Roadrunner's latest installment in their metal conquest
At first glance, £8 doesn't seem too bad for just shy of 30 music videos. Looking at the selection, Roadrunner are doing their best to let everyone know that they are cementing their position as the devourer of all metal bands. Roadrunner has often been criticised for using bands like Trivium as vehicles for their move into the metal genre. Looking at the list of videos, it is clear that this is Roadrunner's intention.
Most fans of the genre will be pleased with the selection. Certainly, a large proportion of contemporary metal bands are represented. There is a good mix of live and studio videos, from both major and minor bands, although some of the videos are simply collections of live performances and random, home camcorder style clips. The Wednesday 13 is a good example; it isn't listed as a live video, which seems like false advertising. All the obvious favourites are there: "30-30/150", "A Gunshot To The Head of Trepidation", "I'll Go Until My Heart Stops" and "The End". Most metal fans will have already seen these videos. There's nothing rare or outstanding here.
The production quality of the DVD is average at best. There are certainly no frills, extras or fancy graphics. But this didn't bother me so much as the fact that this DVD is rated E. And we all know what that means? Censoring of all the swearing. Now, as much as I like the fact that these music videos don't have any particular music channel logo in the bottom corner, it seems pointless to buy this DVD knowing it's going to be cut. In fairness, Roadrunner is clearly aiming this at the largest market it can. But with the advent of services like YouTube, I doubt people will be interested in paying even as little as £8. This DVD feels like it's for people who generally like what they see on the music channels and simply want to choose their own videos. It would make a nice addition to any existing collection but you'll get bored of it after you've seen your favourite bands.
On the whole, the videos range from fair to very good. You've all seen them before no doubt. This is a mixed bag of contemporary metal bands but if you already have any kind of music channel subscription, you might want to leave this alone. Otherwise, it's only £8 and it might look good on a reasonable television as background noise or when your mates are over, but even I can only listen to "30-30/150" a few number of times.