Dual Forces: Chrome & Helios Creed – DVD
Music Video Distributors
Chrome was an artsy, avant-garde punk rock band that started around 1980 and featured Helios Creed and Damon Edge. They put out a small handful of pretty good records before separating. Helios Creed then went solo (and garnered a somewhat loyal following in the early 1990s releasing records on the Amphetamine Reptile label) while Damon Edge put out a couple more records under the Chrome moniker, though they never were as good as the original.
This DVD collects some old Chrome music videos from 1980 – 1983. It features “New Age”, “Firebomb”, “Danger Zone” and “Meet you in the Subway”. Until this DVD came out, the “Firebomb” video had never been released before. The videos look exactly like you’d expect an underground band’s music video to look; low budget and full of effects like distortion and inverse images. They all have a similar look about them which fit in perfectly with the music. Audio-wise they sound excellent. Aside from the music videos there is also some live footage of a Chrome reunion from 1998. I am not sure if this is the full original lineup or not as there is no information as to who the players were. The footage was shot on one camera from somewhat far back in the club but the camera had a good zoom that was used on occasion. The sound on the live footage is pretty good, though there was a fair amount of hiss that probably could have been EQ’d out. The footage is just of one song, “Armageddon” recorded live in Cleveland.
The Helios Creed portion features music videos for “Your Spaceman” (from the Dope Guns and Fucking Up Your Video Deck DVD/VHS), “The Rant”, “Exodus”, and “Sandbox Jungle”. Having only owned a couple of Helios Creed’s records it was cool to check out some songs I wasn’t familiar with. It also features footage of “The Beginning of Light” recorded live. The footage is very similar in quality as the Chrome live footage, but the audio is much cleaner sounding. It was recorded in Oakland, CA in 2006 and it did a good job of cluing me in on what his live show looks like now since it has been well over a decade since I saw Helios Creed play.
The DVD’s main menu is split up into three sections; one for each band plus a timeline that gives a discography for both bands. Inside each band’s menu you can choose what song you want to play, or there is a “play all” option”. Navigation is very simple and functional. The picture quality was excellent, only limited by the technology of the time the videos were created. The audio for the music videos is in stereo and sound perfect, you’d think you were playing your CD’s while watching the images on the screen.
As a mild fan of both bands, and only having seen one of them personally, I found this disc while short, to be quite entertaining and a worthy addition to my collection. It’s also not a bad way to get a sample for some of the best material available from either band. My only wish that there was more material on it, as the total time is about 45 minutes for the whole thing.
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