agreementMatt: Well, for this next one we're gonna open up the dividers, and let all of you guys stage dive, just please try not to hurt anyone, ok?
Massive cheersDavid: Ok, this is our most recent single, 'Powdered Death', mother fucker!
A psychedelic riff kicks in, and slowly develops into a uber technical and thought out piece, over which Matt and Jackson trade chromatic solos. The band cuts out, minus Jackson, who is now playing a heavily diminished riff employing the anti-melodic tritone interval. They blast through several chugging riffs and a massive drum solo that will go down in history as one of the greatest of its time. During the entire song crazed fans leap off the perilously high stage into the swirling mass of human flesh.
Matt: Now we've only got time for one more, so we're gonna give you guys a little bit of a change of pace. The last 3 songs have been off our new album 'Human Death Fields', which is much more experimental, so we're gonna play you guys some old shit to finish up our set. This is 'Warlock'!
The band begins to play through what will become one of their best renditions of this massive thrash/death fusion, pierced with Latin beats, bass arpeggios, frantic solos and gritty growls mixed with raspy clean singing. During the last 4 minutes, fake blood jets up from hidden projectors all over the stage, dousing Nile's Fear and all those daring enough to go onstage in liquid.
Jackson: Thank you guys, make sure to by our albums and give those bastards in The Wicker Man the best fucking crowd response of their life!
The entire stadium of new fans cheers for 5 minutes straight, a clear sign that the bands goal of spreading their influence has most definitely paid off.Fans mill about the stands selling food and merch, while roadies frantically remove equipment around, and clearing 5 boxes, large enough for 1 person plus some elbow room, which are barricaded and dispersed among the crowd. The audience hurriedly return to the center of the arena once guitar and drum tech come out, testing the various amps and instruments. About 5 minutes later, Vinny's voice can be heard, although he's nowhere in sight.
Vinny: Are you out there?!?
Ground shattering cheers. A massive chant of the band's name begins. Suddenly, a huge blast of pyrotechnics engulfs the front of the stage for 2 seconds, and behind it The Wicker Man appears. The crowd goes wild.
Brian: Let the moshing begin! Here's 'Days on the Edge'!
The band begins in perfect unison, playing one of the heaviest songs in their repertoire, with every 7-string, distortion pedal, and excessive amounts of drop tuning used to their fullest, to make the song ridiculously heavy without sounding like bees in a jar. Brian and Moose impress the insane fans with neo-classically influenced sweep picking harmonies and intense solos that would make even the most experienced guitar player's fingers gush blood. Vinny's gritty voice and vocal chord ripping sharp growls pair perfectly with the guitar virtuosos abilities, while Charlie and Mike prove the point that they are one of the tightest rhythm sections on earth by staying in unison when Charlie blasts out odd time metered drum patterns and fills over 4 fingered bass melodies and triplets that can easily compare to any of Steve Harris' best moments. The band conjoins on one final note, spearheading straight into 'The Abyss Looms Overhead', a poly rhythm infected headbanger with interesting diminished dual soloing and Middle Eastern reminiscent melodic passages. Mike is featured in this track with a mind blowing bass solo, backed by palm muted chugging riffs, churning drum beats and hazy vocals. Ending in a white noise, the band races around the stage, handing instruments to random fans and taking fast pictures, over-all making the crowd realize the only difference between them and the band was they weren't playing the songs, while the audience erupts into ear shattering screams of pure wildness and excitement.
Vinny: My god look at all you beautiful people! I can't tell you guys just how amazing you are!
Brian: Without you, we're nothing. But I'm curious, how many of you liked Nile's Fear?
Enormous shoutsMoose: Very good! We love em' to, and I can tell you right now that wasn't the last of them you're gonna see tonight.
Brian: Lucky bastards in there, getting lap dances and getting to watch us play. But I would never in a million years give up performing for you guys for that. This is the thing all five of us love the most, is playing for you guys.
Charlie: Well, that and girls of course!
Mike: Don't forget heroin, and I don't know bout' you guys, but I could really go for some Jaeger right know!
