I’m sure many of you dig live DVDs when they surface but I have mixed reactions regarding the upcoming release of two in particular.

Ministry, who we all thought was dead and buried, is going to kick out a DVD on May 31st (preceded by a live CD titledAdios…Putas Madres on March 31st) detailing their farewell tour, a jaunt that highlighted a great deal of their lackluster final album (review) as opposed to celebrating their classics. I can understand that when you go on a “promotional tour” it’s to promote your most recent album. That means you’re going to be playing a lot of the newer tracks to get people to purchase the album. I have no problem with that at all. But when you announce a tour is your “final” it’s probably a good idea to give your fans one last shot at everything they’ve enjoyed throughout your career. Unfortunately, Ministry completely failed in this regard. And they’ve already put out a few cool DVDs with the classic material anyway. I don’t have a tracklist for this new release, which will emanate from Jourgenson’s flailing 13th Planet Records, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Then there’s The Birthday Massacre. Their last album, 2007′s Walking With Strangers (review) was one of my favorites of that year but vocalist Chibi has never been particularly adept in a live setting. To be fair, her vocals have dramatically gained in strength over the years and I didn’t catch their most recent tour so I can’t comment on the performance this time around. If she nailed it this is going to be a good offering that should tide us all over until the next album surfaces. If she can’t hold a candle next to the recordings it may not be in the best interest of the band to ever pursue such an endeavor again out of fear of losing everything. It isn’t as though I’ve seen anything up on YouTube that has impressed me much.

I really haven’t ever made the effort to contribute DVD reviews so you’re on your own with these. Good luck.