Video: 4:3
Sound: Dolby 5.1, DTS and Stereo
It's a little weird to review a live performance by a band where I only have one album, the brilliant Horrorscope. But Spitfire was nice enough to send us this DVD, so of course I'll give it a damn good thrashing...
This is a double DVD release. Disc One contains the full 2 hour concert at Asbury Park. The video quality is excellent with a very clear picture. The show on stage is captured pretty good with few, but well placed cameras. The focus is mainly on the energetic frontmand Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth. Between the songs there are also some pretty funny views of the entusiastic audience. The sound quality is fantastic through the whole show. The sound is very thick and it's easy to hear each instrument. Just the way it should be.
The band rips through their songs with huge amounts of energy. Even though I only knew the songs from Horrorscope this was still an enjoyable concert to sit through. Mainly due to the energy and tightness of the band displayed on stage. Especially the older songs worked great and made me want to go out and discover those.
The highlights of the show for me, were of course the songs they played from Horrorscope,
Coma and
Horrorscope, but also the older and thashier songs went across really well.
Overkill has become another a personal favourite.
One of the only downpoints, is the lightshow. When the lights start flickering on and off at high speed, then my TV goes nuts and it get's really annoying on the eyes. When that happened I just closed my eyes and listened to the music... This thing does happen quite a lot, especially during the first part of the show. It's not enough to ruin anything, but it definitely started getting on my nerves.
Overall it is a great and well performed show. It's apparent that the budget for this production was limited but the important things like sound and picture quality and most of all an enjoyable concert are in perfect order.
The second DVD contains various bonus material.
The main part is a 90 minute
documentary on the band. This is quite excellent, and I felt I got a good look into the band right from the start till now. The documentary is made up from interviews with the band members intercut with old and new live performances and other rare footage. There are many enjoyable clips and the band lets us in on some interesting and very funny stories. I especially like the ones about the fire escape and the time they ended up in prison.
Behind the scenes is a 5 minute sequence filled with various clips from the day of the concert, including interviews with some of the fans.
A photo gallery is also included.
This is a cool DVD release from a band that embodies the spirit of Heavy Metal all the way. If you're an Overkill fan then this should be an essential purchase. It definitely made me thirsty to discover more of their music. It's never too late to catch up...
Rating: 6.5/10Written by
Steen Saturday, February 15, 2003
