DVDs have been popular for years when it comes to movies, and music DVDs have really exploded in the past few years. This year's best DVDs are a combination of documentaries, concert films, video collections and more. Here's my list of the best heavy metal DVDs released in 2006.
Seen through the eyes of metal fan and co-director Sam Dunn, we are taken on a journey across the world of heavy metal. Many different subjects are covered, including the history of the genre, its influence and impact, and the Norwegian black metal scene. The DVD also has some fantastic extras. There is a family tree of metal that examines the various genres and subgenres and ties them all together. There are also extended artist interviews, a behind the scenes travelogue, and another 25 minute documentary focusing exclusively on Norwegian black metal.
Read the complete review.
This is a must own DVD for Megadeth fans specifically, and metal fans in general. It's a chronicle of one of the seminal thrash bands of all time. The material begins with the band's first Capitol release, 1986's
Peace Sells...But Who's Buying? and goes through 2005's Gigantour. The 2 DVD set intersperses 20 different music videos with various interviews, tv spots, appearances, home video and other footage. Some of it is from Dave Mustaine's personal collection and has never before been seen by the public.
Read the complete Megadeth DVD review.
If you are a fan of Bruce Dickinson's solo material, this is a must own DVD. The triple disc set includes 3 separate concerts. One is from the early days of his solo career in 1990 and was filmed in Los Angeles. The second was filmed in Spain in 1996, and the third is from 1999 and was filmed in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The third DVD is all of Dickinson's promotional videos that he's done during his solo career, 14 of them. There's also a bonus video from way back in the day. It's Samson's "Biceps Of Steel" when Dickinson was their frontman in 1980.
Read the complete Bruce Dickinson DVD review.
The first disc is an entire concert recorded in 2004 at the London Forum. The audio and video quality of the live footage is excellent. Angela Gossow is a very charismatic frontperson, and cranking it up in Dolby 5.1 will make your house shake. Disc 2 is made up of bonus material. There are a couple of behind the scenes tour features, along with interviews, a section of "gear talk" for equipment geeks, and footage shot while they were filming the video for "My Apocalypse." There are also four promo videos and a few other goodies included on the second disc.
Read the complete Arch Enemy DVD review.
Mastodon's first official DVD consists of three different sections. One is a 45 minute documentary of the band's career. Another section is 3 different videos. The longest and most extensive part of the DVD is the live performances. Instead of filming one concert and showing it in its entirety, they show live performances from different eras and locations. It's interesting to see the really early songs when they were a 5 piece band. The audio and video quality of some of the songs isn't great, but that's part of the charm.
Read the complete Mastodon DVD review.
The 90 minute concert on the DVD was recorded in 2004 in Stockholm, Sweden. The majority of the material is taken from their classic
The Somberlain and
Storm Of The Light's Bane albums. The band sounds great, and frontman Jon Nödtveidt commands the stage. The extras on the DVD are pretty sparse, with a video and photo gallery. However, the 25 minute interview with Nödtveidt is very interesting. He has been an elusive figure, and with his recent suicide there obviously won't be any more interviews. He sheds a lot of light on the band and his time in prison in the interview.
Read the complete Dissection DVD review.
The Videos: 1989-2004 includes all 21 of Metallica's videos, starting with their first effort, 1989's "One," which is a classic. All the big hits are there along with lesser known but still very good songs. In addition to all the band's videos, there is bonus material including the home video "2 of One," which was previously only available on VHS, along with an additional version of "The Unforgiven" and the trailer for their documentary
Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster.
Read the complete Metallica DVD review.
The DVD includes a live concert from 1985 that was filmed in Osaka, Japan. There's a also a short 3 song live set from Bulgaria in 1993. Seven video clips are also included along with behind the scenes footage, a photo gallery, biography and discography with lyrics.
It's also a dual disc, meaning one side is a DVD and the other a CD. The CD has 9 previously unreleased tracks including demos from their 1981 album
Breaker, an acoustic song and other rare tracks. Accept is an essential metal band, and this DVD gives a good overview of their music.
Read the complete Accept DVD review.
On disc 1 of the two-disc set, drummer Mike Portnoy does an excellent job crafting a recording that takes the multitude of camera angles into a fairly comprehensive video that gives equal time to all five members and gives a good feel of what it felt like to be there that night. Disc 2 is home to some great extras for any hardcore fan: first, an hour-long documentary with all five Dream Theater members telling the 20-year story of the band, spiced with rare footage and photos.
Read the complete Dream Theater DVD review.
This 2 disc collection covers the band's first ten years. The first disc has seven of the band's music videos, along with footage of TV appearances, some behind the scenes stuff and some live performances captured on home video. The second disc is an extensive interview with Jeff Waters. He discusses in detail the history and early days of the band, and also mentions some of their more recent output.
Read the complete Annihilator DVD review.
