ARTROSIS are a female-fronted progressive/folk/gothic/metal act from Poland. The band (with Mideah on vocals, Maciej Niedzielski on keyboards, Rafal Grunt on guitars, Pawel Urbaniak on bass) produce some soul-stirring musical compositions along the lines of THE GATHERING, THERION, and ANATHEMA. Band members Maciej Niedzielski and songstress Mideah formed ARTROSIS in 1995 and released their first album, HIDDEN DIMENSION in 1997. The band recorded two versions of their debut, one in English (for exportation) and one in their native Polish dialect. The album was well received in the European underground and ARTROSIS followed it up with IN NOMINE NOCTIS (1998), IN THE FLOWERS’ SHADE (2000), and FETISH (2001). Currently, the band are the number one musical act in Poland, heralded in much the same way that Britain worships IRON MAIDEN. ARTROSIS even has a cult following in America, Asia, Europe, or any other place where people appreciate intelligent, melodic, and original heavy music. ARTROSIS have perfected their craft into a stunning live performance which they showcase on the 2002 DVD release, ARTROSIS LIVE IN KRAKOW: AMONG THE FLOWERS AND SHADOWS.

ARTROSIS converged at their capitol city of Krakow, Poland for this exclusive DVD performance. The concert opens with the folkish Forever and Over before lighting it up with the heavy To Evil and then their signature tune Hidden Dimension. The group then segues into the progressive numbers Dance and Morpheus, songs that showcase the vocal ability of the enchanting Mideah. The ARTROSIS favorites Crazy, Request, and Among Flowers and Shadows come next, mixing heavy doses of guitar riffs with massive keyboards. And I Will and Emerald Night close out the show demonstrating the group’s originality, creativity, and musicianship. I’ll give ARTROSIS credit—none of these songs sound alike in either the arrangements or vocals making for a unique musical attack. Keyboardist/founder Maciej Niedzielski pounds away on the keyboards like a militaristic Phantom of the Opera, and gives ARTROSIS much of their firepower. Guitarist Rafal Grunt provides the crunch and rhythms that comprise the band’s heaviness. Despite singing the words in Polish, Mideah mesmerizes the audience with her soulful vocal melodies that transcends the language barrier. She is a true presence on stage, swiveling her hips to match the intensity of the music, but never looking (or sounding) anything other than a class act.

ARTROSIS LIVE IN KRAKOW: AMONG THE FLOWERS AND SHADOWS is a professionally filmed concert event taped live with three or four TV cameras. The cameramen use some unique angles to capture the performances including some looking down on the band and the polite Polish audience. The stage is fairly expansive and the band never looks cramped. The light show is colorful for a gothic metal band and the presentation makes pleasing use of the zoom lens. Filmed on videotape, ARTROSIS LIVE IN KRAKOW: AMONG THE FLOWERS AND SHADOWS is presented in the 1.33.1 ratio. The DVD transfer is very clear and deep, preserving the ambiance and aura that ARTROSIS produces both visually and acoustically. The colors are rich with very little oversaturation. There are moments when the image goes out of focus, resulting in a soft looking image, but it never detracts from the viewing experience. The black levels are solid and even the darkest scenes have plenty of depth and detail. There are two audio options (accessible from a Setup menu) Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo. Even though both tracks deliver CD-like fidelity, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is the desired preference for those who like their music loud, with thick bass, and with plenty of stereo separation. Actual 5.1 imaging is not as prevalent as one would expect, but it does sounds smooth and very life like. The heavy elements (guitars) mix well with the progressive ones (keyboards). The bass guitar is very powerful though the sequenced drums lack that live punch that only real drumming can provide. And Mideah’s vocals, though occasionally buried in the mix, cut through the instrumentation with precision.

This disc is loaded! From the Special Features menu, you can link to ARTROSIS’ official Website and the top fan sites. You can view the Bios (for Mideah, Maciej Niedzielski, and Rafal Grunt), Art Gallery, and Photo Gallery. If you have a DVD-ROM drive, you can access Desktop Images of the band. Click on the Discography menu to get a detailed look at ARTROSIS’ extensive discography including cover art. There is also an in-depth interview with founders Maciej Niedzielski and Mideah, who detail their history and inspirations. This interview is conducted in Polish with English subtitles. You can access several bonus tracks consisting of promotional videos, concert clips, and camcorder footage. Here are the titles of the video bonus tracks:

• Morpheus
• Posrod Kwiatow I Cieni
• Prawda
• 4 Bootleg Tracks

Music Video Distributors included several music only tracks from ARTROSIS’ past albums:

• Hidden Dimension
• Szmaragdowa Noc
• Morpheus
• Samuel
• Tome of the Gloom

In the sea of progressive, gothic, and darkwave musical groups prevalent in today’s rock scene, ARTROSIS combines the best of these genres for something truly special. I’d never seen them live before and excluding the opening meandering track, they mesmerized me along with the audience in attendance. Mideah’s voice mixes well with the orchestrations and enchants you like a cobra hypnotizing it’s prey. The only roadblock I see that could possibly hold this band back is the lack of English lyrics which are all so important in the international music scene. Apparently Mideah speaks broken English and the band have supposedly put out English language versions of their albums. Even with the Polish verses, the band’s music exceeds these verbal boundaries. The DVD features superb audio/video quality and contains enough extras and information about ARTROSIS to satisfy any fans of this band or this genre. As far as extras go, I wish every band’s DVD contained this amount of relevant information (bios, videos, interviews, etc.); a very well produced DVD indeed, better than most from the major labels.

ARTROSIS: LIVE IN KRAKOW is available from DVDEmpire.com