City of sin, wont you let me in…?
Returning in 2001 with a new album, Beyond Good and Evil, after calling it a day way back in 1995, a seven year hiatus seems to have imbued British rockers The Cult with a new lease on life. The album, the best since their zenith in the late '80s, displays the soul of 1985’s Love, the raw energy of 1987’s Electric, and the polished, assured performances of 1989’s Sonic Temple. Undertaking a typically gruelling tour schedule in support of the new album, August 2001 found the boys fronting an appreciative crowd in the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Captured especially for DVD, the performance sees The Cult back to their live best; letting loose a wall of bare-bones, high-energy rock that brings the house down.

Following a sepia introductory sequence showing the band preparing backstage, fans arriving at the gig and adjustments being made at the mixing desk, the guys finally hit the stage with a furious version of Rise. The first single from the new album, this opener sets the tone for the remainder of the breathless 80-odd minute set.

Having long ago forsaken his American Indian and Nazi storm-trooper outfits, enigmatic front-man Ian Astbury is happy to sport a bandana low over his eyes and a black hip-hop spray jacket as he furiously pumps his tambourine and spins his microphone like a demonic Roger Daltry. His distinctive voice is still in great shape and between tracks Astbury spouts almost incomprehensible post-September 11 spiritual nonsense. In comparison, diminutive riff-meister Billy Duffy, having lost the rock-locks in a return to the white flat top, is satisfied to remain silently rooted (ahem) in front of his huge fan (no the spinning kind); effortlessly coaxing power chords and soaring lead breaks from his Les Paul. All the while, a competent rhythm section provides a rock-god’s necessary support. Long-time drummer Matt Sorum, finally returning from his defection to Guns 'n' Roses, does the business up the back whilst Billy Morrison provides his quota of cock-rock moves on bass, and rhythm guitarist Mike Dimkich comes and goes as needed.

Filled with both much-loved favourites and a selection of tracks from the new album, the set list represents not only a good sampling of The Cult’s career high-points, but illustrates just what a return to form the new album has been; the new tracks more than a match for the classics. Mercilessly, no tracks from the woeful The Cult or Ceremony albums get a look in.

Track listing:

Without question the tracks from earlier albums, especially Electric and Sonic Temple (despite the absence of personal favourite King Contrary Man), are the standouts, with Ian and Billy slipping comfortably back into the familiar older material.

She’s got what you need – what she’s got is good…
All in all, Music Without Fear is a kick-arse concert nicely presented. Impressively, although director Danny Rodriguez dabbles now and then with the visuals (more on that later), all evidence points to this being a one-night-only deal – there’s no pasting together of tracks from several nights – and no cuts have been made to the performance itself. Basically what we see here is the entire night’s gig from start to finish. Camera angles change, and change often, but we don’t miss a second of the show proper. Even the breaks between songs where Ian has nothing to say (infrequent and short lasting) have been maintained. A must have for anyone who has, at any time, been a fan of one of the most impressive and enigmatic rock bands of the last 20 years.

Filmed especially for DVD, Music Without Fear has been imbued with an anamorphic (1.85:1) image that is absolutely perfect. Easily the best concert footage I have yet seen committed to our digital format, the image is sharp and detailed, with deep solid blacks and brilliant splashes of colour. There’s no trace of the colour bleeding or edge enhancement that tends to infect these types of releases, and even aliasing has been kept at bay. Artefacts, compression or otherwise, are nowhere to be seen. Basically, fans will be blown away with the quality of the video on display here.

Almost as if the pristine image just wasn’t rock enough, several tracks have been passed through all manner of digital filters, some aged with grain, some reverting to dirt-flecked sepia, and some in crisp black and white. All quite unnecessary and tantamount to sacrilege given the pristine nature of the source material, but I guess the director had to earn his fee somehow.

The high quality presentation continues into the audio, with thumping soundtracks provided in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 formats for your listening pleasure. Both mixes are pretty damn impressive too, with the surround channels utilised to create a full and totally immersive viewing experience. In short, they rock! Although the noise from the crowd is somewhat subdued, the acoustics of the venue are brought to life by reflections and reverberations from the rear channels, and the subwoofer is used continuously to fill out Morrison’s bass riffs and Sorum’s kick drum. Although fairly close in terms of quality, the DTS definitely mix wins out – supplying just a touch more fidelity over its counterpart.

Only one extra is supplied on the disc, but it’s pretty bloody reasonable – a 25 minute behind the scenes featurette showing the band on the road across America. What this means is that we get to see quite a few sound checks, a damn lot of pre and post gig parties, and snippets from an LA in-store appearance. Lots of it is just fly-on-the-wall stuff, but there’s interviews with queuing fans and the odd comment from band members. All told, the featurette contains some quite interesting footage that, while of interest to fans only, will easily keep them engrossed for the duration.

In summary, fans of The Cult, new or old, will want to check out Music Without Fear. Recorded especially for DVD and conveying the full intensity of their live sound, it sees the boys back to their hard-rocking best. Complimented by wonderful audio and video transfers, this is a release that I recommend to all fans of no-nonsense, cliché-free (well almost) rock. I invite you to come worship at the altar of the sonic temple!