Heavy Metal kings JAG PANZER have been proudly waving the flag of True Metal for over 20 years. The band, currently consisting of guitarist/keyboardist Mark Briody, lead guitarist Chris Broderick, bassist John Tetley, drummer Rikard Stjernquist, and vocal god Harry "the Tyrant" Conklin, have a history plagued with label problems and line-up changes which prevented the band from reaching the heights of IRON MAIDEN or MANOWAR in their heyday. Despite forging the patented musical style known as U.S. Power Metal, JAG PANZER were unable to secure a proper record deal for over a decade. But with the inevitable reemergence of True Metal in the 1990’s, fan interest in JAG PANZER was rekindled. Century Media knew a good thing when they saw it, and quickly snapped up the reinvigorated metal group. With the deep pockets of Century Media behind them, JAG PANZER were finally able to produce the type of albums they’d always wanted, and secure a proper worldwide tour. They released several True Metal modern classics including THE FOURTH JUDGEMENT, MECHANIZED WAREFARE, and the critically praised THANE TO THE THRONE. When Mark Briody approached Century Media and pitched the idea of doing the bands first home video on DVD, their label refused for business reasons, but promised that JAG PANZER would get their own proper DVD release someday. Briody and the rest of the band wisely decided not to wait, and the result was their self-produced effort, THE ERA OF KINGS AND CONFLICT (2001).

JAG PANZER - THE ERA OFKINGS AND CONFLICT is divided into three sections: Promotional Videos, Bootleg Footage, and Special Features. The Promo Video section contains five professionally filmed music videos from JAG PANZER’s Century Media era, including three songs from their MECHANIZED WARFARE album, The Silent, Take to the Sky, and Cold is the Blade. King at a Price is a promo video from THANE TO THRONE, and Iron Eagle is a song from THE AGE OF MASTERY recorded live at one of those huge European festivals. All these videos are well produced with handsome medieval visuals, with the exception of The Silent which doesn’t appear to be correctly in synch with the band’s energetic performances. The Bootleg Footage section features four live songs, Future Shock (from THE FOURTH JUDGEMENT), Chain of Command (from THE AGE OF MASTERY), Black (from THE FOURTH JUDGEMENT), and Fate’s Triumph (from THANE TO THE THRONE). These four live bootleg performances are filmed from a European show, and gives fans a look at JAG PANZER’s immense medieval stage show. The Special Features section offers lots of treats for fans of JAG PANZER including the band’s first ever video interview. In this twenty minute featurette, Mark Briody, Chris Broderick, John Tetley, Rikard Stjernquist, and Harry Conklin chronicle the group’s origins in great detail, including all the roadblocks in their path as the true innovators of U.S. Power Metal. They even go so far as to offer an explanation of their DISSIDENT ALLIANCE record, whereby the band abandoned their True Metal roots for a sound not too far removed from the likes of PANTERA. You gotta give the guys their props though, for daring to discuss their mistake (while most bands wouldn’t even address their failed attempts at commercial success like JUDAS PRIEST). Other extras include a two minute Making Of segment for their music video Take to the Sky. You can view a mini-travelogue from their world tour, entitled Life on the Road. The extras section is rounded out by some classical guitar demonstrations by the amazing Chris Broderick.

The promotional music videos on this DVD are presented in the full frame format, which is the standard for music videos. The picture quality for these videos is razor sharp. The image is clean and clear and JAG PANZER’s musical ferocity is perfectly captured. The colors are bright and fully saturated, except for the video for Take to the Sky which is rather dark. The Bootleg performances are filmed from someone in the audience with a hand held camera. Though the camerawork is static, the camera man successfully captures the entire show, including the blistering display of stage lights. The camera is out of range just enough to obscure the band members faces. This camcorder footage is surprisingly clear and crisp, quite the opposite of what you might expect from bootleg videotape. The interview segment is filmed full frame from the back yard of one of the band members. JAG PANZER presents the soundtrack in a strong Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. The music videos sound completely polished to match the image quality of the respective songs. The guitars sounds are extremely heavy and prominent. The drum work will catch you by surprise and sounds deep as it can get for a Dolby Digital 2.0 sound mix. And Harry Conklin’s mind blowing vocals cut through the orchestration like a hot knife through butter. As you would imagine, the quality of the bootleg segments is nowhere near the fidelity of the music videos, but damn it sounds pretty good nonetheless! No distortion, feedback, or other audio anomalies that usually plaques videotape. My guess is that JAG PANZER digitally enhanced the bootleg footage to get a good sound. The sound mix for the extras is likewise well done in Dolby Digital 2.0.

Though the DVD is not without it’s faults, JAG PANZER’s THE ERA OF KINGS AND CONFLICT rises above the discs put out by most professional music labels. The menuing and authoring for the disc is first rate; the band should be proud of themselves for going at it on their own, in spite of Century Media’s promises. Putting out a professional quality DVD is no easy feat, and Mark Briody and the rest of JAG PANZER have accomplished something truly worth the attention of anyone who enjoys classically influenced Power Metal, or any opened minded lovers of music. Here’s hoping that either JAG PANZER or Century Media can follow up the potential demonstrated here with a complete professionally shot JAG PANZER live concert with ear-splitting Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS surround sound. Supposedly, THE ERA OF KINGS AND CONFLICT has a limited run of 1000 copies, so don’t hesitate to grab one if you really want this DVD.