Iced Earth – Alive in Athens
Century Media
2006
DVD

Reviewer: Rich Catino

Iced Earth's first and only live album, "Alive in Athens ", was recorded at two sold-out shows on the nights of January 23 and January 24 1999 at the Rodon Club in Athens , Greece . Originally it was only released as a triple-CD and on vinyl in summer 1999. Seven years after the release of 'Alive In Athens' cd , the raw footage of the live show itself was discovered in a discontinued archive, and the footage was converted to a modern tape format and examined. Although only three cameras were present at the show, the quality of the video and picture resolution were rather good, restored, and only three of the 31 live songs ('Slave to the Dark', 'A Question of Heaven' and 'Iced Earth') were absent or unusable due to videotape changes of the camera team. The audio files have been re-mastered for 5.1 DTS surround sound to offer the best quality live feeling and are exactly the same quality as heard on the live cd set.

John Schaffer had this to say in September before its October 2006 release,

“I've been asked recently about the release of the 'Alive in Athens ' DVD and I want my position on this to be very clear to all of the Iced Earth fans out there. In my opinion, this is purely a money grab on behalf of Century Media Records. The reason that it was never released before is because the footage is substandard. This was only a three-camera shoot that was done for a German music television channel called Viva.”

"I learned that they were determined to release this DVD anyway. When I found this out I asked to see the edit and they obliged. After viewing it and seeing how weak it is I asked if they would be willing to fly me over and rework some of the edits. The answer was no, they did not think it could be done better. That translates into, 'We don't want to spend the money to make it the best it can be.'

"So here's the deal: I want you all to be aware of what it is that they are releasing. This is a very low-budget, badly edited video of an amazing concert and an awesome period in the history of Iced Earth. They promised me that they are going to keep the price down and that they are not going to market it as something it's not. But I feel it's my responsibility to let you know the reality of the situation.

"I've often regretted that there was never a high-quality filming of the band during that period but it was something that we could never persuade the label to do. And it's not cheap if you do it right.”

"Iced Earth will be filming a real DVD on the next world tour. This will be what the fans have been waiting for. It will consist of a 16-camera crew with cranes and a real stage show and all of the things necessary to finally bring to the fans a state-of-the-art DVD that will really give you the feeling of being at an Iced Earth show.

"The decision to purchase the 'Alive in Athens ' DVD is up to you. I just want you to be aware of what it is you're getting should you choose to do so. I don't want to make it sound like it's some horrible bootleg, because it's not — it's just not up to the standards that you've come to expect from us."

So what do I think, a long time fan and someone who has gone out and purchased every record the day it came out since the release of “The Dark Saga”, as well as interviewed John for this publication? With no disrespect to John , God I would never, and I am not questioning his problems with this release, but this DVD is just fine as it stands. The packaging matches that of the cd , with the booklet including lyrics to each song and photos.

The videos quality is clean and overall sharp, yet maybe seen as a tad soft given the year of its recording, with selective moments of graininess in the resolution and the occasional glitch in the transfer (think I caught one or two, three the most) but that is so minimal you barely notice the couple imperfections. You really have to be examining this with a fine toothed comb to catch it.

My problem with the whole thing is how do you lose three songs due to tape changes??? How unprofessional is that. Clearly the issue should have been dealt with and avoided prior to the taping. The running order of the track listing also I question as it is not the same as the previously released companion cd . I am assuming these are the faults that bothered John and swayed his full support behind this release.

The videos edit is perfectly synched up with the audio and includes multiple camera angels (for a three camera shoot) and rotating shots of each member. The 5.1 audio mix is satisfactory given at the time it wasn't recorded for those specs, so the low end bass and drums don't come across as one maybe would expect given the capabilities for a DVD.

Don't let all the scrutinizing in the press let you question whether or not this is the full performance because minus those three songs it is presented as a full concert. The band are in top form and this is the “Live After Death” for 90's Heavy Metal.

The two bonus features are thin as it only includes some backstage footage which is nothing more than the guys mulling around prior to the performance with no real candid footage aside from the “ John Schaffer in Athens” segment where he takes you on a tour of some of Greece's sites and backstage where he introduces his proud parents. So what this DVD boils down to is the performance.

Given this was an official audio/video recording and is a snap shot in Iced Earth's history I am glad the DVD portion was released. Hopefully one day John also will accept it for what it is and be glad this time in Iced Earth's past was captured, preserved on video and not completely lost.

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