Live

Listeners who discovered Saint Vitus after the fact will never quite grasp just how thankless and dispiriting an existence they endured throughout what one must cruelly dub their "1980s heyday." No MTV, no gold records, no chart success, no nothing! Just one overlooked classic American doom album after another, and long, punishing slogs of touring in rackety vans -- SST style -- for the "privilege" of performing in a band and starving for a living. Cult stardom isn't just a colossal oxymoron, kids, it's not very fun, either. Which is why none but the bandmembers themselves, and to a lesser degree, those who "lived" underground heavy metal during the '80s, will probably appreciate the grail-like wonder and importance of this 1990 Vitus Live album. Recorded at Germany's Circus Gammeldorf, on November 10th, 1989, it captures the seminal Wino/Chandler/Adams/Acosta lineup at the height of its power, and mere months away from Wino's departure, thereby marking the end of an era while serving up a near-perfect career highlight reel, fit to challenge even the following year's "official" greatest-hits set, Heavier Than Thou. Retro-themed doom metal standards such as "Living Backwards," "Born Too Late," and "Look Behind You" gain additional relevance under these circumstances, and incomparably doleful grinds like "The War Starter," "Looking Glass," and "Dying Inside" assume a timeless vitality when upgraded from their at times poorly produced studio versions. The same goes for the oft-covered masterpiece "War Is Our Destiny" and the uncommonly speedy "White Stallions," which literally surge from out of the speakers in this live setting; and, for the finale, a drawn-out romp through "Clear Windowpane" boasts both drum and guitar solos (the latter humorously including the Batman TV show theme!). Once again, Live stands as an essential document from one of heavy metal's most under-represented divisions -- American doom -- and one of its least rewarded champions, Saint Vitus. [Three of these 11 cuts -- "The War Starter," "Mystic Lady," and "Clear Windowpane" -- were not available on the original vinyl release.]