The Flesh Alive [DVD] [2012]

This DVD/CD set was released in Europe in early June, and now finally sees its North American release today. I'm not sure if the hold-up was to give their new album, L'Enfant Sauvage, some breathing room, but it's worth the wait. This is really an amazing product and deal. It comes with two DVD's, a CD, a poster, and a booklet, and all together about 4 ½ hours of music, a documentary, and over an hour of behind-the-scenes footage. Incredible.

The music focuses mainly on The Way of All Flesh. The first DVD has a 93-minute concert from Gararock and 15 minutes of footage from Les Vieilles Charrues. The second DVD has an 80-minute show from Bordeaux and the documentary and bonus footage. The CD is 65 minutes long and features the Gararock show without the drum solo and between-song breaks.

The sound and picture quality are fantastic. There are quite a bit of visual effects placed over the footage, sort of music video-style, but not so much that it detracts from the live experience. They're used unobtrusively enough that they add some variety, and there's plenty of raw footage and long sections without any extra effects.

The shows capture the intensity of Gojira's concerts, led by the commanding stage presence of frontman Joe Duplantier. They have great stage production, especially enhanced by the visuals on the large screen behind drummer Mario Duplantier on the first DVD. The ecstatic crowds complete the package on this wonderfully packed live collection that any Gojira fan is going to want to have.

Here's a look at the track listing since Amazon doesn't have it on their product page:

DVD 1

Gararock (93 minutes)
1. Oroborus
2. The Heaviest Matter of the Universe
3. Backbone
4. Love
5. From the Sky
6. A Sight to Behold
7. The Art of Dying
8. Drum Solo
9. Clone
10. Flying Whales
11. The Way of All Flesh
12. Terra Incognita
13. Vacuity

Les Vieilles Charrues (15 min.)
1. Indians
2. Toxic Garbage Island
3. World to Come

DVD 2

Bordeaux (80 min.)
1. Oroborus
2. The Heaviest Matter of the Universe
3. Backbone
4. Love
5. From the Sky
6. A Sight to Behold
7. The Art of Dying
8. Drum Solo
9. Clone
10. Flying Whales
11. Toxic Garbage Island
12. The Way of All Flesh
13. Terra Incognita
14. Vacuity

Documentary--The Way of All Flesh From the Inside

62 Minutes of Exclusive Behind the Scenes Footage

CD (65 min.)
1. Oroborus
2. The Heaviest Matter of the Universe
3. Backbone
4. Love
5. From the Sky
6. A Sight to Behold
7. The Art of Dying
8. Clone
9. Flying Whales
10. The Way of All Flesh
11. Terra Incognita
12. Vacuity

I have to agree with the other two reviewers. Gojira plays awesome as usual, Joe Duplantier's vocals are solid, Mario's drumming is impressive and the guitars and bass are flawless, the only problem I have with this set is the Garorock concert which is supposed to be the main feature of the set.
The audio mix is acceptable, perhaps the vocals are a little louder, the quality of the video is nice and takes advantage of the Blu Ray capabilities, although it is obvious that this was shot with digital video, not film. My main complain is this: If you are a musician or pretend to play an instrument like me or simply you have seen too many concerts, it will be obvious to you that the director of this video, has no clue about how instruments are played or how to direct a concert. The video has simply way too many special effects and cuts to the audience that are very distracting and ruin the flow of the songs. (Remember Rage Against the Machine - Battle of Mexico City?) For instance, Mario Duplantier is about to do one of his incredible drum rolls which you anxiously anticipate, but the director will add a special effect in the middle which will prevent you from watching in awe or he will simply just cut the shot in the middle of the roll to give you a extreme close up of an ugly guy in the audience. Same goes for the guitar solos, if he has a close up on a guitar, he will ruin it by cutting the sequence to some unimportant detail or abuse one more time of the effects.

The Bordeaux show appears to be 16mm film and it was obviously shot by a guy that knows music and has experience directing concerts. The audio is nice and clean, however the problem with this video is that the lighting is not the best due to the film quality and although it is way more gratifying than that Garorock video and nicely shot, it doesn't take full advantage of the Blu Ray format.

The set if definitely worth buying and the concert CD is a nice bonus, however this could have been so much more had the label chosen a qualified director for the Garorock video, aka the guy that shot the Bordeaux concert.

This DVD/CD set was released in Europe in early June, and now finally sees its North American release today. I'm not sure if the hold-up was to give their new album, L'Enfant Sauvage, some breathing room, but it's worth the wait. This is really an amazing product and deal. It comes with two DVD's, a CD, a poster, and a booklet, and all together about 4 ½ hours of music, a documentary, and over an hour of behind-the-scenes footage. Incredible.

The music focuses mainly on The Way of All Flesh. The first DVD has a 93-minute concert from Gararock and 15 minutes of footage from Les Vieilles Charrues. The second DVD has an 80-minute show from Bordeaux and the documentary and bonus footage. The CD is 65 minutes long and features the Gararock show without the drum solo and between-song breaks.

The sound and picture quality are fantastic. There are quite a bit of visual effects placed over the footage, sort of music video-style, but not so much that it detracts from the live experience. They're used unobtrusively enough that they add some variety, and there's plenty of raw footage and long sections without any extra effects.

The shows capture the intensity of Gojira's concerts, led by the commanding stage presence of frontman Joe Duplantier. They have great stage production, especially enhanced by the visuals on the large screen behind drummer Mario Duplantier on the first DVD. The ecstatic crowds complete the package on this wonderfully packed live collection that any Gojira fan is going to want to have.

Here's a look at the track listing since Amazon doesn't have it on their product page:

DVD 1

Gararock (93 minutes)
1. Oroborus
2. The Heaviest Matter of the Universe
3. Backbone
4. Love
5. From the Sky
6. A Sight to Behold
7. The Art of Dying
8. Drum Solo
9. Clone
10. Flying Whales
11. The Way of All Flesh
12. Terra Incognita
13. Vacuity

Les Vieilles Charrues (15 min.)
1. Indians
2. Toxic Garbage Island
3. World to Come

DVD 2

Bordeaux (80 min.)
1. Oroborus
2. The Heaviest Matter of the Universe
3. Backbone
4. Love
5. From the Sky
6. A Sight to Behold
7. The Art of Dying
8. Drum Solo
9. Clone
10. Flying Whales
11. Toxic Garbage Island
12. The Way of All Flesh
13. Terra Incognita
14. Vacuity

Documentary--The Way of All Flesh From the Inside

62 Minutes of Exclusive Behind the Scenes Footage

CD (65 min.)
1. Oroborus
2. The Heaviest Matter of the Universe
3. Backbone
4. Love
5. From the Sky
6. A Sight to Behold
7. The Art of Dying
8. Clone
9. Flying Whales
10. The Way of All Flesh
11. Terra Incognita
12. Vacuity