Dark Tranquillity - 'Where Death Is Most Alive' DVD

Dark Tranquillity goes where most bands WISH they could with this extravagant DVD collection.

While Sweden’s Dark Tranquillity released their first live DVD, Live Damage, in 2003, the band’s latest audio/visual feast easily outdoes anything the band has offered thus far, and sets a new standard for others acts to follow in the wake. Where Death Is Most Alive possesses a level of quality, quantity and care which is so astonishing, bands should use this as THE benchmark.

As a two disc collection, Where Death Is Most Alive offers plenty of bang for the buck, for both old and new fans alike. Disc one features a massive live set filmed in Milan, Italy on Halloween night in 2008, which runs through the band’s entire catalog, from the primitive demo days (“Yesterworld”), to the band’s frenetic early years (“Edenspring”, “Lethe”, “Dreamlore Degenerate”) and fully-fleshed present incarnation (“Misery’s Crown,” “The Treason Wall,” “Focus Shift”).

The rapturous Italian audience responds in kind, singing along to each word and melody while the band gives every ounce of energy back within their mesmerizing performance. Current Theatre Of Tragedy vocalist Nell Sigland offers her lovely ‘n lilting voice to “The Mundane and The Magic”—taken from the DT’s most recent Fiction opus—and The Mind’s Eye classic “Insanity’s Crescendo” as well, engaging in a touching and powerful duet with Tranquillity frontman Mikael Staane.

The second disc is where all of the true goodies await, however, in the shape of the 47 minute “Out Of Nothing” band documentary, and archived live footage, some of which is really old and rare. While there are some recent live clips of the band included here in the archive, it’s the early ‘90s footage (featuring In Flames vocalist Anders Friden fronting the band) which should prove truly valuable for the diehards, as well as the clips from DT’s mid-period heyday, circa 1995’s The Gallery.

”Out Of Nothing” is enjoyable as well, utilizing a wealth of interview footage from current members, ex-members, colleagues and friends—including At The Gates’ Tomas ‘Tompa’ Lindberg—to tell the Dark Tranquillity story. The whole affair is clearly a labor of love, which combined with the final added bonus of every DT promo video ever released, makes it a no-brainer must-buy for any self-respecting fan.