Disincarnate: The Live Videos

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Recently I saw that a vintage Disincarnate tour t-shirt (like the one shown above) sold for $165.50 on eBay.

I’m not normally one for overpriced anything. But I did think for a second that $165.50 wasn’t too outrageous for this artifact. And I would very much buy a reasonably priced new Disincarnate shirt.

This site’s search bar says that I’ve already geeked out over Disincarnate four times here. But allow me one last time to do so. I realize my love for Disincarnate’s one album is somewhat irrational. It’s at best very good, not great. Much of its appeal for me is Dave McKean’s artwork. Sonically, the album is …And Justice for All as death metal: grey, steely, labyrinthine. That’s a bane or boon, depending on whom you ask.

For once, though, I’m not spazzing out over the record that in 1993 sounded like Suffocation in 2003. I’m spazzing out over the fact that Disincarnate had an actual physical presence. They toured! (See dates above. Did any of you attend?) And there’s documentation!

Below are three videos of Disincarnate on their 1993 tour. I presume that was their only tour – correct me if I’m wrong. The videos are from Disincarnate’s set at Milwaukee Metalfest; Cancer played next. The video quality isn’t great – but even that’s a charming historical artifact. (HD live videos are becoming more commonplace daily on YouTube.)

Still, the visuals are striking. Vocalist Bryan Cegon rocks the old-school death-metal-long-sleeve-t-with-stuff-printed-on-the-sleeves. The band looks like a death metal band (i.e., every member has long hair.) This is kind of a big deal, as few death metal bands actually look like death metal bands now. Death metal bands now invariably have a guy with short hair (metalcore/deathcore) or a shaved head (old-school death metal). The music was young and full of life then.

And, yes, the breakdown in “Monarch of the Sleeping Marches” still rules. James Murphy knows it. That’s why at 1:57, he pauses a full five seconds before deploying its massive grandeur. I would have loved to have been there. And I would have bought a (reasonably priced) t-shirt afterwards.

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DISINCARNATE: THE LIVE VIDEOS

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“Monarch of the Sleeping Marches”

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“Stench of Paradise Burning”

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“Confine of Shadows”

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