Vinny: Well that's ok, cause' you're not playing on this next one.
Charlie leaves his drum set and walks across the stage to a jumble of bongos, church bells and gongs. Moose changes to a flamenco guitar, pulling up a seat next to Vinny. Brian and Mike leave the stage.Vinny: This one is for every person who was born in to a situation, and was never given a choice about how they wanted to live their life.
The crowd explodes in cheers, pulling out lighters in anticipation.Charlie: You know it, 'Born on Hate'.
Moose begins to play a jazzy guitar part, with many arpeggios and lots of chordal experimentation, similar to what Jimmy Page does live during 'Stairway to Heaven'. Charlie joins in, playing tribal and very technically demanding drum beats. The duo weaves through Spanish influenced passages, switching between evil feelings and those of depression. Vinny begins to whisper words, containing just a faint wisp of the beautiful melody that was to follow. The three of them effortlessly craft a pure masterpiece of experimental acoustic insanity, which explodes with so much emotion it brings the crowd full of veteran metal heads to tears. Should this have been a painting, it would rival anything Da Vinci, Warhol or Michelangelo ever created. From the back of the stage, Brian reemerges with a stunningly carved electric guitar, playing a solo that unbeknownst to him would go down as one of the most beautiful and legendary solos of all time, lasting a full 6 minutes. When they end, the fans sit in silent awe of the un-earthly music perfection that just graced their ears. Mike rejoins the band onstage.Moose: 'Advice of the Wicked'.
Almost all of the somberness of the moments before evaporates into a rumble of excitement, as The Wicker Man begins to play the intricate counter melodies that announced the beginning of one of Thrash/Metalcore/Melo-Death's greatest magnum opuses. The track violently surges into a neck snapping 9 minute blast of energy, which is amazingly controlled, so that the crowd received the band at its most brutal while still getting the incredible musicianship and unison. Moose plays a 3 minute face melting solo that blends the borders of heart toughing melody and chromatic carpal tunnel shreddage. The crowd moshes intensely and food and alcohol alike go flying, dousing the crowd in filth, which combined with the stirred up dust, the occasional bleeding and intense riffage create an atmosphere unlike any other, and can be compared to the rush of battle.Brian: Fuck yeah, that's how we do it you crazy Brazilian bastards!
Moose: Try not to get too tired, cause you're about to see a shit load of this fucker! *points to Brian*
Brian: I don't need your attitude!
Moose: What ya' gonna do bout' it?
Brian: I'm gonna kick your ass of my stage!
Brian playfully hurries the rest of The Wicker Man off stage.Brian: This is where the fun begins. Are you ready mother fuckers?!?
Loud cries Brian begins to play a clean solo, consisting almost entirely of arpeggios and sweep picking, which he uses brilliantly to captivate the audience for a full 6 minutes.Brian: Now that I'm warmed up, we're gonna do something. Mexico City tried this, and they were ok. Sydney made an attempt and they were a little better, so lets see if you guys can top them! I'm gonna play a lick, and you guys repeat it.
He starts off with a simple lick, and the crowd easily imitates it. He progressively brings up the scale of difficulty, employing common techniques such as trills, pinch harmonics and dive bombs.
Brian: Very good!
In a final attempt to beat the crowd into submission, Brian takes off into a sweep picking filled shredding mini-solo, using economy picking among other techniques, exploiting his virtuoso skills. The crowd sits, obviously overpowered. From there Brian takes off into a 4 minute shred-tastic solo of epic proportions. Suddenly he begins to play the opening chords to Avenged Sevenfold's 'Bat Country', and the crowd goes nuts. The rest of the band blazes back onstage.Vinny: You all know this one! 'He Who Makes a Beast Out of Himself Gets Rid of the Pain of Being a Man!'
The entire audience explodes into an intense sea of pulsing human bodies, singing along to every word, equaling the band's volume in the song's anthemic chorus.
Crowd:Can't you help me as I'm startin' to burn (all alone).Too many doses and I'm starting to get an attraction.My confidence is leaving me on my own (all alone).
No one can save me and you know I don't want the attention.
