Sex Gang Children

"The Borman Chain" opens up the proceedings like Marilyn Manson without the drag. Perhaps the best description of this very underground tape is Pere Ubu meets Marilyn Manson, the visuals very out of control at the beginning, so much so that it feels like a bootleg looking for respectability -- which for the deep-catalog fans of Sex Gang Children is probably a plus: some added integrity to this goth sensation who include in this package an "image gallery" as well as two and a half minutes of backstage footage as bonus features. There are just a few words and credits on the back cover and no liner notes, so appreciate the grunge/machine shop industrial bent of the concert, because what they do give is a lengthy set list. Seeing the members of a goth band putting on their makeup does have advantages for the fan base, but it's the erratic tape that followers will cherish. "Medea" comes off very well till the shaky camera has its difficulties again, though "Barbarossa" works like a secret agent caught in a horror flick. This is a "fly on the wall"-type look at the group through a single lens, and -- not to make excuses -- that really won't bother fans who want to witness these Sex Gang Children episodes live. On the song "Propaganda," Andi Sexgang looks like a younger version of the creature in the film Nosferatu fronting a rock group, a Black Sabbath bass-heavy riff ominous enough and a red tint adding to the already manic atmosphere. The unsteady visuals combined with a lo-fi audio recording is truly poor for "Home" and degrades noticeably when "Times of Our Lives" rolls in around an hour into the program. It's a fun 90-minute romp filmed in London on June 13, 2002. Shot and edited by Vince Corkadel, the screams and the angst are intact, and isn't that what this generation wants? ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide