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ENEMY SOIL - Smashes the State Live

GENRE: Grindcore
COUNTRY: USA
FORMAT: DVD
LABEL: Selfmadegod Records
YEAR: 2009

RATING: 6/10
REVIEWED BY: PSL
PROVIDED BY: Richard Johnson

Enemy Soil was an American underground grindcore band. The four-piece broke up in 1999. The band featured people who would later join bands like Pig Destroyer, Drugs Of Faith and Agoraphobic Nosebleed amongst others. In the period from 1991 to 1998 the band released various split 7" and MCD's. This DVD is a companion to the select discography CD Enemy Soil Smashes the State put out by Bones Brigade Records.

Smashes the State Live consists of different camcorder clips from the period 1996 to 1998 as well as the bands reunion show in 2001. The first part of the DVD features various live clips around 1996 to 1998. The sound and the footage are not that great. It varies a bit from video clip to video clip, but despite the somewhat grainy footage it's still interesting to view. I guess what I like about is that the music is total underground and with a DYI attitude. It's obvious that the band enjoy what they are doing and play to have fun. It doesn't really matter if it's in a gymnasium, a club or a basement Enemy Soil put on an energetic show.

The second part of the DVD is the reunion show at CBGB's in New York City. The four-piece puts on a tight performance. Vocalist/guitarist Richard Johnson talks a bit between some of the songs, but apart from that the band work their way though the set on full throttle. This show was shot with two cameras. The sound is alright and so is most of the footage. Sometimes it's a bit blurry or grainy, but nothing that spoils the experience. Again I think the armature footage adds to the DVD in a good way - it sort of goes hand in hand with the underground status that Enemy Soil has.

The third part of the DVD is 10 audio tracks from the studio. These tracks do the music more justice than the camcorder clips as the sound is so much better. Besides the aforementioned things the DVD also contain an image gallery. In the booklet there are some lines written by some of the people who have been in the band. It was an interesting read to learn about how they joined Enemy Soil and the good times they shared. I think this was nice feature to include the line notes.

Having in mind that this is a low budget and underground DVD it's not bad at all. If you buy Smashes the State Live I'm sure it's for the underground feel and not because you expect a whole lot on the visual side.


On Display Direct Action? Introduction Lost My Religion Ministry of Deception Weathermen Group Think Ignorance Manifest The Crusade Incapacitated Charade Fall of Empire Hypocrisy After the Fact Dark Satellites Sentencing The Body Politic Small Man, Big Mouth Combustion Self Gratification Partisan Loyalty Trapped in a Routine Death Sentence Ministry of Deception Hypocrisy Partisan Loyalty Sickness pt.1/Sickness pt.2 Charade Pass the Blame Facade Abort the Soul On Display Trapped in a Routine Direct Action Sentencing
		ENEMY SOIL - Smashes the State Live GENRE: Grindcore COUNTRY: USA FORMAT: DVD LABEL: Selfmadegod Records YEAR: 2009 RATING: 6/10 REVIEWED BY: PSL PROVIDED BY: Richard Johnson Enemy Soil was an American underground grindcore band. The four-piece broke up in 1999. The band featured people who would later join bands like Pig Destroyer, Drugs Of Faith and Agoraphobic Nosebleed amongst others. In the period from 1991 to 1998 the band released various split 7" and MCD's. This DVD is a companion to the select discography CD Enemy Soil Smashes the State put out by Bones Brigade Records. Smashes the State Live consists of different camcorder clips from the period 1996 to 1998 as well as the bands reunion show in 2001. The first part of the DVD features various live clips around 1996 to 1998. The sound and the footage are not that great. It varies a bit from video clip to video clip, but despite the somewhat grainy footage it's still interesting to view. I guess what I like about is that the music is total underground and with a DYI attitude. It's obvious that the band enjoy what they are doing and play to have fun. It doesn't really matter if it's in a gymnasium, a club or a basement Enemy Soil put on an energetic show. The second part of the DVD is the reunion show at CBGB's in New York City. The four-piece puts on a tight performance. Vocalist/guitarist Richard Johnson talks a bit between some of the songs, but apart from that the band work their way though the set on full throttle. This show was shot with two cameras. The sound is alright and so is most of the footage. Sometimes it's a bit blurry or grainy, but nothing that spoils the experience. Again I think the armature footage adds to the DVD in a good way - it sort of goes hand in hand with the underground status that Enemy Soil has. The third part of the DVD is 10 audio tracks from the studio. These tracks do the music more justice than the camcorder clips as the sound is so much better. Besides the aforementioned things the DVD also contain an image gallery. In the booklet there are some lines written by some of the people who have been in the band. It was an interesting read to learn about how they joined Enemy Soil and the good times they shared. I think this was nice feature to include the line notes. Having in mind that this is a low budget and underground DVD it's not bad at all. If you buy Smashes the State Live I'm sure it's for the underground feel and not because you expect a whole lot on the visual side.