music that makes you happy This is fun music. The bonus disc via a live concert is awesome. A must buy if yu enjoy Death In Vegas
their best great electronic, great music from the beginning to end, sadly not much promote or DIV tours with this album, 2nd CD is live album also good.
Good electronic-music; second disc rules; a great D.I.V. starting place. I purchased this two-disc set for 14 bucks at a used-music store, mainly because of the cover's eerie drawings, and I expected the music to match the look and feel of the cover-art. I was dead wrong, but that wasn't necessarily horrible. SATAN'S CIRCUS has a very happy feel to it, and one is hard-pressed to admit that he / her has never gotten the urge to jump up and perform the "robot" dance while listening to this album (it happens almost every time I listen to). I knock off a few points for having misleading cover-art, but it loses more points for being repetitive, unoriginal, and having annoying drums that don't come anywhere near complimenting the keyboards and exquisite sampling. Overall, SATAN'S CIRCUS' first disc is a huge disappointment from such a promising band like Death In Vegas.
All hope is not lost, however, because the second disc is a true gem. Not only do all the songs sound wonderful (which is becoming increasingly rare with most modern live-discs) and flow together effortlessly, but they sound subtly different then their album versions, and in some cases, they even surpass their album-counterparts. None of them are featured on the first SATAN'S CIRCUS disc, so you have no worries about overlapping tracks whatsoever (even if you own all of D.I.V.'s previous albums). I find myself listening to the live-disc more and more, and sadly, the first disc is acquiring quite a bit of dust as the days pass by.
The good (but not great) tracks on disc one that aren't too terrible are "Sons Of Rother," "Head," and "Heil Xanax" (the later being the only track on the first disc matching the gothic cover-art). As for the second disc, all the tracks are wonderful, except the overly-drawn-out intro "Leather." My personal faves are "Flying," "Help Yourself" (both bare a close resemblance to Bilinda Butcher's sensual voice), "Scorpio Rising" (which sounds startling different then the one off of its original album), and my favorite of either of the discs, "Hands Around My Throat". It's truly one of the best songs of all time. Emotional, tragic, sarcastic (at times), and brilliantly preformed, it is one of the best album-closers of all time (akin to Joy Division's "The Eternal" and NIN's "Ring-finger").
Bottom line is that, while this album is a treat to listen to, it's not very good. However, I do recommend it as a wonderful starting place for people interested in D.I.V. (mainly because of the live disc). It probably doesn't deserve it, but I'm going to grant it 4-stars simply because of the second-disc. Now I must leave, and please forgive my liberal use of parenthesis (I can't help it, I swear!).
CAUTION As one previous reviewer pointed out: these two discs are vastly different in both texture and effect. I found this dual CD at Hastings for like 6 bucks, and by the end of the first disc I was totally ready to try and sell it to my buddy or another used shop for 3-5 bucks. But, when I put in the second disc to confirm the set was crap, I was suddenly suprisingly won over (perhaps to the point of eventually legitimizing the first disc). The texture changes drastically from long, minimal, uneventful, very mechanized feeling loops that just sit there (disc #1) to instrumental/atmospheric synth rock that really gets up and participates with the listener (disc #2). My interest in this group starts with my buddy trying to turn me on to them. This guy loves Kraftwerk, but loves dub style music even more. I fear he too will have mixed feelings about Satan's Circus (pun intended), because althought it is absolutly drenched with the influence of the droning loops of groups like Kraftwerk and even Front 242 or Nitzer Ebb, what it sorely lacks is the identity lent to those groups due to them having vocals, and my friend should be dissapointed to discover Death in Vegas being absent of Dub almost entirely (on both discs). Disc two is proof enough that vocals are not the only solution, but it's also proof that disc one's approach is consistently both sterile and almost painfully monotonous (I like industrial and I hate techno). I compose beats myself and I understand the ethics of droning loops, but I must say that I have completly failed to put this release into any context that can justify Death In Vegas resorting to such a dated sound--only breifly nostalgic or retro really, but mostly just dated and mundane. This is especially sad since the second disc goes so far as to prove what Crystal Method lack, which is an organic and beleivable flow to their hi-fi synth fuled rock anthems (CM depend on guests). I trully beleive that Death in Vegas had the chance to come out and crush all the post-techno dance duos trying to inch into live band territory (and out of the decaying American rave scene), but instead they emerged with a batting average just below the new Chemical Brothers CD and WAY below the new Prodigy CD. None the less, I am keeping it in hopes that it might grow on me.
Hypnotic . . . . . . mechanical, repetitive, kinda trippy -- the songs on SATAN'S CIRCUS (disc 1) are all slowly evolving instrumentals. To me, this is great chill out/coming down music. Great background music for working on the computer or whatever. Truthfully, I'm not sure why else you'd listen to it. It's not exactly rockin'. I wouldn't say it qualifies as party music (not for your average party at least). It's cool though.
On the other hand, the bonus live CD sounds much more like a rockin' good time. The audience definitely sound like they enjoyed themselves. Consisting of two guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, plus whatever main members Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes do, the live band changes up the original recordings enough to keep things interesting. This stuff is loaded with cool beats and bubbling electronics. Sometimes the atmosphere gets pretty heavy and intense, other times, it's gorgeous and serene. Although most people wouldn't call these guys musical geniuses or anything, what they do here is very cool and pretty tripped out. You can really groove on this one.
Both of these disks are very good in their own way at doing what they're intended to do, so for that I recommend this release. Most people seem to prefer their dubby debut DEAD ELVIS over everything else, but my fav Death In Vegas by far is still CONTINO SESSIONS - I recommend getting that one first if yer new to DIV.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
