Lamb of God - Walk with Me in Hell DVD Review
by Mark Hensch
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Walk with Me in Hell does not last an eternity, but it comes pretty damn close. This expansive two disc set stretches into nearly six staggering hours of all things Lamb of God. Be it touring, making music videos, or simply living life in a top American groove metal band, Walk with Me in Hell leaves few stones unturned.
The first disc is the one which will most please older fans and straight-up diehards. Its main feature is the exhaustive, titular documentary. Spanning almost two hours, this voyeuristic movie immerses itself in Lamb of God's two year international tour in support of 2006's Sacrament. As the band experiences triumphs and misfortunes in America, Australia, Asia, and Europe, fans are treated to an insider's vision which is both informative and entertaining. With fluid editing and crisp sound, Walk with Me in Hell focuses less on Lamb of God's music itself and more their experiences. Thankfully, this approach rarely leads towards boredom with the band often participating in bizarre antics or facing surprising culture clashes. Besides this portion---which sports Maori tribal dancing, zoo animals, and bungee jumping amongst other spots---disc one is rounded out by choice cuts from every major portion of the touring cycle depicted in the main film. With high quality cuts from such major events as the Unholy Alliance Tour, Ozzfest, Wacken, and tours with Overkill/Megadeth, the music is almost as compelling as the film itself.
Disc two, meanwhile, adds plenty of extra new material while collecting many older trinkets in one convenient package. For those not entirely satisfied with the first helping, this follow-up gives plenty of fresh surprises and some fond memories.
Most notable of these is a set of deleted scenes from the main film. These are every bit as hilarious, tense, and well-conceived as the main scenes, so they are definitely worth checking out.
Next is a portion on the leadoff music video for Sacrament, the Grammy winning "Redneck." Besides the brutally fish-out-of-water video itself, the disc includes a previously released making of. As far as explaining the video, it is a poor short, not really fleshing out anything besides the video's bare minimums.
After this, oldies and newbies alike can revisit the making of album documentary released in special editions of Sacrament. Ironically enough, this is still my favorite part of any documentary footage on offer here. The reason for this lies in the disc's excellent tour footage, greater focus on music, and unique look at what it takes to make an award winning Lamb of God album.
Ending the collection is an entire Lamb of God performance from England's notorious Download Festival. Filmed during the band's appearance in 2007, this exquisite setlist is played in front of 70,000 enraged fans that eat up every moment. With furious moshing and airtight playing, the entire performance is nothing short of awesome. Doubters beware---this is veritable proof that Lamb of God are truly one of the best live metal acts around.
As far as DVDs go, Walk with Me in Hell beats almost every band existing in the same span of time as Lamb of God. Vast, clever, and wicked, this is the definitive film for one of the most definitive modern metal bands.
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Lamb of God - Walk with Me in Hell DVD Rating:9.5
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