The Crystal Method - Legion of Boom DVD-A 8-3-04 (1 Viewer)

[Chuck Garabedia]

Hi,
New release from DTS Entertainment on Aug. 3 2004. The Crystal Method - The Legion of Boom DVD-A.

From the sales sheet I got here is some info:

From a bomb shelter turned state-of-the-art recording studio
in Los Angeles comes the latest creation from The Crystal Method, The Legion of Boom. No other electronica group has created such an explosion and impact as Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland aka The Crystal Method. On this new release they are joined by former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland who drops riffs that are out of this world. They are also joined by Bay-area poet Hanifah, the model-come-actress-come-singer Milla Jovovich, and John Garcia of Kyuss fame.

Now remixed in spectacular DTS-ES 6.1 Surround, The Legion of Boom will take you to another level in your listening
experience.

Special Features:
• On Screen Image Gallery
• On Screen Lyrics (Born Too Slow and American Way)
• Links to special features on thecrystalmethod.com
• Born Too Slow music video
• Feature-ette - The Making of The Legion of Boom
(in DTS-ES)
• 2 bonus tracks in DTS-ES and PCM not on stereo release
• 16 x 9 video (widescreen)
• The Crystal Method biography

Chuck

 

[Chuck Garabedia]

Hi,
New release from DTS Entertainment on Aug. 3 2004. The Crystal Method - The Legion of Boom DVD-A.

From the sales sheet I got here is some info:

From a bomb shelter turned state-of-the-art recording studio
in Los Angeles comes the latest creation from The Crystal Method, The Legion of Boom. No other electronica group has created such an explosion and impact as Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland aka The Crystal Method. On this new release they are joined by former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland who drops riffs that are out of this world. They are also joined by Bay-area poet Hanifah, the model-come-actress-come-singer Milla Jovovich, and John Garcia of Kyuss fame.

Now remixed in spectacular DTS-ES 6.1 Surround, The Legion of Boom will take you to another level in your listening
experience.

Special Features:
• On Screen Image Gallery
• On Screen Lyrics (Born Too Slow and American Way)
• Links to special features on thecrystalmethod.com
• Born Too Slow music video
• Feature-ette - The Making of The Legion of Boom
(in DTS-ES)
• 2 bonus tracks in DTS-ES and PCM not on stereo release
• 16 x 9 video (widescreen)
• The Crystal Method biography

Chuck

 

[Citizen87645]

I'm hoping they throw some good LFE in this. For being called "Legion of Boom" it was a little disappointing in the bass department. I liked it though, overall. I'll probably pick it up.

 

[Andrew Chong]

Very nice!

Would this be the first current electronic act to be released on DVD-A and is it in fact DVD-A multichannel or dts-es?
Good news on the inclusion of a music video. Is that the one with the 'electronic' man who explores a city? I saw a 'making of' for this video (the name of which escapes me) with a man in a bodysuit designed for post-process effects to achieve an electronic look.

 

[AricB]

It will have both MLP 5.1 mix and DTSES mix, as most DTS DVD-A do.

only other thing close to electronic I know of is Bjork-Vespertine, but thats quite a bit different.

 

[Andrew Chong]

Excellent. Thanks for the confirmation, Aric. I'm very slowly building a DVD-A collection and this would be a welcome addition.

 

[AricB]

If you havent read the other thread, check it out its got sacd and dvd-a suggestions:

suggestions

I could reccomend some things, if you tell me what you have or are interested in?

 

[Andrew Chong]

Thanks for your generosity, Aric.

Yes, I've read that thread and it has helped. I recently picked up Beck's Sea Change and Dave Grusin's Two For The Road: Music Of Henry Mancini. The first based on the positive words I've read and the second based on listening to the CD version from a local library.

 

[AricB]

are you DVD-A only or do you have sacd's as well? and are you looking for surround titles or hirez stereo?

 

[Andrew Chong]

DVD-A only and prefer surround titles done well. I don't have an SACD player to take advantage of that layer.

I would love to get both Queen titles but not at the prices I currently see. As prices come down or special sales take place on certain titles, I'll pick up more; I don't mind waiting and biding my time with great DVD-Video titles expected to be released in the near and far future.

Price and reviews will also affect whether or not I pick up The Legion of Boom DVD-A.

 

[AricB]

Any of the steely dan dvd-a's are exceptionally well done, elton john's gbybr is great on sacd(assume also on dvda), flaming lips is interesting, fleetwood mac is pretty good, i've heard the queen are good, porcupine tree is really good, steve stevens flamenco a gogo is interesting also, but not pop music.

 

[Chat C]

Looking forward to this this!!!!!!

Anyone looking for a good electronica/techno/chill out etc. type release should check out "Surrounded" by Tipper. It has some incredible surround elements going on.

 

[Rachael B]

If a member or two quit Crystal Method, eh, they'll be Crystal Lite...

 

[Jason Garrett]

I bet this is trippy I was just talking to a guy at the bar the other day about DVD-A (surround) and techno being a perfect match - the next level. I might have to pick this up if it's good.

 

[Justin Lane]

Thank goodness for DTS or we weould have very little new music from the past 5 years or so in Hi-res. I will be picking this one up as it has the potential to be one of the best multichannel mixes to date, and DTS has yet to let me down.

J

 

[AricB]

yeah, they've had some interesting titles that came out last year...
porcupine tree, of course and
megadeath peace sells
steve stevens flamenco a go go
midnight oil capricornia
everclear so much for the after glow

 

[John Berggren]

I'm definitely looking forward to this. The sound clips on the website are great.

I do wish they'd include a CD layer or a CD with it though.

 

[LanceJ]

Still no full reviews? Is this disc THAT bad?

Or is it that the music on it isn't "important" enough to write even just a one paragraph description? Just a review of the mix & video would be sufficient. I know most people here think this music is cheap/shallow/whatever but personally it's nice to listen to some fun stuff mixed with the serious music.

I hope at least the owners of this disc tell the real Crystal Method fans about it. FYI: at my local Best Buy both copies were gone in less than two weeks--a record for that store.

And if anyone thinks another release of a moldy classic title--in any genre--is going to truly "propel" any surround format forward to even semi-mass market acceptance (i.e a premium priced but still steady-selling format), IMO they have an unpleasant surprize in store.

BTW: I still can't find more than two lame customer reviews of Groove Armada's three multichannel sacds. For crissake I can't even find any mention of them on GA's own website! And GA isn't exactly an insignificant act in the U.K. (or here--but they are more of an underground phenomena). As I have said before, if these were on dvd-audio I would buy two of them the day they were released (sorry guys, I didn't like Love Box at all--too disco-ey & those "dirty" guitars......bleh). In particular, my CD copy of Vertigo is so scratched up from use I'll soon need another one. Don't care about sampling rate either. Going by the music I'll bet GA has made some interesting music videos. And a DTS-CD would be perfectly acceptable also.

If the surround labels are using a bunch of clueless focus groups for title/format selection, they really need to stop. Instead, go out and ask the people in the local bars & pubs; baseball & soccer games; the guy fixing your fuel injectors; and the college dude serving you your fajitas. Try to make sure they are in between the ages of 16 to 30. They DON'T need to be into audio equipment as a hobby but rather, just true music fans. And lastly, the cost of their 5.1 system should not be used as a deciding factor.

And lastly, how about just a teeny bit of

MARKETING

to let people know what surround music is all about?

Sheesh!!!

 

[Seth_L]

None of the local BB's have this disc by me, and they claim they can't order it (no personal orders).

 

[Felix Martinez]

I think the release is fantastic, and my review will be in the next issue of DVD Etc Magazine. IIRC, I posted some of my initial observations in another related thread.


Unfortunately, I can't post my review as the mag hasn't been released yet, but I can tell you that you hit the nail on the head. I wrote, in part,

"Legion of Boom, simply rocks the house...keyboard lines, percussion, loops, sampled instruments, and vocals explode from the speakers and leave you reeling. The surround mixes by Fred Maher and Nathaniel Kunkel will surely delight and provide many hours of demo material to wow your friends and unnerve your family!

The video is great and is 16:9 enhanced. There are two versions included on the disc - IIRC the director's cut runs about a minute longer, but nothing substantial added.

Cheers,