Gorgoroth - Black Mass Krakow 2004 DVD Review

Gorgoroth has always been a controversial band. From their lyrical content to legal difficulties to band infighting, there has always been drama with this band. It continues today as the band has split into two factions, each claiming the Gorgoroth name. Vocalist Gaahl and bassist King Ov Hell are in one version of the band, and founding guitarist Infernus in the other. The courts will have to decide who has the rights to the name.

Nothing has been more controversial than Gorgoroth's concert in Krakow, Poland on February 1st, 2004. To augment their stage setup for the DVD shoot, sheep heads, blood and nude models were on stage as the band played. Polish authorities investigated allegations of animal cruelty and "offending religious feelings." The band was not charged, and the incident caused their notoriety to grow even more. Finally that infamous concert is available on DVD.

Black Mass Krakow 2004 is Gorgoroth at their most evil, sporting corpse paint with all of the aforementioned props on stage. Those props are a bit unsettling, especially the sheep heads, but that's exactly what Gorgoroth wanted. Gaahl is a scary looking dude to begin with, and when he's on that stage surrounded by all that stuff, he's even scarier. With all of the theatrics, Gorgoroth's music may get lost in the shuffle, but they play their brand of classic Norwegian black metal with a lot of skill.

There aren't many extras on this DVD. In addition to the concert there's video of their performance at the 2000 With Full Force Festival in Leipzig along with things such as a biography, discography and photo gallery. Does Black Mass Krakow 2004 live up to the hype? Not completely, but it's still something Gorgoroth fans will want in their collection.

(released June 10, 2008 on Metal Mind Records)