Laaz Rockit

Taste Of Rebellion & Live Untold (re-release)

Written by: PP on 10/12/2009 20:40:44

Time to strike my nails on the fourth Laaz Rockit re-release, which is simultaneously the most interesting and most pointless out of the four Massacre Records financed re-releases this year. We'll get to why it's interesting in a bit, but before it should be mentioned that "Taste Of Rebellion & Live Untold" is a dual-disc combination package, consisting of the band's 1992 live album "Taste Of Rebellion: Live in Citta" and a three hour DVD featuring the full "Live Untold" DVD from 2006 plus a documentary on the band. So I guess there's some value for money, although re-releasing a live album is probably the worst cash-grab trick in the repertoire of a record label exec.

"Taste Of Rebellion" was recorded live in Tokyo, Japan 17 years ago, and it would turn out to be their final release until the DVD 14 years later. At this point in their career, Laaz Rockit were in a decline not unlike jumping off a plane without a parachute, and here's where it gets paradoxically interesting: the band sound better than they ever did before. "Nothing's Sacred" saw Laaz Rockit at their best studio album-wise, but those songs sound even better in a live environment which allows for echoing drums and an audible bass in the mix. And what's more, the band's old arena rock tracks like "City's Gonna Burn" have been thrash metalized and now sound more modern, angry, and pissed off, and in every way better than the weak originals. A huge reason for that is the boosted level of confidence compared to the earlier live recordings attached to the end of other re-releases earlier this year. A second reason is the brilliant way in which the crowd's response has been recorded to the disc: you can hear them cheering loud and clear after each song or in between banter. This adds a fitting atmosphere element to the echoing soundscape, because it sounds like they're really into it.

A heavy metal version of Dead Kennedys' classic "Holiday In Cambodia" has also made its way to the setlist, but that song's about the only reason you should consider purchasing this disc unless you're a real die hard fan or a collector of everything Laaz Rockit. Chances are that either way you have a copy of the originals already though. Still, if there's one thing this release is good for, it's to make the listener wonder what could've happened if Laaz Rockit wouldn't have given up back then and gone on hiatus. It shows a band that sounds better and better on very release, and you get the feeling that they could've been only an album or two away from releasing a true classic.

6

Download: In The Name Of The Father And The Gun, Into The Asylum
For the fans of: early Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax
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Release date 27.11.2009
Massacre Records

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