Taken from Pivotal Rage:
Iced Earth - Alive In Athens (DVD) - added - October 21st, 2006
Reviewer: Ruben Mosqueda
Jon Schaffer has gone on record to say that he does NOT want the Iced Earth fans to buy or see this DVD. Jon feels that it does not meet the standards that he has set for Iced Earth therefore he didnt release it. This DVD includes thirty tracks and was recorded in Athens, Greece in January 1999 during two sold out nights. Initially meant to accompany the double or triple CD sets (depending on the size of your wallet), but as Jon stated, he didnt think it was up to snuff so in the archives it went.
After viewing the DVD Im wondering how much of Jons statements are in spite of his former record label Century Media, their split wasnt a clean break and to me it sounds like hes still fuming from the best of compilation that was issued without his blessing. And having seen the DVD, I dont see where the lesser quality is within, true there are three tracks that arent found (including fan favorite Iced Earth) due to technical flaws, but over all Alive In Athens captures the energy of the Greek audience and a band on top of its game, giving 110% for the camera. Granted this is far from the high definition stuff that has rolled out in the last year or two, but for its time its pretty damn good. Keeping in mind that this was recorded at a time when the technology was in its infancy and if you think about it, the first concert recorded specifically for DVD was Metallicas Cunning Stunts which has some wild camera work and they had an endless budget to work with. Theres nothing on Alive In Athens for either the label of Schaffer to be ashamed of, that is for the extras; which consists of two five minute segments, one being Schaffer sightseeing in Greece and then some backstage footage. The extras are really nothing to write about in detail; still they wont take away from this historic event in Iced Earth's career.
Iced Earth - Alive In Athens (DVD) - added - October 21st, 2006
Reviewer: Ruben Mosqueda
Jon Schaffer has gone on record to say that he does NOT want the Iced Earth fans to buy or see this DVD. Jon feels that it does not meet the standards that he has set for Iced Earth therefore he didnt release it. This DVD includes thirty tracks and was recorded in Athens, Greece in January 1999 during two sold out nights. Initially meant to accompany the double or triple CD sets (depending on the size of your wallet), but as Jon stated, he didnt think it was up to snuff so in the archives it went.
After viewing the DVD Im wondering how much of Jons statements are in spite of his former record label Century Media, their split wasnt a clean break and to me it sounds like hes still fuming from the best of compilation that was issued without his blessing. And having seen the DVD, I dont see where the lesser quality is within, true there are three tracks that arent found (including fan favorite Iced Earth) due to technical flaws, but over all Alive In Athens captures the energy of the Greek audience and a band on top of its game, giving 110% for the camera. Granted this is far from the high definition stuff that has rolled out in the last year or two, but for its time its pretty damn good. Keeping in mind that this was recorded at a time when the technology was in its infancy and if you think about it, the first concert recorded specifically for DVD was Metallicas Cunning Stunts which has some wild camera work and they had an endless budget to work with. Theres nothing on Alive In Athens for either the label of Schaffer to be ashamed of, that is for the extras; which consists of two five minute segments, one being Schaffer sightseeing in Greece and then some backstage footage. The extras are really nothing to write about in detail; still they wont take away from this historic event in Iced Earth's career.
:Smokin:
