Reviewed: March, 2023
Released: 1997, Metal Blade
Rating: 3/5
Reviewer: JP
Back in March of 2020 I was laid-off because of the pandemic and I spent my free time writing a series of 50 DVD reviews called the Covideo Chronicles. It was fun and productive! What comes around goes around and in February 2023 I have been laid off again! Over the past three years I have accumulated another stack of about 25 DVDs to review. Additionally, it has long been a personal goal of mine, and Metal-Rules.com, to review every Hard Rock and Heavy Metal DVD on the planet. Over the years we have reviewed hundreds of stand-alone DVD’s, more than almost every other Metal webzine. So instead of sulking and/or wasting my time I’m going to review as many as I can in the month of February. It’s cold outside here in Canada so it beats going outside and/or looking for work! Feel free to enjoy all the reviews in this feature.
This is Cannibal Corpses’ very first home video. Originally released in 1997 on VHS, it was reissued on DVD in 2002 with not much bonus material and not even a booklet.
This DVD looks pretty cheap. The blurry front cover art is dull. The red-on-red colour scheme makes it hard to read the back cover. I understand it is supposed to be underground Death Metal but it is still a bit weak in the presentation department.
MONOLITH OF DEATH documents the bands live activity since George Fischer joined and the title refers to the last track on the band most recent album (at the time) VILE. The short 42-minute video has a dozen live clips from various places (Poland, Canada and America). Most of the footage is pretty weak, handheld fan stuff, maybe one or two camera angles. Still, seeing the synchronized windmill head-banging brought a tear to my eye! The stuff shot for the Polish TV show was by far the best in terms of production quality. They included the video/single for ‘Vermin’. It is apparently uncensored but I can’t really tell and it seems pretty tame by modern standards.
The DVD does have a standard discography and photo gallery. There is an ‘interview’ that runs about 24 minutes. However, it is not an interview. It is blurry footage of a soundcheck, and crowd footage and a bit of backstage stuff. This might be a DVD only bonus feature. Looking back at this footage from 25 years ago they look so young and you can still see Fisher’s neck!
It is pretty cool to go back and see them performing live all those years ago, still young and revitalized with a new vocalist. I suppose this is a neat memento, being one of the first Death Metal home videos to be released. If you don’t own MONOLITH OF DEATH you should probably get the CENTURIES OF TORMENT home video instead which is far superior.
Line Up:
George Fisher Vocals
Jack Owen Guitar
Rob Barrett Guitar
Alex Webster Bass
Paul Mazurkiewicz Drums
Track Listing:
1. Perverse Suffering
2. Monolith
3. Pulverised
4. Fucked with a Knife
5. Bloodlands
6. Gutted
7. A Skull Full of Maggots
8. Mummified in Barbed Wire
9. Orgasm Through Torture
10. Devoured by Vermin
11. Stripped, Raped and Strangled
12. Hammer Smashed Face
13. Devoured by Vermin (videoclip)
www.cannibalcorpse.net/
