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I've often complained about some DVDs lacking in terms of live material (Hammerfall, I'm looking in your directioooon...), but this is one thing that sure isn't lacking here: Two complete shows, one at Wacken in 2001 (Nuclear Fire tour) and one in Stuttgart in 2002 (Black Sun tour.) The Wacken show was filmed outside (of course) during the day (unfortunately.) As with most officially released Wacken shows I've seen so far, this is professionally filmed and the sound is very good. The band offers a great performance and the crowd seems appreciative. I couldn't help but notice how Ralf's stage antics are similar to Rob Halford's - it's not just the (lack of) hair! :) My only complaint would be that Angel In Black is played twice - not sure what's the point of that.

The Stuttgart show in inside a (seemingly) medium-size venue and once again the band's performance is great to watch, and the crowd is totally into it. The set-list is quite different from the Wacken show's, so this doesn't come out as redundant. Also, the show's atmosphere is quite different since this is inside and in the dark, which I think fits a metal show better than broad daylight.

There are two videoclips included, nothing to say here. A videoclip is a videoclip. :) The next section is a bootleg section - takes from various shows throughout the band's career, predictably of varying quality (but overall pretty good.) The clips are cut short - no full songs here, so even though the list is extensive, it doesn't take very long to go through this section.

The Metal Warrior section is some backstage talk at Wacken. Very short and not really any information of interest in there either. Frankly they could have left this out. There's also a bonus audio CD which contains the Wacken 2001 show from the first part of the DVD.

Even though there's a lot of stuff here, I wish they had included some kind of interview with one or more band members (more than the snippet in the Metal Warrior section). Still, two full live shows, and some interesting bootleg takes make this worth the purchase.

Additional Information

Includes bonus audio CD (Wacken Open Air 2001)