Since 1986, Europe has played host to the Metalmania festival. This once-a-year show highlights the best of the hardest, heaviest metal music in the world. This DVD release chronicles the 2007 show. ***

Metalmania shows are broken into a “large stage” for the more popular bands to perform, and a “small stage” for the up-and-coming hard and heavy bands. ***

Bands featured on the large stage for the 2007 show are Sepultura, Paradise Lost, Testament, My Dying Bride, Blaze Bayley (formerly of Iron Maiden), Entombed, John Lande, Korpiklaani, Crystal Abyss, Zyklon, Darzamat with Roman Kostrzewski, and Vital Remains. These are the bands whose performances are featured on the DVD. ***

The small stage bands for 2007's show are Benediction, Anata, Forever Will Burn, Root, Tyr, Wu-Hae, Horrorscope, Deivos, Ciryam, Carnal, Sphere, Witchking, and Wrust. Their performances are featured on the supplemental CD. ***

But enough about that. If you're reading this review, you've probably only got one question on your mind, and that is “should I get this DVD?” If you're a heavy metal fan, or a fan for any or all of these bands, absolutely. This festival features the bands in their prime, giving their undisputed best performances. Everyone is on fire throughout the entire show. I admit, there are a few parts of the DVD where the camera work is questionable, but that's about the only major problem this DVD has. If you've come for the music (and why else would you be here?), you will not be disappointed with the several hours worth of content in this set. ---

Image And Sound:

The image quality is not the best, but this is mostly due to sometimes-questionable camerawork, that often neglects members of a band or focuses too much on others. Still, for the most part the image looks pretty good throughout. ***

The sound is incredible, and if you've got a speaker system, this is the kind of show it was made for. Everything is mixed perfectly and sounds great - from the guitar riffs and drum beats to an audience screaming for more, it does the concert justice and then some. ---

There aren't a whole lot of bonus features in the set (were you expecting a whole lot, considering the several hours worth of content?) But just the same, what did get included is great, and worth a view for any fan. There are interviews with the bands who played the festival, which are especially enlightening to any fan. And if that wasn't enough, a history of the bands was provided (considering a good deal of these bands have a history stretching back to the 80s, it's cool to get some background info on them.) Additionally, we get a history of the festival itself, as well as a list of bands that played each festival. Good stuff. The other extras are mediocre at best - these include a photo gallery and desktops for your computer. Still, as far as the interviews and histories go, it's good stuff.

Final Words: