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Well, well.... after seemingly endless delays, Immolation's long-awaited DVD offering finally surfaced with less fanfare than I would've expected. Still, maybe they were aware that it doesn't quite have the impact that one would wish. To be honest, I was expecting to be blown out of my armchair by this thing, but it merely left me wishing to see the band in a live environment. But preferably not the sort that the shows on this were filmed in.

The main problem here is that the central show is from a support slot - namely, an appearance from the Cradle Of Filth tour they were on in 2003. Thus, a few problems surface - for one, the crowd obviously doesn't give a fuck, most of them being there to see an effeminate midget strut around screeching like a tormened chipmunk while a bunch of gothed-up session musicians play directionless pseudo-metal tripe and half-naked fat chicks masturbate in cages. This also explains the second problem - the sound, although decent, is rather fuzzy and indistinct, and Alex Hernandez's percussive thunder is often very buried. Especially his ravenous double-kick work, which is practically inaudible.

The camera work is decent, except a camera technician is often visible, which is annoying. We want to see the band, not some guy fiddling with a camera. The picture quality is also inconsistent. Some shots (especially close-ups) are often mildly pixelated, although that's only noticable if you're seated only a few feet from a 29" TV set like I was when watching it for the second time.

Then there's the biggest problem of all. NOT ONE FUCKING SONG FROM FAILURES FOR GODS!!!! OK, so they're obviously in love with Close To A World Below and especially Unholy Cult, but to omit epics like "Once Ordained", "No Jesus No Beast" and "The Devil I Know" is quite simply criminal. There's also a mere one song from Here In After, but that's better than nothing.

Then there's the bonus material: two shorter shows, filmed in varying quality. The French show is amusing - the sound quality is utter shit, it's filmed with a single camera from a side-of-stage balcony, and the fans are insane. Unlike the plastic mannequins from the Dreidle of Filth crowd, this lot are constantly thrashing around and many of them keep climbing onto the stage (and are subsquently thrown back by two roadies perched on the edge of the stage - refer to the camera-guy complaint regarding the main show). The LA show, meanwhile, appears to have been filmed through the eyes of the decapitated head of Syd Barret circa 1969 - the colours and focus are completely whacked out here, the band members appear to be moving underwater, and the sound is quite cool in a basement-demo-from-1984 way. There's also a couple of bonus tracks, which are nicely filmed and makes me wish they'd included the entire Tilburg show. Rounding things off, we get a decent interview with Ross Dolan and Bob Vigna, and some shaky footage of the band acting like asshats. Oh, and a video clip for "Of Martyrs and Men", which is also the opening track for the 3 shows and thus is utterly superfluous, because by the time you've watched those 3 shows you'll be getting sick of hearing it.

Despite all my bitching, this is a good DVD. It just could have been a lot better. Still, I don't hestitate recommending that you buy it, get drunk and crank the fucker to 11 and sit there screaming along with the words. Immolation still owns you and everything else.