Saltatio Mortis
Manufactum II
Rating
Style: Middle Ages/Folk Hardrock
Release date: April 23rd 2010
 

Live recordings are in my view bloody difficult to review. The factors that make the live concert fantastic are not present when you sit there in your own livingroom in your comfy chair, completely in control of the sound level and everything around you.

Only when you've seen the band live, you know what they stand for, and not just what a clever cameraman and producer has done for them.

In the case of Saltatio Mortis, I have been there. And it is a fond memory of a late-night gig on the WET stage at Wacken, a slightly muddy night, but one that was made very pleasant by the tunes of Saltatio Mortis. Saltatio Mortis are not as big as their fellow Germans In Extremo, but they definitely have a crowd and the entertainment factor is almost just as high.

They throw French, German, English and Scandinavian folklore and Middle Ages stories into one big pan and fry it up  - adding a rock sauce to put in that extra flavour. The result is not always pretty, but it IS entertaining and there's not much else to do than just dance and enjoy it.

This is not Live After Death or Rush's Live in Rio, but it's a fine offer for someone who wants an introduction to one of the many subgenres of metal and hardrock. Well-worth a listen.


Tracklist

01. Merseburger Zauberspruch
02. Varulfen
03. Doktor Eisenhans
04. Skudrinka
05. Douce Dame Jolie
06. Dessous Le Ponte De Nantes
07. Equinox
08. Prometheus
09. Le Corsaire
10. Ali Ben
11. Veitstanz
12. Drunken Sailor
13. Tulla
14. Palästinalied
15. Spielmannsschwur
16. Loch Lomond
17. Ecce Gratu

Label: Napalm Records
Distribution: Target (Denmark)
Artwork rating: 60/100
Reviewed by: Thomas Nielsen
Date: September 29th 2010
Website: www.saltatiomortis.de