1. Cannibal Corpse - 'Centuries Of Torment: The First 20 Years'
Metal Blade Records
Cannibal Corpse are one of the biggest and most influential bands in extreme music. Often controversial, they paved the way for countless death metal bands that followed. Their story is important in the history of heavy metal, and Centuries Of Torment: The First 20 Years does a great job telling their story.
The centerpiece of the 3 DVD set is the three hour band history. It starts at the beginning in Buffalo, New York and chronicles their story up to the present day. The number of people interviewed is staggering. From friends and family members that were there at the start to music executives to other bands, and of course the past and present members of Cannibal Corpse, you get many different perspectives on the band's history.
2. Iron Maiden - 'Live After Death'
Universal Music
Live After Death is a double DVD. The first disc is the original concert. In addition to the original stereo mix, the audio has been remastered into 5.1 surround sound. It's a great concert, with vocalist Bruce Dickinson talking a fair amount between songs. Obviously the video quality isn't what it would be today, but for 1984 it's just fine.
The second DVD is packed with extras. There's a 60 minute documentary which chronicles the making of the Powerslave album and subsequent tour. There's another nearly hour long documentary Behind The Iron Curtain. It was shot during Iron Maiden's 1984 tour in Poland and other Iron Curtain countries during the height of the Cold War. It also has performances of 7 different live songs.3. 'Heavy Metal In Baghdad'
Vice Films
Heavy Metal In Baghdad began as a magazine article about the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda. That drew the interest of filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi. They periodically followed the band from 2004 to 2006. The beginning of the documentary shows Acrassicauda as a complete band, and chronicles their final show in Iraq.
They eventually flee the country and end up in Syria, at least temporarily. The band's story is interesting, as are the experiences of the filmmakers in trying to locate the different bands members and navigating through a war zone. The direct point of the documentary is how the war in Iraq affected the heavy metal band Acrassicauda and their members.4. Lamb Of God - 'Walk With Me In Hell'
Epic Records
Walk With Me In Hell is a 2 DVD set that has everything a Lamb Of God fan could want. The centerpiece of the first DVD is the documentary. It chronicles Lamb Of God as they travel the world in support of Sacrament. From their first strange trip to Japan to Australia to Europe to North America, we get an up close and personal look of the band.
Concert shots are interspersed with backstage antics, band members seeing the sights and interviews. It's an interesting and pretty comprehensive peek into the lives of Lamb Of God members and clocks in at nearly two hours. Also included are extras of several live performances. There are six songs taken from various venues, including the Unholy Alliance Tour, Ozzfest and their headlining tour.5. God Forbid - 'Beneath The Scars Of Glory And Progression'
Century Media Records
Beneath The Scars Of Glory And Progression is a double disc set. The first disc is a 2007 concert filmed at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey (the band's home state). The second disc is an hour long documentary called Rated R For Real.
The concert disc features 12 songs clocking in at 70 minutes. The audio quality is great. The video quality I'm not quite sure because it's one of those DVDs where they use excessive editing and switch shots about 3 times per second. The documentary on disc 2 is great. It's a combination history of the band, profile of the members and slapstick comedy. It's interesting to hear how everything got started, to get to know the band members' personalities, and see how funny some of them are.6. Hatebreed - 'Live Dominance'
Koch Records
Live Dominance captures Hatebreed live in concert at Harpo's in Detroit, Michigan. The connection between frontman Jamey Jasta and the crowd is obvious and palpable as they feed off each other. Frenzied pits and passionate crowd screamalongs amp up the energy level.
Hatebreed is a well oiled machine on stage, ripping through the 75 minute set as they release their pent up anger and aggression. The setlist covers a lot of ground as the band plays songs from the early days up through their latest CD. In addition to the Detroit concert there's also a DVD of bonus material. It includes some behind the scenes footage, interviews with the band and extra live songs filmed in New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.7. Turisas - 'A Finnish Summer With Turisas'
Century Media Records
The first part of A Finnish Summer With Turisas is live performances that were filmed at various festivals around Finland. Songs from Ruisrock, Nummirock, Ilosaarirock, Wanaja and Voimasointu Festivals are all featured. They are filmed at various venues, but the sound and video quality are pretty consistent throughout. Turisas' rousing Viking metal, costumes and makeup translate well to DVD.
The hour long documentary about the band is very interesting. It covers their summer festival tour, but is more than the usual backstage footage. For example, cameras follow the band as they celebrate the midsummer festival at a cabin at a lake. You get an insight on Finnish culture as well as the band members themselves.8. Kreator - 'At The Pulse Of Kapitulation: Live In East Berlin 1990'
SPV Records
Longtime Kreator fans may have this on VHS, but for the first time At The Pulse Of Kapitulation: Live In East Berlin 1990 is available on DVD. It captures one of the great thrash bands in prime form. The audio has been upgraded from the original VHS. It's been digitized and remixed into 5.1 sound by Andy Sneap. The video quality is decent, especially taking into account the date of its filming.
In addition to the East Berlin concert, the DVD also includes Kreator's mini horror film Hallucinative Coma from 1991. The director Andreas Marshall has put together a new cut featuring previously deleted scenes. There's also a documentary called The Past And Now.9. 'Aural Amphetamine: Metallica And The Dawn Of Thrash'
Sexy Intellectual
Aural Amphetamine: Metallica And The Dawn Of Thrash explores the roots of thrash metal. It starts with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden, Diamond Head and Saxon, which were strong influences on what became thrash. Metallica is the main focus of the documentary, as it explores their early days through Master Of Puppets and how they popularized thrash metal.
Metallica didn't cooperate in the making of this film, but there are archival interviews with band members from several years ago. A variety of musicians and journalists explain their experiences and opinions about the thrash movement. Members of Megadeth, Diamond Head, Laaz Rockit, Machine Head and many more musicians are interviewed.10. Lacuna Coil - 'Visual Karma'
Century Media Records
Visual Karma is a double DVD set. The first disc features live performances. One is from Wacken 2007 in Germany and the other from Loudpark 2007 in Japan. Festival sets are shorter than normal concerts, so there aren't as many songs as a typical show. The Wacken performance is during the day and Loudpark at night, and the contrast between the two is interesting. After dark the fans seem to be more engaged, and the band responds accordingly.
Both performances are good, but the Loudpark set has more energy and vibrancy. The first DVD also has music videos of four different songs. The second Visual Karma DVD showcases the personality of the band. There are segments about each band member, each doing something different.