Alright, here's a good overview of the Alder/post-Arch era of Fates Warning, which to some is good, and to other it might be bad. But otherwise we have the anthology of all of the MTV/Headbangers Ball videos that once graced airplay back in the day, spanning the years 1988 through 2000, with different lineups and a Progressive Metal standard.
Although we see the commercial dabbling of cuts like "Eye to Eye" and "Point of View," the evolution of the second era of this band is well documented with footage from the making of two totally different albums, Parallels and Disconnected, recorded nearly a decade apart.
The home video footage of the band in the studio features rare shots of producer Terry Brown behind the board with interesting footage of Jim Matheos laying down his guitar riffs on a Gibson ES hollowbody, Ray Alder trying to get his vocal technique right, and throwing fits when he gets stressed out. For the most part it is a detailed look at the studio sessions that are otherwise private. You can also view the videos an album at a time on the menu screen.
This being a video anthology sort of speaks for itself, the videos are "directed" and "produced" just like any video nowadays, trying to fit in an artsy visual effects among the songs storyline while the live clips showcase the band's stage presence.
This is better than the 2000 release "Live at the Dynamo" (this DVD contains some footage from that release), it is more of an insight for someone who might not have been able to see these videos when Metal was in it's heyday and for fans who just want to see the videos over again.
Rating: 7/10Written by
Hashman Wednesday, August 6, 2003
