To sum up this review for our readers with not so much time, let me say the following: A whole lot of Armored Saint! This dvd has a shitload of material on it, including promo clips from the early 90's, some goofy backstage footage, photos, music videos, and a lot of concert footage. Unfortunately, this DVD also makes it very clear how much better this band was earlier on. The footage from the early 90's and late 90's show great contrasts in crowd environments, energy, and even overall performance. I hate saying this, and even though I know this may be coincidental, these guys were so much cooler when they had long hair. With short hair, even Bush's vocals lose some of their punch. In the earlier footage, he rips through the songs, singing them all with the same if not more energy and force with which they were recorded in the studio. But in the later concerts, his voice isn't as strong, nor is the bands overall coherence. That said, this DVD is quite worth your viewing. While not all of the recorded concert footage is of that great quality, it is at least acceptable most of the time. The first song has perhaps the worst quality, which makes the following footage seem far better than it is. But hey, whatever works. So once you work your way through all the concert footage, of which there is a lot, you're instructed by the constantly annoying persona "Gahnzo" to check out the special features. Granted I was going to do this anyway, but I either way, there are in fact quite a few nice special features. The photo gallery is pretty self explanatory. There is nothing incredible or exciting in the photo section, but there are a few good shots chronicalling the band through the past 14 years or so. The music videos are a really nice addition, even though the Symbol of Salvation video is little more than random concert footage pieced together with some other odds and ends. The Last Train Home video is of excellent quality, and the video for Reign of Fire is pretty nice as well.

The promo material is allright, but once again nothing spectacular. The guys are pretty much what you'd expect from a few metalhead goofballs. I can't say I was all that entertained by their childish humor, but to each their own. If I'm correct, every song from Symbol of Salvation is performed in the concert footage, and thats good as far as I'm concerned, because that was a kick ass album. The bonus CD included with the dvd is pretty good. I didn't find it to be anything spectacular, but it was still nice and you'll at least want to listen to it a few times. Regardless of its drawbacks, if you like Armored Saint, then you should definitely go and get yourself a copy of their latest release. If you're not sure, but think you can manage to ignore the stupid humor and annoyance known as "Gahnzo," then you should give it a try as well. Overall this is a pretty nice dvd, not up to par with Opeth's Lamentations, but still worth your viewing.

Live Videos:

01. Intro
02. Pay Dirt (2001) – San Diego
03. Warzone (1991) – Los Angeles
04. Commercial Break # 1
05. The Truth Always Hurts (1991) – Los Angeles
06. After Me, The Flood (2000) – Bochum
07. Red Onion
08. Take a Turn (1991) – Anaheim
09. Symbol of Salvation (2000) – Bochum
10. Red Onion revisited
11. Tainted Past (1991) – Los Angeles
12. Commercial Break # 2
13. Creepy Feelings (2000) – Bochum
14. Another Day (1991) – Los Angeles
15. For the Sake of Heaviness (1991) – Anaheim
16. Tension (2001) – Los Angeles
17. New Song
18. Tribal Dance (2001) – San Diego
19. Outro

Production Videos:

01. Reign of Fire
02. Last Train Home
03. Symbol of Salvation

Bonus Live CD (recorded in 1984):

01. Envy
02. Glory Hunter
03. False Alarm
04. Can U Deliver
05. Lesson Well Learned
06. Madhouse