"WARNING! This video contains heavy strobe and LED effects, people with medical conditions should avoid viewing." – Killl disclaimer

As a listening experience, Killl's self-titledl live CD/DVD set is a bit of a chore, a series of grinding audio assaults without much coherence. As a concert video, though, holy shit balls. Live is a gleefully disorienting series of color blasts and experimental metal explosions. It's a thrilling 45-minute set that is so thoroughly psychedelic despite not being psychedelic whatsoever.

A killer light show shouldn't make this big of a difference, but it does. Killl specializes in "glitch metal." Their music has all the grinding noise of a factory floor, with the occasional computer blip/bleep/bloop thrown in. There are discernible dynamics every so often, but generally speaking, it's best to just get caught up in Killl's noise. Aside from the occasional smattering of audience applause, you'd never know this was a live album. The audio is clear, or as clear as something this dissonant can be.

But while the CD is solid, it's the DVD that makes this set worthwhile. Killl obviously put some effort into shooting its set, frequently switching camera set-ups and therefore helping to keep the viewer disoriented. And Killl loves fucking with people's senses--just check out the group's website. But the band does it pretty effectively. Not to get all "look at the colors" or anything, but got-damn. Look at the colors! Like the music, Killl's live show continuously switches up lighting arrangements to great effect. At one point, they slow down to a barely there breakdown and let the strobes fill the room. There are no visible shapes, only bright, violent colors. It's pretty amazing.

Killl takes some work to get through, but it's a rewarding release all the same. Check out the video below for a taste.



KILLL Live DVD, Track 04 from Are Mokkelbost on Vimeo.