Detailed Reviews [Pendragon - 2012 - "Out of Order Comes Chaos"]

Prolusion. The UK act PENDRAGON is among the veteran bands in the UK progressive rock scene, celebrating their 35th anniversary this year and still going strong. Besides numerous studio and live albums the band has also embraced the video format. "Out of Order Comes Chaos" is their fifth live video production, and was released on DVD and Blu-Ray by the Polish label Metal Mind Productions in the fall of 2012.

Analysis. Those familiar with the long line of live DVDs released by Polish label Metal Mind will know what to expect from this one, and have likely purchased it already – if they have an interest in Pendragon. Those less familiar with this company and their series of live DVDs might be well advised straight away that this is a high quality production of its kind; one might even take the liberty of describing this label as a benchmark company when it comes to the creation and release of live concert video recordings. At least as far as smaller and independent artists are concerned. As usual the concert taped was held in Katowice, where the Slaski theater once again proves to be a most excellent venue: a nice, large stage, well thought-out seating arrangements and plenty of room for all the cameramen in action to do their job without disturbing crowd and band more than they have to. The stage lights are of excellent quality too, and there's plenty of space for the screens the band uses to show various movie clips while performing. It's easy to understand just why Metal Mind has chosen this place as their base of operations when recording live videos. Image quality and editing are two important details of any live video, and these are of high quality throughout. The colors are as crisp and sharp as the presence of stage lights will allow, and the image quality doesn't leave much to be desired either. Metal Mind's camera crew have been skillfully busy too, and in addition to the full stage shots, close-ups of the individual musicians and some focusing on the instrumental performance, the repertoire has been expanded with some nice innovate overhead shots, fluent moving image sequences of various kinds and quite a few scenes shot from unusual angles, all of this edited and assembled in an effective and well thought out manner. The sound quality is obviously an important detail for a live DVD too, and again this detail has been catered for quite nicely. Most if not all of Metal Mind's live recording sessions are used for the production of live CDs as well as live DVDs, and the audio part of the package is crisp, clean and as well balanced as it is captured. As for the band and its performance, Pendragon appears to be having a field day performing. Some jokes and interaction between the members appear to document that we're dealing with a band consisting of good friends, and even when seemingly relaxed and free of any visible nerves or tensions the performance is impeccable and the internal band chemistry appears to be rock solid and friendly, albeit with what I suspect is a shared taste for the odd mischievous antic. In the value for money department one might note that the greater majority of the songs performed have never been released on DVD before, and when the concert itself clocks in at a marathon length of two hours and thirty minutes that should be excellent value for money in itself. The additional footage isn't that much of a sales point though. The interview with band leader Nick Barrett is an interesting one, well worth taking a look at, while the brief ordered and the rather more elongated chaotic part of the backstage footage will most likely be features of interest to dedicated fans only. But a certain promoter in Italy might want to take a look at the latter of these in a certified case of payback is a bitch.

Conclusion. Pendragon is a class act, and the live DVD "Out of Order Comes Chaos" yet again documents this as a fact. Existing fans and newcomers to the band alike should find this DVD to be a worthwhile investment, and with a total running time of almost 4 hours the value for money aspect of this production in unquestionable. Highly recommended.

OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: March 6, 2012
The Rating Room