Hypocrisy: Hell Over Sofia - 20 Years Of Chaos And Confusion Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Hypocrisy: Hell Over Sofia - 20 Years Of Chaos And Confusion Blu-ray Movie Review

The death metal explosion that took place in Scandinavia during the early 90s has some interesting similarities with the grunge movement that changed the music scene in America during the mid-80s. They were both inspired by hardcore punk and heavy metal. Death metal and grunge musicians were also equally frustrated with the socio-political status quo in the countries they resided in.

In the early 90s, Peter Tägtgren, the founder of Hypocrisy, Sweden’s most popular death metal band, was living in America. He was in the Tampa area, which at the time the most prominent American death metal bands, such as Morbid Angel, Obituary and Deicide, called home. Hugely impressed with the local scene, Tägtgren returned home hoping to start a band that would play the same kind of music he had heard in Florida.

Shortly after landing in Sweden, Tägtgren recorded a demo, but was enormously disappointed with the way the vocals turned out. A friend suggested that he contacts Magnus “Masse” Broberg, a heavy metal enthusiast from Stockholm who had thought about being in a band. The two met and Tägtgren played the demo. Broberg was enormously impressed by the raw sound and the two shook hands. Then they decided that the name of their band will be Hypocrisy.

The new band quickly got a contract without having an album. Then Lars Szöke (drums), Mikael Hedlund (bass), and Jonas Österberg (guitar) joined Hypocrisy and everyone immediately went into the studio. In 1992,Penetralia, the band’s first album, was officially released.

Hypocrisy’s second album, Osculum Obsenum, was released in 1993. It was very heavy and again stylistically influenced by American death metal. The album effectively separated Hypocrisy from the rest of the Scandinavian death metal bands, the overwhelming majority of which were already moving into black metal territory.

Hypocrisy’s third album, The Fourth Dimension, was released in 1994, but Broberg was no longer the singer. After a serious incident in Stuttgart, Germany he decided to leave Hypocrisy, and Tägtgren agreed to take over the vocals. The band also regularly started using keyboards.

The arrival of Abducted in 1996 solidified Hypocrisy’s status as one of Sweden’s premier death metal bands, but according to Tägtgren Nuclear Blast were not as enthusiastic about the album as were the band’s fans and did not promote it as well as the band had hoped they would.

Two years later, Hypocrisy performed at Wacken and released a live album that changed everything. Almost overnight, the band’s reputation skyrocketed and in within a few months they moved from performing in clubs to playing in front of large crowds at concert venues around the world. Twelve years and seven studio albums later, Hypocrisy are widely considered by many to be one of the very best European death metal bands.

Hypocrisy Live in Sofia was recorded on February 27th, 2010, at Club Blue Box in Sofia, Bulgaria. In front of a very enthusiastic crowd, the Swedish band performed a total of fifteen songs, including older classics such as “Pleasure of Molestation” (from the Osculum Obsecenum album), “Apocalypse – Fourth Dimension” (from The Fourth Dimension album), “Killing Art” and the electrifying “Roswell 47” (from the Abducted album), and the melodic “Eraser” (from The Arrival album).

The show is incredibly intense. The band is in top form and it clearly shows. The majority of the tracks are tight and very fast but the chemistry between the band members is superb. The older and more dynamic tracks in particular sound even better live than they do on the studio albums (and especially the ones from Osculum Obsecenum and The Fourth Dimension). The highlight of the show, however, is clearly the killer track “Rosewell 47”.

Apocalypse – Fourth Dimension

Hypocrisy: Hell Over Sofia - 20 Years Of Chaos And Confusion Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hypocrisy: Hell Over Sofia - 20 Years of Chaos arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German distributors Nuclear Blast.

This is the first show of its kind to appear on Blu-ray - and I hope it is the first of many more to be released on the high-definition format. Back in the glory days of DVD, I experimented with a variety of different releases from a number of different 'heavy' distributors, from Nuclear Blast to Century Media to Metal Blade Records to Earache Records, and this is clearly the best looking and sounding live show of its kind.

The show was filmed at Club Blue Box in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2010. This is a relatively small but very elegant venue that allows the crowd to the be very close to the band. A few strategically positioned cameras follow the band on the stage and routinely offer excellent looks at the excited fans. Detail is very good and clarity consistently pleasing. There is absolutely no distracting motion blur or serious shadow issues to report in this review. (Note: This Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, its menu is in 1080/50i, which means that the disc is unplayable in 98% of all Blu-ray players, including the PS3, that are sold in the United States and Canada. The Blu-ray disc will therefore be marked in our database as Region-B "locked").

Hypocrisy: Hell Over Sofia - 20 Years Of Chaos And Confusion Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio option on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Nuclear Blast have provided optional English subtitles for the documentary film 20 Years of Chaos and Confusion.

I must speculate that a more elaborate loseless 5.1 track would have probably added slightly more depth, but considering the size of the venue and more importantly the manner in which the show was filmed, the loseless 2.0 track is more than satisfying. The separation between the guitars and the heavy vocals, for instance, is very good. The thunderous drums are also very easy to identify, while the guitar solos are crisp. The crowd noise is occasionally felt, but it is never overwhelming. The overall dynamic levels are good, particularly during the harder tracks, but do not expect to be overwhelmed. After all, this is a small club show and the sound recreates the club atmosphere. Finally, there are no sync issues or problematic audio dropouts to report in this review.

Hypocrisy: Hell Over Sofia - 20 Years Of Chaos And Confusion Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• 20 Years Of Chaos And Confusion - a wonderful very informative documentary film that essentially tells the story of Hypocrisy. There are numerous interviews with the members of the band, members of their crew, and even comments from some excited fans. The film also contains an enormous amount of archival footage. In English, with optional English subtitles. (94 min, 1080p).

• Video Clip - a music video for Hypocrisy's "Weed Out The Weak". (5 min, 1080p).

Hypocrisy: Hell Over Sofia - 20 Years Of Chaos And Confusion Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In the early 90s, a group of guys got together and decided to start a band. They weren't very good and they knew it, but they were very angry because they did not want to live their lives as they were expected to. Unsurprisingly, their music was also very angry, to some even offensive. The guys did not expect anything and did not make any plans. They just kept playing. With the little money they earned they recorded an album, then another, and another. And even when they started selling them in countries thousands of miles away from Sweden, they did not dream big. They just kept playing the music they liked and lived their lives their way. They were free and that's all that mattered to them. Twenty years later, the guys that started Hypocrisy appear to have aged a bit but they are just as passionate about their music as they were in the beginning. They are still friends.

Hypocrisy are part of an underground rock movement that is very strong in Europe. Their music is not for everyone, but those who like heavy rock (and I mean very heavy rock) or are not afraid to experiment should definitely check them out. They are a special band. If you are already a fan of Hypocrisy, then this lavish Blu-ray release produced by Nuclear Blast is something you absolutely want to have in your collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED