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July 24, 2008 |
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DVD 1
01. Gettysburg Trilogy
02. Special Features
- Battlefield Tour
- Spirit Of '76
- Photo Gallery
- Video Trailer
DVD 2
01. When The Eagle Cries (Unplugged)
02. The Reckoning
03. Interview with Jon Schaffer
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Let me start by saying that I am indeed a fan of ICED EARTH and have been for about 8 years now. There is no live footage on either of the DVDs included with this package. I repeat, there is NO live footage...zero, zilch, nada, squat, diddly! I found this quite disappointing.
Disc 1 is centered on the musical trilogy, "Gettysburg (1863)", which is comprised of "The Devil To Pay (July 1st, 1863)", "Hold At All Costs (July 2nd 1863)", and "High Water Mark (July 3rd, 1863)" from last year's "The Glorious Burden". There are three different audio tracks available including Stereo, and two Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes (Metal and Orchestral). This is basically a really long, really bad video attempting to detail the Gettysburg story. There are still pictures with lots of zoom-ins/outs and digital effects displayed (with the optional lyrics) as the half-hour history seminar unfolds. This brought me back to high school history class. I wasn't fond of history then and guess what...20 years later and I still don't enjoy it, even more so since this is not at all what I was expecting when I laid out 30 greenbacks on the counter.
Next, the viewer is presented with a video tour at the real Gettysburg battlefield with a man introduced to the viewer as "Ted", the historical expert on the region. Thanks to the 'watch and listen at high-speed' feature on my DVD player, this 80 minute "bore-a-thon" only wasted an additional 25 minutes of my life. Surprisingly, I learned a few things about American history...but still not at all what I was expecting from this DVD. After that comes an interview with Jon talking about his "Spirit of '76" store which sells military miniatures, history art and books, etc. It's just another in the growing list of things I didn't sign-up for. There's also a Photo Gallery (as if the video's moving images were so exciting you just had to see them again) and a Video Trailer for the DVD, which made me think "Umm, I already have this DVD in my possession, why do I need to see a promotional trailer?"
The booklet provides lyrics for the trilogy, details the story behind those lyrics, and gives Jon's thoughts on writing the music and accompanying words.
Disc 2 starts out much better with videos for the banned "When The Eagle Cries" (Unplugged version) and "The Reckoning". Apparently the video was banned because of 9-11 imagery within...leading to the band being labeled as 'political'. Silly. I found it very touching, and a nice tribute to those lost and the fallen heroes. +2 points for including this otherwise hard to find gem. After my initial excitement with Disc 2, I am put back to sleep with an overextended interview with Jon Schaffer, running almost an hour. Thanks again to my high-speed viewing option.
Upon finishing Disc 2, two things came immediately to mind..."Why did I just waste 3 hours of my life?" and "Where is the "Alive In Athens" DVD?" I would think that historic concert must've been filmed and is SO deserving of a DVD release for ICED EARTH fans...instead of this.
It is not very likely that Disc 1 will ever see the laser beam of my DVD player again. Disc 2 will probably be pulled out a few more times to show the video for "When The Eagle Cries" to friends. After that, this DVD will probably be shelved until Christmas time when I can give it away to one of my co-workers in some sort of "gift exchange" program.
U.S. history fanatic? Excellent! Everything and anything that is ICED EARTH? Sweet! All other metalheads looking to sit down in front of the TV to bang your head to one of your favorite bands with the volume cranked...your money is better spent on a different DVD. Try IRON MAIDEN's "The Early Days, Part 1" for a history lesson you'll actually care about.
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