Having witnessed the Norwegian black metal giants play the same stage, just two weeks ago, I'm in a unique position to compare/contrast the performance on this '07 Wacken headlining appearance. Truth be told, thanks to management, I was in the pit for the entire show on both occasions (Thanks Hakon!). The DVD chronicles a band just returning to active duty, unaware if the then recent reunion would sprout beyond a handful of select worldwide dates. That said, fans are treated to a more hardcore Immortal fan's setlist. In 2010, just 'Sons Of Northern Darkness' and 'Withstand The Fall Of Time' were still in the running order.

Playing to a massive audience, there is almost no camera angle missing (other than directly overhead onstage): robo-cam zipping back and forth across the front of the stage, close-ups, crane, long shots from the crowd (partially obscured by the silhouettes of crowd surfers) even behind the band/drums. It's a vision in black and white, apart from the corpsepaint: night vs. lighted stage, tons of smoke and pinwheeling hair. 'Unholy Forces Of Evil' is a rare moment, when the stage comes alive in reds and yellows. Oh yeah, there's the multiple fire breathing demos, a trick he dropped this year. Abbath loves playing to the camera, a fan to blow his hair, playfully flicking his tongue and even stopping during the opening 'The Sun No Longer Rises'. Even a mountain of a man like Horgh, isolated in his drum kingdom, is frequently invisible beneath a dense layer of smoke, although he does try to lead a clap along 'Withstand The Fall Of Time'. The subtle, guitar solo in slower, staccatto 'Tyrants' stands in marked contrast to the chugging riffage of 'Unsilent Storms In The North Abyss', the stage bathed in green as Abbath makes his infamous scoot/shuffle across the stage. 'At The Heart Of Winter' begins with the band absent from the stage, just a rust glow surrounding the drums. As the pre-recorded keyboard section winds down, a spotlighted Abbath jokingly burps/grunts into the mic. The blue hue is broken by a shower of sparks launched into the air, more than once. There's minimal between song banter, but it's obvious they're enjoying themselves onstage. Witness the dual headbanging during 'Battles In The North' and Abbath's feedback inducing trip to the wall of Marshall cabinets. They end with 'Blashyrkh", the stage filling with smoke as the lighting starts pink and goes crimson as the stage literally explodes in flames with the final note.

The DVD is just short of 70 minutes long and offers nothing outside the onstage footage, although the audio portion can be purchased on CD (or packaged together). The sound was mixed by Peter Tgatgren. The accompanying booklet offers a single two-panel shot of each member (Apollyon's corpsepaint has evolved since '07) and a couple of full stage shots. Throughout metal's history, trios have been able to make a live racket (Motorhead comes to mind and Anvil are currently doing OK), but few have tried to offer so much action (intentional or otherwise), which is a good thing for DVD.