Live in L.A. (Death & Raw)

I don’t know what it is about the Halloween theme playing in the background before the real music starts, but to me, it sets the energy and anticipation perfectly for the haughty musicians before the concert comes crashing in with the ever-classic song “The Philosopher”. Ahh, what a perfect start for a live show. Chuck is on the ball with his new aged raspy screams and screeches goes above and beyond with an obvious vocally stressful performance (after all, it was singing all those years that transformed his deeper growls into his new demoniac wraith induced screams). A little look at the material: three songs from The Sound of Perseverance, four from Symbolic, one from Scream Bloody Gore, two from Individual Thought Patterns, two from Human, and one from Leprosy. Not a bad choice of material since it can be applied to any fans that find a particular interest in any era of Death.

Once again Chuck shows that if the line up isn’t the best, it doesn’t fly. Scott Clendenin (although no Steve DiGiorgio) does an excellent job at filling in the bass slots. I’m not sure what kind of equipment Scott was using, but his sound fits perfectly in this live performance. You can hear the click of his bass in the back, filling in the gaps and meshing the guitars with the heavy hitting drums. I’m sure a good amount of people are aware that it can be arduous to hear the bass during a live performance; well, those who are always searching for clear bass, look no further.

For you have found a live performance with stand out bass that actually kicks and amplifies the brinks of the overall tone. Chuck’s wailing Stealth takes the stand to deliver the goods and does a fine job. The teeth gritting, screeching solos go overboard and make you feel as if your brain has just been pummeled by a wave of technical Hell. Shannon Hamm proves to be a good replacement for Andy LaRocque as he performs the hypnotic solo in Trapped In A Corner; immediately, all doubt is erased. Richard Christy also proves to be a meritorious selection to fill in for Gene Hoglan, as he performs Scavenger of Human Sorrow and everything else with ease.

Richard’s drums have a heavy and meaty sound to them, especially the snare. You could go as far as to call this a best of compilation album, because almost all of the best Death songs are on here. The only problem is that some of the palm muting parts in Zombie Ritual can be a little scanty in volume, but if you’re blasting this in your stereo you’ll hear it just fine. I am a little confused as to what exactly the band was playing before they got to the actual song “Pull The Plug”. The track starts, but what they are playing isn’t Pull The Plug.

I have no idea what it is, but it sounds awesome, swift, and mesmerizing. A few times during the album Chuck states that they are running low on time and have to cut out a couple of songs. It peaks my interest to wonder what songs would have been added, given if they’d had the time to perform them. Personally, I would have liked to see at least one song performed off of Spiritual Healing, but beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose. Either way, all the songs are performed perfectly - no mess-ups, no weird tempo changes...just pure raw Death.

Definitely not a live album to end all others, but it ranks fairly high. If you’re interested in the CD you should also try to pick up the VHS or DVD of this; it’s well worth the money.