Underground record label Nuclear Blast was founded by Marco Barbieri in 1990 with the intent of providing obscure Death Metal bands with a way of getting their music into the hands of heavy music lovers everywhere. During the early 1990’s Heavy Metal was completely overlooked in favor of Grunge, Punk, and Alternative. Then something really strange happened; Heavy Metal made a comeback in the underground, much like it had a decade earlier. In the latter part of the 1990s, Nuclear Blast went from distributing Death Metal albums to signing such Metal titans as MANOWAR, MESHUGGAH, PRIMAL FEAR, DEATH, GRAVE DIGGER, DESTRUCTION, HELLOWEEN, THERION, IN FLAMES, SINNER, STEEL PROPHET, and many others. More recently, Nuclear Blast grew again when it merged with rival label, Century Media. Together, this new partnership currently rules the independent Metal scene, and if your band isn’t on either of these labels, you ain’t happening. One of Nuclear Blast’s earliest releases was a compilation album called DEATH IS ONLY THE BEGINNING, showcasing the obscure Death and Black Metal groups on the label. The success of this compilation CD led to successive releases in the ensuing years, and eventually DEATH IS ONLY THE BEGINNING morphed into an annual collection of music videos and live footage. In 2003, Nuclear Blast released DEATH IS ONLY THE BEGINNING VOLUME 7, containing a record amount of scarcely-seen Heavy Metal music videos spread across a 2 disc DVD set.

Since MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball went off the air, Heavy Metal videos are all but unheard of in North America. Thankfully, the lost art of the Heavy Metal video stayed alive in Europe, South America, and Asia. Disc 1 of DEATH IS ONLY THE BEGINNING VOLUME 7 contains 18 of Nuclear Blast's best and latest video promos including:

IN FLAMES - Cloud Connected Gothenburg greats IN FLAMES go all out with this concept video that utilizes multiple camera angles and speeds resulting in a truly kinetic performance. The video is enhanced by the fact that the band plays in a unique dungeon-like environment. The song is good and the band is convincing except for the rough vocals that don’t match the mouth movements of the frontman. For some reason, the group is clothed in white.

DIMMU BORGIR - Puritania This performance, captured live from a European festival, is colorful and features lots of flames and red-light effects. However, this song is one of the band’s worst.

SOILWORK - As We Speak This concept video is cleverly filmed while the band jams on inside a warehouse. If you’ve never heard or seen SOILWORK, imagine PANTERA with keyboards and a vocalist who goes back n forth between Phil Anselmo-erisms and Euro-melodic pining.

DARKANE - Innocence Gone Another death metal band where all the members wear white clothing, prompting one to think they escaped from some asylum somewhere. Typical death metal orchestration and vocals, though the video is well done.

HAMMERFALL - Hearts on Fire Big budget video with computer generated visuals that take their inspiration from LORD OF THE RINGS. The song is excellent and the band’s medieval flair really shines through. Possibly the best produced music video on this compilation.

MANOWAR - Warriors of the World Its a tough act following HAMMERFALL’s Hearts on Fire, but the new MANOWAR song and video, Warriors of the World, somehow even manages to upstage the previous one. The black & white video starts with Eric Adams and company jamming out in a basement warehouse, and then concludes with them performing on some rocks which look suspiciously like those from Stonehenge. Warriors of the World is an intense and relevant MANOWAR anthem, and this video is the best the band has ever done (even though I wish it were in color).

PRIMAL FEAR - Armageddon German metal masters PRIMAL FEAR show the world why their take-no-prisoners approach to metal have established them as one of the best acts around. Not only is Armageddon a killer song but it makes for an awesome video. The band plays in what appears to a Freddy Krueger-style boiler room. Vocal god Ralph Sheepers has shaved off his hair and taken to lifting weights, giving him a more intimidating presence behind the microphone. The rest of the band delivers the goods while Sheepers proves why he almost took Rob Halford’s slot in JUDAS PRIEST.

THUNDERSTONE - Virus These STRATOVARIOUS wannabees simply suck and so does their video. Nuff said.

SINERGY - Suicide By My Side Kimberly Goss is a great vocalist with one hell of a band. Sadly, she is not very camera friendly and she’s a lousy actress. This ‘movie-style’ video for Suicide By My Side features Kimberly Goss going through angst and emotional disturbances leading up to her character’s eventual suicide. Goss must be somewhat egotistical as she doesn’t allow any other of her band members to be seen. A metal video without any actual shredding is castrated right from the start. After watching this boring video, I felt like committing suicide. And this is coming from someone who enjoys the music of SINERGY.

THEATRE OF TRAGEDY - Let You Down This German gothic metal/industrial band manages to break out of the gothic metal scene and attract open minded listeners. It really helps that they have a sexy blond providing their vocal arrangements. She struts her stuff during the video, which just like SINERGY, does not show any of the other musicians in the group. Let You Down is a fine song, and this short video is as eclectic as the semi-mechanical music of THEATRE OF TRAGEDY.

AMORPHIS - Alone A concept video that shows the entire band playing their cool brand of retro-progressive doom rock. The singer (who resembles Peter Steele) stumbles onto a supernatural presence in the form of a child; or at least dreams of one. This one also gets points for the S&M imagery.

HELLOWEEN - If I Could Fly This polished hymn features a tons of computer generated imagery and (pardon the pun) bird’s eye camera views. The group performs on what appears to be a floating metal monolith, playing their instruments upon the surface of this mysterious object. Finally, vocalist Andy Deris dons mechanical wings in the conclusion. Great song; even better video.

STRATOVARIOUS - A Billion Light Years Away A live performance from one of those mammoth European festivals. The tune is acoustical and light and the band appears restrained a bit in their delivery, but still has more balls than the next song/video.

HAMMERFALL - Always Will Be This ultra mellow song sounds like it was performed by DOKKEN. Since this song is about a tragedy, the tune is acceptable (although I hope HAMMERFALL sticks to the heavy/fast stuff in the future). Mellow as it is, the video for Let You Down still features an abundance of computer effects, including the spirit of a resurrected woman.

THERION - Summernight City I can’t describe this video, except to say that THERION have taken their ABBA cover song and transformed it into something totally spectacular. You need to see it to believe how they handle the vocal orchestrations. A truly dazzling effort from a band that continuously pushes the boundaries of music in general.

SUSPERIA - Bitter Man This Death Metal band, consisting of some former DIMMU BORGIR members, turns out to be better than those trendy Black Metallers. This heavy group generates some chills with their no-frills approach including some original footage of a bloodied female zombie chasing after her human victim.

CREMATORY - For Love I don’t really get into the music of CREMATORY, because the group is too reliant on keyboard structures and multi-filtered vocals. For Love gets credit though for some scenes of an ultra-hot European sex kitten in a tight leather dress.

IN FLAMES - Only For the Wear Another video from this innovative Gothenburg group that oozes with class and musicianship. IN FLAMES performs the song in an abandoned train tunnel. One of the few bands who can get away with keyboard and combining raw brutality with technical music structures.

Disk 2 contains numerous live performances from the NUCLEAR BLAST vaults:

HYPOCRISY - Fire in the Sky A superior tune and solid performance from these Death Metal veterans.

DIMMU BORGIR - The Insight and the Catharsis Another live clip from these over-hyped Black Metallers. The song sucks and the performance is limp, although the camera work is well done.

DESTRUCTION - The Butcher Strikes Back These German thrash kings show the young upstarts how its done. The band looks and plays great and Schmier is in top form. The song rocks and is a great throwback to their early days. DESTRUCTION wouldn’t dare think of incorporating keyboards into their primeval thrash.

PRIMAL FEAR - Running in the Dust This great live performance is captured from a European Metal festival. This is an older concert as Ralf Sheepers still has his hair. Excellent camera work and acoustics.

HAMMERFALL - Legend Reborn Another superior live clip from the True Metal giants. Like the PRIMAL FEAR live video, Legend Reborn features great camerawork and performances that’ll make IRON MAIDEN jealous. This clip contains some black & white footage.

SINNER - Used to the Truth Excellent song and performance from Matt Sinner and company but the camerawork and editing ruin much of the ‘live’ feel. It comes off more like a promo video than a live performance. Used to the Truth also suffers from a painfully bad blue tint used by the band.

CREMATORY - I Never Die The sound quality for this clip is fairly poor. The fat sweaty, non-vocalist for CREMATORY makes Lemmy look like a male model.

LACRIMOSA - Ich Bin Der Brennende Kome This terrible German band is laughable to the extreme and features the Boy George of the Gothic Metal scene. Why Nuclear Blast signed this group I have no idea.

RAISE HELL - Babes Back to the good stuff. These KREATOR worshipping thrash soldiers will raise the hairs on your neck. RAISE HELL perform live with help of a blond Metal slut banging her head on stage and showing her cleavage. The front man mimics the trademark vocals of Mille from KREATOR. Great stuff here.

KATAKLYSM - The Awakener Much heralded Canadian Death Metal mavens mosh it up onstage. Good camerawork and musical conviction.

DEATH- Scavenger of Human Sorrow The Death Metal legends rip out a rollicking live version of Scavenger of Human Sorrow that focuses on the dexterity of the talented Chuck Schuldner. However, this classic performance is compromised by some weak camerawork and soft focus shots.

The promotional videos and live performances on DEATH IS JUST THE BEGINNING VOLUME 7 are presented in the full frame format (1.33.1). The image quality for both discs is generally very good, with a few exceptions noted in the descriptions above. The picture is especially sharp on some of the music videos that incorporate colorful computer generated imagery (such as the HAMMERFALL, IN FLAMES, and HELLOWEEN promos). The sound on this DVD is a strong Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo mix that sounds clear, powerful, and deep on the music videos. The sound quality for the live performances changes with varying degrees of bass and treble according to how the performances were miked. It is disappointing, however, that Nuclear Blast did not take the time to remaster these songs in the superior Dolby Digital 5.1 format. The current 2.0 soundtrack is heavily anchored to the front soundstage and does not make proper use of the surround sound technology that DVD has to offer.

Overall, DEATH IS JUST THE BEGINNING VOLUME 7 is a great introduction to the NUCLEAR BLAST roster. The DVD reveals the current trends in Death Metal music like a heavy reliance on keyboards and the switch from black t-shirts to white jump suits. This two disc set is a great overview of the Heavy Metal scene for the new millennium, and proudly showcases the new Metal heroes like PRIMAL FEAR, HAMMERFALL, SINERGY, and THERION alongside the legends like MANOWAR, DESTRUCTION, HELLOWEEN, and DEATH. On the other hand, Nuclear Blast has dozens of other happening bands on their label that didn’t get any time on DEATH IS JUST THE BEGINNING VOLUME 7. Perhaps, the next edition of this yearly compilation will make up for this. And hopefully Nuclear Blast will go the extra mile by using Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound like all music DVDs currently in circulation.

DEATH IS JUST THE BEGINNING is available from DVDEmpire.com