2007 was the 12th installment of the Bang Your Head Festival. Thousands of fans from across the world make the trek to Balingen, Germany for the two day outdoor festival. The Bang Your Head 2007 DVD clocks in at over three hours on two discs.
The 2007 lineup at Bang Your Head was stronger than
the 2006 lineup. The
Bang Your Head 2007 DVD gets off to a shaky start with Adramelch, but kicks into gear with the rainy performance of Wolf's "I Will Kill Again." The legendary British band Girlschool still sounds great, and they have three songs on the DVD. Praying Mantis, Lethal and Vicious Rumors are decent, and each gets two songs.
The first DVD wraps up with strong performances from Evergrey, Dark Tranquillity and Thunder. Amon Amarth only have one song on the DVD, which is a disappointment. There's a bonus track from headliners Heaven and Hell, but it's not from the Bang Your Head festival.
Day one of Bang Your Head 2007 was by far the better day as far as name bands. The second DVD kicks off with Age Of Evil and Archer, who have one song apiece. Mystic Prophecy, Powermad and Mercenary are next, each with two songs. Brainstorm has one track on the DVD, and classic rock dinosaurs Nazareth have three. The DVD wraps up with two songs from Edguy.
In addition to the festival performances,
Bang Your Head 2007 has extras of bands doing club shows. Bands featured are Age Of Evil, Lethal, Onslaught and Vicious Rumors. I'm not sure if there were contractual issues, technical issues, or other reasons, but bands including Amorphis, Finntroll and W.A.S.P. performed at the festival but do not have songs on the DVD.
European festivals look like such a great time, and I hope to be able to attend one at some point. In the meantime, DVDs like Bang Your Head 2007 are the next best thing to being there.
(released July 29, 2008 on Locomotive Records)