Charlie: Holy shit! you guys are fucking intense! You're even moshing while we're talking to ya. This is possibly one of the best crowds we've had guys.
Brian: Definitely brings back memories of the LA club scene!
Vinny: Ok guys, so you've probably noticed we've put out some barricaded areas around the crowd. If we can get a mosh pit that is stretches around those 5 barricades than something very special will happen. So lets do this.
Moose: 'Prometheus'!!!
'Prometheus's heavy and fast main riff can be heard above the chants of the audience. The band bursts into their most technically demanding songs ever, and Charlie adds to the challenge by playing double time. As The Wicker Man rips into a burst of poly rhythms the Brazilian fans somehow manage to fit 60,000 people into the very edges of the soccer stadium, and they begin to mosh, upon which the arena explodes into a tornado of human bodies. Nobody escapes the pit's massive reach.Brian: Hey, if someone falls, pick them up! Love your brothers!
Vinny: Ok, now everyone into the center!
The band reaches a bone-crushing break down, and Brian lurches into a dark solo, while the crowd now smashes the entire group into the circle formed by the 5 barricades.Moose: Jaeger for all of you!
The fans explode into a deafening roar of joy, as the ground opens inside the barricades and out comes massive machines, which launch gallons of Jaegermeister into the crowd, dousing the ecstatic fans in a sea of black liquid. The pit quickly becomes a wet, slippery and muddy trench of bodies, and its a miracle no one is hurt beyond a couple of bruises.Vinny: How did you like that Brazil!?!
Arena shaking roar.Charlie: Damn, if only I was down there!
Brian: This is our new single, 'Somewhere to Hide'!
The crowd goes insane as the delicate intro riff begins, and Vinny's voice is joined by the stadium. They pause extra long during the break between the soft part and the heavy face smashing riff, and the fans go wild. The Wicker Man rips straight through 'Somewhere to Hide', Brian extending his solo by 2 minutes, while the crowd swirls around in the Jaeger pit. They follow that right up with 'When Hearts Bleed Ink', extending the jazz breakdown, having an interesting improv session.
Mike: So, do you guys know The Black Dahlia Murder?
Fair number of shoutsMike: Good, cause I want to see a monster wall of death.
The band blasts through an intense cover of 'Miasma' by The Black Dahlia Murder, and the crowd backs up, forming possibly the largest wall of death in history.Vinny: 3, 2, 1, GO BRAZIL!
The eager crowd charges at each other as Moose takes a solo, slipping and smashing into each other through the mud, rushing each other without fear for the consequences. Moose continues to solo, as the rest of the band walks off stage. He begins to play a mind blowing shredding solo interpretation of multiple classic Beethoven pieces. Brian and Charlie come rushing out of nowhere and leap into the sea of bodies, crowd surfing for 5 minutes before returning to the stage with the help of security. They return to their instruments, and Mike joins them. The begin to play a complex and heavy song that the crowd doesn't recognize, but quickly falls in love with. The song winds on for a full 17 minutes, after which Vinny walks back onstage.Vinny: That's gonna be on our next album.
Explosion of excitement. Brian: You all know 'Jeremy's Wall From Society', right? Good, cause I want you all to sing along.
The band begins the epic 20 minute piece, which is a crossover between Tool-ish psychedelic tribalism and Mastodonian sludge metal. The band ends in a white noise, except for Charlie who is taping out the time signature on his hi-hat. A group of figures and a second drum kit emerge onto the stage.Vinny: Transferium Project, Mother Fucker!
For a full 30 seconds the roar of the crowd can be heard 3 miles away. The two bands skip right over the delicate intro to 'Scylla's Cliffs' and instead lurch right into the legendary thrash riffs that make up the majority of the song. The massive combination of two voices, multiple guitars, which trade off doing harmonies and solos for the entire song, two basses and two drummers, constantly doing fills, make it clear to the audience that this would be one of the most legendary collabs ever. They leap from 'Scylla's' right into 'Battery' by Metallica. The crowd forms a massive wall of death, with fans in the stands leaping 5 feet to the ground to join in on the madness. The two groups finish their set with 'Rain of Tears' by the Transferium Project, which ignites a high in the morale of the crowd. The guys in the Transferium Project exit the stage.Brian: Fuck, thats how we do it Brazil!
