What makes this documentary so good is not the production quality, which is merely mediocre, it is the access. We get interviews with all five guys in the band. We also catch up with them at signings, practice, and on the stage before and after the show. We witness them doing the touristy things on tour, and everything in between. We get to see this band work hard and see it pay off. We get to watch as Lamb of God rises through the ranks.
I was transfixed as I watched the disk. These five guys believe in their music, believe they can make it, but are completely unsure of how it is going. Essentially, we get to experience their coming of age as a band. Now, it is not all heavy stuff, these guys know how to have fun. I was particularly taken with a scene in which Chris and Willie Adler jam on a street corner in Japan using gear belonging to a couple of street musicians. I also loved seeing how taken they were with crowds singing their words at the shows.
In addition to the documentary, the first disk contains songs from all of the major tours that they were on during this cycle, one song from each. This includes The Unholy Alliance, Gigantour, Ozzfest, and their headlining tour. The songs run nearly half an hour all together.
Disk two is headlined by the Making of Sacrament documentary that was previously released as part of the deluxe Sacrament release. Fortunately, it is new to me as I only bought the standard release of the album.
This feature runs 77-minutes and offers further insight into the band. The difference being, instead of watching the band on the road, we get to see them throughout the writing process. From the work in a practice studio, which Chris Adler bicycles to and from, to the studio, to working producer Machine (yes, that's the guy's name). I loved watching them struggle with material and each other as they work towards creating the best songs they can. Not a moment is wasted.
Next is their 40-minute set at the 2007 Download festival. The performance features the band absolutely tearing it up as the gigantic crowd feeds off of their energy.
The final piece of the puzzle is their video for "Redneck," accompanied by a brief behind the scenes clip on the making of the video.
Bottomline. You know, I generally prefer the concert centered music releases, but this one is an exception. The content here is great. I loved getting inside of Lamb of God, once you peel away the extreme music you get a group of guys who love what they do. In the end, you have to love it.
Highly Recommended.
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