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I admit to having strayed away from my metal brethren some time back. During the late 80s, when the mainstream seemed to embrace hair bands, I started to lose interest. Still, I always tried to keep an eye on the scene. Apparently, I lost track sometime in there, because I now realize that I haven’t a clue as to what’s been going on for the past ten years or so. Others have kept the dream alive though, and there are still huge festivals for the genre that aren’t called Ozzfest. One such festival is Metalmania, an annual gathering in Europe that’s entering its twelfth year. In March of 2007, Metalmania was held in Poland at Spodek, and that show is the basis for Metalmania 2007 an MVD release that makes me yearn to jump back into the pit.

This is a pure performance 2-disc set, without any filler. We kick off with Korpiklaani, a band I’ve never heard of. Instantly they became one of my favorite bands, like, ever. Who can resist actual melodic metal (not that pretentious black death Cookie Monster whatever crap) that - gasp! - features bagpipes, a fiddle and an accordion? Korpiklaani treats us to two more songs, and I loved every minute of them. Great way to kick off the set. Sadly, they’re followed (thankfully just for one song) by Crystal Abyss, one of those aforementioned black metal bands with machine-gun drumming and gargling-on-glass vocals.

And so it goes with the rest of the set. There’s some really good stuff mixed in with some really not good stuff. Zyklon, Vital Remains, and Destruction aren’t really my bag, but Entombed isn’t half-bad. Blaze Bayley, a punchline for years, proves himself well here, and Sepultura still rocks, regardless of who the lead vocalist is. Paradise Lost only has one song to perform, while five are reserved for headliners Testament, and both are kick-ass.

30 songs from those main-stage performers comprise the DVD. The second disc is actually a CD, and contains 11 songs, one each from the various side-stage bands that year. It’s similar in the give-and-take of what you’ll find on the DVD in terms of what you’ll like and what you won’t. The stand-out to me on the CD is the first track, “My Salvation” by a band called Carnal.

Special features on the DVD are a bit skimpy, at best. Outside of a photo gallery, some brief band information and a nice text look at the Metalmania line-ups since its inception in 1986, we get...a desktop image to download.

Metalmania 2007 may not be the thing that revives metal, but it proves that there’s still a good bit of promise in the genre. Now excuse me while I go bang my head to that killer fiddle again.

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