2010 Best Heavy Metal DVDs

In an event fans had been anticipating for decades, the “Big 4” of thrash metal finally played some shows together. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax did a series of 7 shows in Europe at the Sonisphere Festivals. One of those shows was captured for The Big 4: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria.

Also broadcast in movie theaters worldwide via satellite, the concert was one of the defining moments and biggest events in recent metal history. All the bands have a lot of tread on their tires, but they can still put on a great show, as this DVD proves. Each band has a very distinctive attitude/vibe. Anthrax has a more lighthearted, fun approach, while Megadeth is 100 percent business with very little banter and focus on the music. Slayer has a more ominous vibe, although their evil mystique has lessened over the years. Metallica were very inclusive, with James Hetfield acting as everybody's favorite uncle interacting with the crowd and taking time to soak it all in. 

To mark their 20th anniversary earlier this year, Opeth played six special shows which took them from Sweden to Germany to France to the UK to the United States. The British show is captured on the two DVD set In Live Concert At The Royal Albert Hall.

The first disc is Opeth playing their classic 2001 CD Blackwater Park in its entirety. The second DVD is 8 other tracks spanning the band's career, including “Forest Of October from 1995's Orchid all the way to “The Lotus Eater” from their latest CD, 2008's Watershed. The 16 songs on the two discs give the viewer 3 hours of Opeth enjoyment.

There is also some bonus material in addition to the Royal Albert Hall show. Frontman Mikael Akerfeldt answers questions submitted by fans, which provides some interesting insight. There is also a tour documentary showing behind the scenes footage.

In honor of a milestone anniversary of their classic album, Judas Priest are releasing British Steel: The 30th Anniversary Edition. It includes the 2001 remastered version of British Steel, that has two bonus tracks (“Red White & Blue and a live version of “Grinder” along with a DVD recorded in August, 2009. Judas Priest played British Steel in its entirety in Hollywood, Florida, followed by some other Priest classics such as “Diamonds And Rust,” “The Ripper” and “You've Got Another Thing Coming.”

It's interesting to listen to the original album, then watch the DVD of those same songs being played 30 years later. In addition to the concert, there is also a 30 minute documentary about the making of British Steel that features a sit down interview with the band. They talk about the overall recording of the album, each individual song, and the legacy of this great album.

The Flames Of The End is the definitive At The Gates DVD, a three disc collection with 8 hours of material. The centerpiece of the DVD is the documentary Under A Serpent Sun. It's an extensive history of the band, and was put together by guitarist Anders Bjorler. It combines interviews with the band members, rare photos and performance footage from their 2008 tour.

The second DVD is the band's 2008 set at Wacken. Unlike a lot of festival DVDs, At The Gates doesn't play only 7 or 8 songs. They played a full set with 17 songs and an intro. Wacken is a great place to film a concert, with the massive crowd. At The Gates had that crowd in the palm of their hand and played a killer show. The audio is excellent, thanks to superproducer Tue Madsen.

Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes is a massive DVD/CD from the Finnish band Amorphis. It's the first concert DVD in the band's 20 year history, and the 2 DVD/2 CD collection is packed with bonus material.

The first DVD is a 2009 concert filmed in Oulu, Finland. The second DVD is their set at the 2009 Summer Breeze Open Air Festival in Germany. Even though 9 of the 12 songs are also played in the Oulu set, it's a completely different vibe. Oulu is a more intimate indoor show played in front of their fans in their home country. Summer Breeze is a big outdoor festival with a larger crowd of more non-partisan fans.

The second DVD also has a ton of bonus material. There's a documentary Tales From The 20 Years, which interviews past and present band members about the history of Amorphis.

Rust In Peace is one of the classic thrash metal albums. 20 years after its release, Megadeth has been playing the album in its entirety, and their March, 2010 performance at the Hollywood Palladium has been captured for Rust In Peace Live. Megadeth has been on a roll the past few years, and the recent unlikely reunion with bassist David Ellefson has given the band even more energy.

Chris Broderick and Dave Mustaine's guitar interplay is comfortable and very tight, which is evident on Rust In Peace Live. They let the music do the talking, with no in-between songs banter from Mustaine, just an opening statement and some talking at the very end. In addition to the entire Rust In Peace album, Megadeth plays 7 more of their hits, such as “Peace Sells” and “Symphony Of Destruction.” There's also some behind the scenes backstage and rehearsal footage.

Wacken is a popular place to film DVDs, and Exodus' 2008 set is where Shovel Headed Tour Machine takes place. Festivals have huge crowds, which is one of the appeals of shooting DVDs there, and they provide a cool backdrop and tons of energy.  Exodus rips through the set, opening with the classic “Bonded By Blood” and wrapping up with “Shovel Headed Kill Machine.” The band sounds razor sharp, and the video quality on the DVD is excellent.

Exodus went all out with the second DVD on Shovel Headed Tour Machine: Live At Wacken And Other Atrocities. It's over three hours long, and has a ton of material. The showpiece is the documentary Assorted Atrocities, which chronicles the band's recent past, including the recording of Shovel Headed Kill Machine. They also go way back with a vintage 1985 interview. Other bonus material includes deleted scenes, live performances, photos and music videos.

After being together for over 20 years and having several CDs under their belt, Meshuggah is releasing their first full-length DVD Alive.  The DVD was filmed at the 2008 Loudpark Festival in Tokyo and on Meshuggah's 2009 North American tour.

A third of the songs on the DVD are from 2008's ObZen, with the rest of the music spanning the band's career. Instead of having a separate documentary as a bonus feature, Alive intersperses black and white documentary style features in between the live tracks. I thought it might really interrupt the flow of the music, but the features are well done, varied and not too long. And since the live songs are filmed at several different venues, it actually ends up flowing better with the vignettes in between the music.

Live At Masters Of Rock was filmed at the 2008 festival in the Czech Republic, when they were supporting their Metal CD. The 13 songs span Annihilator's career, but more than half of the tracks are from Alice In Hell and 1990's Never, Neverland. It's a great set, with plenty of classics and enough newer material to make it interesting. Playing in front of festival crowds seems to energize bands, and Annihilator hits on all cylinders.

Jeff Waters works the crowd and does some vocals, while Dave Padden handles the majority of the vocals and plays guitar. Padden has been in the band for 7 years now, giving him and Waters time to build up a nice on-stage chemistry. Waters is a top notch axe man, and his chops are on full display on Live At Masters Of Rock.

Five years after part one, Sodom continues the detailed chronicle of their history with Lords Of Depravity Part II. The massive double DVD set has over six hours of material featuring the veteran German thrash band. The core of Lords Of Depravity Part II is the first disc, a documentary that picks up where the first DVD left off in 1995. Interviews with past and present band members and others chronicle Sodom's history up until the present day.

Disc 2 is their 2007 25th anniversary concert at Wacken. The 20 song set spans the range of their quarter century catalog from 1986's Obsessed By Cruelty through 2007's The Final Sign Of Evil. Tom Angelripper and company take the adoring crowd on a 2 hour whirlwind of their best songs, delivering an energetic and entertaining performance.