DVD Review - Iced Earth - Alive in Athens

Iced Earth is a band that I've been listening to quite a bit recently, so when I saw their live DVD Alive In Athens going fairly cheap in my local Virgin Megastore (or Zavi as its now called) I knew I had to have it.

I had picked up the CD version of this release earlier in the year and was highly impressed with the excellent sound quality of the performance, so impressed in fact, that I regard some of the versions on the live CD as better than their studio counterparts.

A cursory look at the back of the DVD case revealed that Century Media had done a good job of translating the sprawling three CD's into one career spanning DVD (only the song Iced Earth is missing from the DVD version). Even the most hardcore IE fan would find it hard to pick fault with the track listing as it contains something off every one of their first five albums.

Filmed over two nights at The Rodon in Athens, Greece, it's a good document of how powerful IE can be in the live arena. Not known for having the most stable of line-ups, the band on this release consists of head honcho Jon Schaffer and Larry Tarnowski on guitar, Matt Barlow on vocals, James McDonough on bass and Brent Smedley providing the drum battery.

Doing some reading on the net before writing this review I found out that Jon Schaffer was not happy with this DVD being released as he had issues with the visual quality of the footage. Viewing the DVD you can see why the meticulous Schaffer would be disappointed with its release. The shows were captured by a three camera crew and initially only with the intention of airing a few songs on German TV. Century Media took matters into their own hands however, and edited the whole thing together for this DVD.

Strangely enough despite some very obvious flaws this is not all together a bad thing. First off since there are no other IE concerts available on DVD at the time of writing, this at least provides the fans with a chance to see their idols doing what they do best. Indeed with Tim Owens recent sacking and the return of Matt Barlow, it seems highly unlikely that any other live documents will be released in the near future.

Also the restriction of the amount of camera's used for the shoot means that we are spared the usual hyperactive 3000+ cuts per second that too many DVD's suffer from these days. This allows all you muso's out there to be able to appreciate the stunning technical display on offer rather than take an epileptic fit trying to keep up with the action.

This is a bit of a double-edged sword however, as the lack of multiple cameras means that the editors have to make do with the limited footage available. This means that on occasion while Larry will be soloing like a mad man, the viewer is stuck watching Jon riff away or Matt work the audience. In addition to this it also leads to the use of quite a few cut-away shots of the crowd which have clearly been taking during a different song from the one that's playing. This can be very frustrating at points and does make you wish you could give the person who decided only to use three cameras a slap.

I'm glad to report that as befitting a band with a potent live presence like IE, the sound quality is fantastic. Every song sounds stunning with a ferocious drum sound (just listen to that double bass playing!) and the perfect mix of guitars and vocals so that nothing is left out.

The quality of the sound does sadly come at a price. There are point in the DVD (most noticeably during Stormrider when Schaffer takes over vocal duties) that the audio track clearly does not match the visuals. I imagine that the sound from one of the shows at the Rodon has been matched with the footage from the other night. Plus I'd wager there has been a fair bit of studio trickery and touching up to make sure everything sounds impeccable.

This is fair enough if it improves the quality of the music but it can be quite off-putting. It leads to a feeling of separation between the sound and picture where you are left wondering about the fact that the song appears to be that little bit too perfect for the lower quality of the film.

Anyway enough about the production values of the DVD, what about the performance itself?

Having had the pleasure of seeing IE live and witnessing the muscle of one of their shows I can say that the DVD is a fairly good attempt at bringing that power into your living room. The gig opens with a storming rendition of Burning Times (anyone else noticed the similarities between the opening riff in this song and Leather Rebel by Judas Priest?) and continues with a romp through an almighty 28 songs from their back catalogue in front of a sold out club of rowdy Greek metalheads.

There are quite a few highlights on the DVD, these include a mesmerising sixteen minute rendition of Dante's Inferno (I was seriously fighting the urge to get down on my knees and do the Wayne's World "We're not worthy" routine in front of the TV at this point), awesome versions of The Hunter and Violate from The Dark Saga and a moving Watching Over Me.

Special mention must go to the big ginger guy in centre stage for providing an excellent stage presence which really elevates the performance to another level. When I saw the band live in 2007 I though that Tim Owens was incredible but I have to admit that Matt does just seem to add that little something extra to the band and has that aura of mystery that all the great metal front men possess.

The DVD ends with a terrific selection of my favourite IE tracks, Disciples of The Lie, I Died For You and of course the Something Wicked Trilogy. These songs brings an fitting conclusion to a mammoth DVD and are sure to leave you with a sore neck and wrecked vocal chords from singing along as if you were there (or perhaps I was just getting too carried away).

And after the gig comes to a close its time for what always seems like the most pointless part of a live DVD, the extras. It's perhaps a little ungrateful to moan after just watching over two and a half hours of concert footage but these extras, like on so many other DVD's, are a waste of space. They basically consist of five minutes of backstage action before the gig, watch in amazement as Matt gets interviewed and prepare to be shocked as the band drink beer!!

Once you get over this excitement you then get a few shots of Jon doing his best tour guide impersonation and showing us some of the sights in Athens. Which isn't exactly pulse pounding stuff but then who buys DVD's for the extras anyway?

Alive in Athens, while not being the most perfect DVD ever released is certainly more than worth investing your hard earned cash in. The wide range of songs on offer means that no one will walk away feeling let down and with Matt Barlow recently returning to the band and having to re-do the vocals to the follow up to Framing Armageddon this might be the only way you will get to experience Iced Earth "live" for a while.

Rating: 7.5/10

Written by Stuart
Tuesday, January 22, 2008