Metal Blade Records sure have been around for a long time, and their longevity is a testament to just how much support still exists for Metal across the globe. Brian Slagel brings together for the party that created this DVD some of his oldest and youngest acquisitions in bands like ARMORED SAINT through to CATTLE DECAPITATION. The DVD was quite a good purchase at only $16 since that would normally be the cost of a CD alone, and this DVD still came with a CD included of different tracks from the bands from the same party. The quality is quite good for most bands, but I didn’t exactly enjoy the way the performances kept having still photos of the bands ghosted over right in the middle of songs. The Interviews are nicely spaced with relevancy to each band right in between their sets on the DVD, but you can also watch all the interviews at once.

The CANNIBAL CORPSE interview was particularly hilarious since a drunken groupie fell down a spiral staircase behind Corpsegrinder while he was being interviewed, and Jack Owen’s recounting of how they met Slagel for the first time is something that has to be seen to find it funny. Slagel’s interview is also extremely interesting. He seems like a very grounded guy, but he’s still business when he has to be, but at least he’s a normal guy who loves Metal and has been providing Metalheads everywhere with some of the best bands from all spectrums of the genre for as of now, 22 years.

The CD would have been worth the price. Some excellent live captures of CANNIBAL CORPSE and most notably the LIZZY BORDEN cover of “Born To Be Wild”. I am sure each band could have come out with a live album from this party since the production is crisp and very very high for live sound. Since it was also supposed to be one of the last LIZZY BORDEN shows that would have made a lot of sense, but at least this way you can capture these shows in bits and pieces with the “Metal Blade Records 20^th Anniversary Party” DVD and CD. (Online May 27, 2004)