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Band:Chrome & Helios Creed DVD:Dual Forces: Chrome & Helios Creed Released by:MVD Writer: Bonehead Media: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

Note to self: Always remember that you can not judge a book by its cover, and that rule applies to DVDs as well.

When we received the DVD of Chrome & Helios Creed entitled “Dual Forces”, I looked at the cover and thought about the names on it. Seems that I have heard these names somewhere, at sometime, but nothing is coming to me. The logo on the front looks pretty metal, and the names certainly sound metal as well. At this point, I redirect you to the note to myself above.

Chrome was one of those art/punk bands that sprang up at the end of the punk rock movement. Hailing from San Francisco, they tried to fuse psychedelic, punk, and art rock and have apparently been doing this since the late ‘70’s. After the death of their first vocalist, Helios Creed was the fellow that stepped in to take over the vocals along with adding a new, strange fuzzy type of guitar sound. This DVD gives us some of the Chrome videos, a live performance, and then some of the same from Helios after Chrome was put on the shelf. Extra bonuses on the DVD are in the form of a fairly informative timeline covering both the band and the solo work, along with some outtakes from the videos.

The videos are just plain terrible. Starting off with some that actually look like a high school art project gone bad, and progressing all the way to a college film project gone wrong, the only things worse than the vids are the songs themselves. The song structures are very simplistic, along the lines of punk rock at the time; the musicianship is less than average, and the production terrible. Even the live tracks are dull and boring and I often found myself dozing off. But what makes it so hard to watch is the terrible quality of the videos. Myself, I would be embarrassed to sell a product that is this piss poor. Not that it is the fault of the DVD; it is all from the original filming and production that this release suffers from. The production of the DVD itself is fine.

That isn’t to say that the band/artist is without merit. While not my cup of tea, you can certainly hear how they may have influenced others that followed. On the earlier tracks, think 70’s New Wave rockers The Cars, but on acid. As they progressed, the sound became stranger and stranger, adding more mechanical sounds that would later form into industrial. But I could feel the influence that they must have had on groups like The Butthole Surfers and Nine Inch Nails. For that aspect, there is certainly historical importance to a DVD such as this.

For most of us though, this is a steaming pile of cow manure. Looks bad, sounds worse, and personally I don’t get the relevance of the groups. Plus, the cover and names misled me enough that I am a bit pissed off. My fault, of course, but I sure was expecting steak and got seaweed instead. If you like seaweed, good for you. Same thing if you like Chrome & Helios Creed. Frankly, I didn’t and really wish I could get that hour back I spent watching it and reading the timeline.

I give “Dual Forces: Chrome & Helios Creed” a 1…..out of 10.

Band:Chrome & Helios Creed DVD:Dual Forces: Chrome & Helios Creed Released by:MVD Writer: Bonehead Media: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

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