Larva – Death On stage / A Compendium Of Live Recordings (DVD – Advoxya Records)
Genre/Influences: Dark-electro.
Background/Info: Spanish formation Larva is already active since 1998. Set up and driven by the charismatic frontman ‘InqUesT’ the band has released an impressive number of productions and became a pretty popular formation on social network. This is probably the reason the band together with Advoxya Records released this DVD featuring extracts from live performances in Kiev (Ukraine), Dallas (USA) and Paris (France) plus two clips.
Content: This DVD is an opportunity to (re)discover 22 songs from Larva, but the main element is to see how the Spanish formation behaves on stage. Both cuts recorded in Paris are the oldest ones (2015) revealing a singer with a real ‘image’ plus a girl in the background behind a synth.
The gig in Ukraine has been filmed from the stage and brings 11 songs from the Larva repertory. The 9 cuts in the USA have been filmed from behind the hall and here again you can rediscover some of Larva’s dark-electro pieces.
Last, but not least you’ll get familiar clips from “Save Me From Myself” and “If I Only Could”.
+ + + : This DVD is clearly a fan item, but first of all a consecration for the Spanish project. Larva is a project I’ve seen progressively grow to reach a high level of dark-electronics. The band has composed some great pieces of music and can be considered a true reference in the ‘endzeit’ scene. I especially like both clips and more especially “Save Me From Myself”, which remains a true masterpiece!
– – – : I honestly expected a bit more from Larva on stage. The band already has an important live experience, but except for a singer with a great image, there’s not a lot happening on stage. Especially the performance in Paris is disappointing. The girl behind the synth clearly doesn’t play live and doesn’t look really motivated to be on stage. The performance in Kiev is much better, but I regret it’s filmed from the stage, which doesn’t really give us a good idea from the impact on the audience.
Conclusion: I’m still considering Larva as a real interesting and referential band in its genre, but this DVD hasn’t really convinced me!
Best songs: “Save Me From Myself”, “Frio Y Oscuro Amanecer”, “You Are Alone”, “If I Only Could”.
Rate: (6½).
Artist: www.larva.band/index.php/en /
www.facebook.com/larva.officia
Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059
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