Pretend You Were There: THE BLACK MAGES III Darkness and Starlight LIVE DVD (Review)

We told you about this release back in March, and we’ve finally had the opportunity to absorb everything contained within this DVD. I can’t tell you how bad I wanted to fly over to Japan for this concert, as I really dug THE BLACK MAGES III Darkness and Starlight. I know not everyone agrees, but I liked the synthy approach of this album compared to past Black Mages albums.

What you’ll find here is the concert in its entirety, including the MC segments, along with a special behind the scenes look at the preparation that went into the show and a promotional Neo EXDEATH music video, all of which will make great additions to your collection. This is admittedly my first time seeing the band up close as I’ve never watched their other DVD releases, so it was definitely a new experience for me.

Hit the jump to read our review of the Darkness and Starlight LIVE DVD from their concert back on August 8, 2008.

The first thing I’ll say is that this DVD is cut together perfectly. The editing team caught all the right moments, zooming in on every solo and every nod of approval from one performer to another, giving a clear impression that these guys are having a lot of fun with these shows. The DVD actually begins with the video that was being played on overhead LED screen, which is a nice touch, before taking a shot of the stage with each of the members dressed in their robes and straw black mage hats. I was immediately giddy with excitement, and knew I was in for a treat.

While the concert was titled Darkness and Starlight LIVE to celebrate the release of their third album, they threw in a few extra songs for good measure. The set list is as follows:

01 Opening – Bombing Mission
02 Premonition
03 Grand Cross
04 The Extreme
05 Force Your Way
06 KURAYAMINOKUMO
07 Assault of the Silver Dragons
08 Clash on the Big Bridge
09 Distant Worlds
10 Darkness and Starlight
11 Neo EXDEATH
12 Maybe I’m a Lion

I was glad that the added in “Force Your Way” and “Clash at the Bridge” as they’re two of my favorite tracks from The Black Mages’ catalog. “Opening ~ Bombing Mission” is an obvious starter, acting as a great buildup with its steady tempo. “Premonition” is one of my favorite battle themes from the Final Fantasy series, mainly because it’s so controlled. It’s slow by battle theme standards, but it’s so deliberate and powerful that I can’t help but love it. Next, “Grand Cross” features a really cool three-way call and response between Fukui on synths, Uematsu on organ, and Okamiya on guitar.

“The Extreme” gives Fukui a chance to shine with lots of synth work, which I know is the reason why some people generally don’t like this album in the first place. Still, I really dig the arrangement, although I was constantly feeling restless as I felt it was moving too slowly. As I’ve said, “Force Your Way” is one of my favorites, and is another synthy track that also features a lot of Sekito’s guitar work. It was interesting to see the band dynamics on stage (I had actually seen them at the MORE FRIENDS concert in 2005, but it’d been awhile), as Okamiya often takes center stage and really gets the audience going, while Sekito and Kawamori on bass tend to stand off to the side to avoid the spotlight. I also found Okamiya to be very expressive, while the other two were rather stoic, especially Sekito. “Assault of the Silver Dragons” had a neat little surprise with its pitch bending synth effects that reminded me a lot of Jean-Michel Jarre’s Oxygene album. The ending of this track is one of the best moments on the album and therefore on the DVD, as the tempo increases immensely with lots of guitar shredding and a moving melody.

There were some MC segments interspersed between every few pieces. Uematsu did most of the talking, and it’s obvious that his fans in Japan still love him after all these years. His laughter is so infectious, that I couldn’t help but smile when he spoke. Each member took a moment to speak, and although Okamiya is probably has the most prominent presence on stage, he doesn’t seem to have a good rapport with the fans, as he awkwardly laughs at his own jokes when nobody else in the audience responds. Fukui sports some poofy hair, and didn’t have much to say, and again, Kawamori was rather shy and had very little to say.

From there, it’s back to the music with “Distant Worlds,” one of The Black Mages’ more mellow pieces. It’s really a beautiful piece of music, and I really liked that each musician got a moment in the spotlight; even Kawamori had a brief solo. For the most part it featured acoustic guitar by Okamiya and piano by Fukui, and given this warm instrumentation, the synth leads that were added later did sound a bit out of place.

Getting towards the end, “Darkness and Starlight” is finally performed in all of its glory. Boy are you in for a surprise. You’ll most likely find that you won’t be enjoying the music so much with this one, as you’ll be occupied with the live on-stage performance. Let me set the stage for you: dudes in terrible costumes carrying around plastic swords, Draco with a Squall-esque leather jacket with no undershirt, a villain with a bald head, a goatee, and a red wizard robe… man, I’m embarrassed for them just typing this up. Even more, they act out a lot of the fighting sequences in slow motion, making it look even more silly along with their awkward marching in place. Finally, Maria and Draco begin their vocal segments, but the actors on stage only lip sync along with the actual vocal performers who are off to the side of the stage, which was definitely a strange sight to behold. When Maria steps on stage during her “solo,” she’s accompanied by 4 female dancers (who are hot) who do a slow, new agey dance while Maria lip syncs. Then everyone starts ballroom dancing to the heavy metal guitar chugging and organ music… so yeah. Do you get what I’m saying? I couldn’t even pay attention to the music as I was constantly looking for more over-the-top additions on stage. Oh well, even if you’re not digging the music so much, the funny presentation should at least be entertaining.

After this piece, the band and all the performers leave the stage, but of course the fans demand an encore. When the band returns, they bang out “Neo EXDEATH,” featuring lots of Uematsu and some impressive guitar work, followed by “Maybe I’m a Lion.” As the last piece of the night, the band really lets it all out, as Uematsu preps for his solos by raising his hands as high as he can over his head and crashing them down onto his synthesizers. Okamiya plays a massive solo, playing the guitar behind his head at one point, before he falls over dead (he’s not really dead). For some reason, Uematsu suddenly runs to the center of the stage and falls to the ground, putting his leg in the air and pulling up his pant leg to reveal socks with piano keys on them, which he and Okamiya both pretend to madly play. What the hell, right? Absolutely amazing. This seriously looks like it was one of the best performances ever.

But wait, I can’t let you get away without hearing about the bonus content on the DVD. The “making of” movie is pretty lengthy, featuring planning with Dog Ear Records’ Hiroki “wappa” Ogawa, and comments from the band members and performers. Oh yeah, and those dancers from “Darkness and Starlight?” They’re even more hot with normal clothes on. This was really cool to watch, and I’m sure it’s even more great if you speak Japanese. They even show you a glimpse of opening acts Cellythm (who are also hot… sheesh), and Ante, although you don’t see more than a few seconds of their respective sets. The promotional “Neo EXDEATH” music video is also really awesome, sporting tons of visual effects and swapping back and forth between the band wearing street clothes and their spooky black mage robes (which, by the way, without the hats, look more like Harry Potter than black mages).

There is a massive amount of material to talk about with this release, but I hope that’s an indication that there’s lots here to enjoy. I really feel like I was at the concert after watching this DVD, as it was so well put together in terms of shot placement and the bonus content. I’ll definitely be watching out for more from The Black Mages, and hopefully I don’t miss a single one of their concerts in the future. Despite my gripes about the “Darkness and Starlight” and performance, I admit that it was lots of fun, and it was meant to be over the top. Be sure to check out the DVD at CD Japan or Play Asia, and also look into Cellythm while you’re at it.

Even if you’re one of those fans who disliked the “Darkness and Starlight” album based on its heavy use of synths, do you think you could enjoy this DVD? Are there tracks that you think The Black Mages definitely need to arrange next time around?