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Volbeat

Live: Sold Out DVD

Written by: PP on 20/08/2008 16:49:46

I've gotta say that I've been pushing the review task of Volbeat's DVD "Live: Sold Out" unnecessarily long, partly because I find the band overhyped, and partly because it's made up of two full DVD's, measuring well over three and a half hours in overall footage length, which of course means I would have to find space to watch it all in one go to gain the ultimate viewing experience. Finally I got myself around to doing it, and what better way to watch a music DVD than enjoying it through a massive projector screen system supplemented with a 5.1 surround sound system?

Basically, the DVD consists of two discs, the first one of which is a 21 song (including intro and outro) live show, compiled from a bunch of shows the band played throughout the course of 2007. You'll find both festival footage and small club shows, and almost all of the band's songs are covered in the various shows. Additionally, there's a picture gallery and five music videos that the band has done in the past.

About their live show, well, sure the shows are big (Summer Breeze for instance) and the crowd seems to be having a good time, but frankly, Volbeat are a rather average band live. They spend most of their time standing still, only occasionally doing a few jumps and movements across the stage; certainly nowhere near the energizing shows of bands like The Psyke Project in Denmark or The Dillinger Escape Plan overseas. This is one of the main reasons why I didn't really feel like watching the full disc, because all of their songs look more or less the same on stage, and aside from the crowd cheers and mid-song banter, they are little different to just closing your eyes and imagining the band while listening to them on record. [5]

However, the real gem of the DVD lies in disc 2, the two hour long documentary on the band's rise from the unknown, but cool, rock band in Denmark into national superstars and wide international fanbase. The documentary covers virtually every aspect of the band you'd want to know, starting from an in-depth introduction into the people in the band, their songwriting techniques, their influences and favorite Volbeat songs, going through their fans, how their dreams come through and that sort of stuff, before finishing off with some afterthoughts, and of course, the "grand finale" of two sold out shows at Store Vega in Copenhagen, Denmark. There's little left outside the DVD that a fan wouldn't wish to know about the band, making it a must buy for all fans of the band, and why not for just the regular music fan who wants to see an in-depth documentary about how a band rises from scratch into mega stardom in a matter of just 12 months.

Download: N/A
For the fans of: Danko Jones, Volbeat
Listen: Myspace

Release date 18.02.2008
Mascot Records
Provided by Target ApS