• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

I came across this DVD a few weeks ago when I went to check if maybe Vital Remains had a new album in the oven (as of this writing, that’s a no) since Icons of Evil was 15 years ago already. I had seen a live bootleg of the band some 20-odd years ago and was looking for something of better quality.

The main show was recorded at Metalmania 2007 in Poland and that’s pro-shot, so lots of takes from various angles, though sometimes moving around a little too quickly for comfort. Crowd shots are mostly kept to a minimum, but that’s not where the action is anyway. The band is on fire throughout the performance, especially the singer who looks like a maniac with his eyes practically coming out of their socket with the evil, demented looks he gives the crowd and, on top of that, he’s all over the place. The other guys aren’t slacking off either. Lots of fun to watch, the kind of show that makes you wish you had been there in person.

There’s also a 40-minute show in the Extras section, also filmed in Poland in 2007. The quality here is not nearly as good as the main feature, but it’s definitely above bootleg quality (lots of red, though). The smaller stage doesn’t allow for the band members to move around as much, but they’re nevertheless giving it all they got. Other extras include some solos by Suzuki and a good interview with Tony Lazaro and Dave Suzuki (Lazaro does most of the talking), with things like the history of the band, the anti-religion stance, the albums, and other topics being discussed. Their last–as of this writing–album, Icons of Evil, was released before this, so it gets covered as well.

There’s the obligatory short written biography and a photo gallery, extras that I find disposable, but your mileage may vary. Throw in stuff like web links and desktop backgrounds and you’ve got the goodies if you want them.

I’m not sure what the band is up to nor whether I’ll get a chance to see them live, but the performances on the DVD at least fill part of that gap and definitely make me wish they will be touring nearby sometime in the future (they may not have released anything in 15 years, but they are still playing live). As I write this, the DVD can still be found relatively cheaply, so fire up your favourite search engine.