Vinny: Not the last you've seen of those guys tonight either.
Charlie: Until then, this is 'Burn it Down'.
The band tears right through an extended version of the shortest song in their arsenal. After this, Vinny appears to be having a chat with a fan, who he drags onstage along with what appears to be the fan's girlfriend. The man proposes right there to his girl, saying how he promised her he'd have The Wicker Man, his favorite band, be there when he proposed. Brian plays the marriage song you often hear at weddings.Vinny: That's not all thats special about tonight guys. Tonight is that bastard's birthday *points to Charlie*, so he's gonna give ya a little solo. But first we gotta sing, just to embarrass him.
The audience start a stadium wide rendition of 'Happy Birthday'.Charlie starts pounding out a Latin beat, over which he begins to play a solo that combines the variation of John Bonham and the chops/speed of Jason Costa. The crowd stands in awe as he plays one of the best solos of his life, solidifying his position as one of metal's best. The band rejoins Charlie and smashes the audience with three of their most technical heavy hitters, 'Death Camp', 'Chiron's Legion' and 'Kronos'.
Moose: We got one more for you guys, ok?
Massive shouts of angerVinny: Don't worry, we'll come back soon!
The band finishes up the set with 'Unearth', and the crowd moshes to their fullest, savoring every last moment of the live show of one of metal's soon to be greats in their prime. When the band finishes and exits the stage, an unstoppable chant for them to return commences. After 5 minutes the call is answered.Vinny: I wanna see you guys fuckin' move!
The crowd once again explodes, as the band returns, playing the mosh classic 'The Pit'. All 40,000 in the stands enter the center, forming a 100,000 person strong pit in what remained of the Jaeger trench. The Wicker Man continued the moshing with their chugging death metal opus 'Black Gold'. Brian: So here's how tonight's gonna end guys, we're gonna have the Transferium Project, Revolucao Armada and Nile's Fear rejoin us, and I know you guys all know this song, so sing like your life depends on it!
As the 3 other bands reform onstage, the back of the arena opens, revealing a massive wicker man, which is set ablaze, and who's light can be seen all over Rio de Janiero. The 14 musicians blast into Iron Maiden's arena classic, 'Run to the Hills', and all 18 of them sing backup vox on the chorus to give it the epic feel, which when combined with the voices of 100,000 Brazilians created one of the most legendary moments in The Wicker Man's career. Vinny: Thank you, and goodnight!
The band leaves to take pictures with eager fans and party.Setlist:
Nile's Fear Mini Set:
The Siege of Berlin
This Blackness
Powdered Death
Warlock
Revolucao Armada Set:
The Pursuit of Justice
Deformities of the New World
Our Bodies are not Battlefields
Modernos Campos de Concentração [Modern Death Camps]
Mundo Sujo [Dirty World]
Evolve With Guns!
The United America/A América Unida/La América Unida/Naar de Verenigd Amerika
The Wicker Man Set:
Days on The Edge
The Abyss Looms Overhead
Born On Hate
Advice of the Wicked
Brian Guitar Solo
Bat Country (Avenged Sevenfold Cover)
Prometheus
Somewhere to Hide
When Hearts Bleed Ink
Miasma (Black Dahlia Murder Cover)
Moose Solo
Jam on New Untitled Song (No Vox)
Jeremy's Wall From Society
Scylla's Cliffs (With Transferium Project)
Battery (Metalica Cover, W/ Transferium Project)
Rain of Tears (Transferium P. Cover, w/ Trans. P.)
Burn It Down (Extended 6 min. Breakdown)
Charlie Solo
Death Camp
Chiron's Legion
Kronos
Unearth
Encore:
The Pit
Black Gold
Run to the Hills (Iron Maiden Cover, Extended, w/ Trans. P., Revolucao Armada and Nile's Fear)
Edited by user 23 September 2009 09:39:27(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified