Review of Incubus: Volume 2

Introduction

Incubus are Brandon Boyd (singer), Jose Pasillas (drummer), Mike Einziger (guitarist), Alex Katunich (bassist) and spinning the decks, DJ Chris Kilmore and were originally formed in 1995 out of Calabasas, California. Their music could be described as a fusion of funk and rock with a DJ blending sounds and scratching in the background. An interesting mix not too dissimilar to Chili Peppers but unique enough to make a name of their own.

The band have had critical success for their music and have performed live on both sides of the Atlantic, supporting Korn in the UK in 1997. Volume 2 is the first UK DVD release from the rock band and features a massive collection of live performances, video clips and behind-the-scenes footage. This DVD contains music from the bands platinum selling album, `Make Yourself` (produced by Scott Litt of R.E.M.) and `S.C.I.E.N.C.E.` and was over two years in the making.

Video

Presented with a fullframe 4:3 transfer, it looks good. My only gripe is the lack of a wider frame just to get more of the feeling in the live concerts with stage movement. Colours look well saturated and the detail is okay.

Audio

There`s a DD5.1 and PCM stereo soundtrack here. The PCM track is okay and sounds quite clear, however the onscreen singing can sound detached since there`s no centre speaker activity. The DD5.1 track sounds good and spreads well across the front speakers. The music here ranges from heavy sounding rock with wicked guitar riffs to more laid back acoustic numbers, and all sound quite good. I didn`t notice any problems with the sound at all.

Features

Nicely animated full screen menus with interesting use of eclectic graphics and sound lead you into all the sub-menus.

`2 Every Music Video` gives you 7 music promos: I Miss You, Drive, Pardon Me, Stellar, Summer Romance, Take Me To Your Leader and A Certain Shade Of Green. While the videos are playing, if you select the subtitle track you get an overlaid storyboard of the current video. It`s a shame there`s no option to play all the music videos automatically rather than selecting them individually.

This is a good collection of extras made in different ways and this just makes it all the more intriguing. From a montage of stills with a commentary track of misc conversations on the left and right audio channels to tour bus footage to 2 promo making of clips and an acoustic live set. It`s all interesting stuff, but each extra has to be selected individually and this becomes tiring after the first time.

There aren`t any HoH English subtitles on this disc which is a shame.

Conclusion

Being an Incubus newbie I hadn`t heard anything of them before so I was quite intrigued when I received the DVD. Unless you already know the band and know what to expect of the music, then this is not going to be everyone`s cuppa tea.

Playing it the first time I wasn`t sure if I liked it or not. Some of the stuff was instantly likeable, others took more time to get into. Incubus are a rock band with a blend of choppy guitar riffs, scratching and funk creating their own sound. I was pleasantly surprised by the music and particularly enjoyed, "Drive" and "Summer Romance" which are a couple of laid back tunes that just sound really good.

The live performances are edited in an interesting way so as to not be the usual boring live concert footage, plus the band themselves are interesting to watch. The seven videos here too are strangely compelling. Some of the graphics are surreal and seem to fit in with the style of the music which is quite enjoyable and then there`s the superb acoustic set recorded for MAD-TV. This was simply very good and I would have liked to have seen more!

Although the music won`t be to everyone`s taste, I`m sure that Incubus fans will want this value packed DVD. It certainly gives the impression of being on a journey with the band and I thoroughly enjoyed my little trip. More info can be gleaned from the bands official website, http://www.enjoyincubus.com and another good resource, http:///www.defyperception.net.

Incubus certainly are an exciting and innovative group and this DVD is the consummate Incubus visual experience. I`ll definately be looking to get the bands back catalogue soon. This DVD is recommended for fans and anyone else who wants to try something a little different.