The Good
This is a great collection of the music that Metal Blade Records has released over the past 20 years.  The dvd has some old concert clips as well as full MTV videos.  The early 80s material is kind of rough, but is still nice to see. 

The Bad
Well there are only a few things I don't like about this collection.  First, there are a few bands that have way too many songs included.  Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under, Armored Saint, GWAR, Fates Warning and Lizzy Borden all have six or more songs included in the set.  It would have been better to limit a band to no more than three or four songs and then include some more  material from lesser known bands.

My second complaint is the inclusion of songs from albums that were not originally issued on Metal Blade.  The inclusion of Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy sounds very out of place.  There are a few other bands that are also in this category.  Again, the space could have been better served by using some of Metal Blade's lesser known bands.

The Packaging
Five double cd cases in a nice box.  The book included is a great piece of metal history.  Writer Martin Popoff has a fairly detailed history of Metal Blade Records that includes interviews with many people who have been involved with the label.  The book also includes small interviews with some of the bands that have been on the label.

Bottom Line
With 140 songs on cd and another 23 on the dvd, this set from a truly great metal label is well worth the price.  The above-listed complaints aside, this is a great collection with a nice mix of metal styles.

November 29, 2002

DISC 1:
1. Hit The Lights - Metallica
2. Captive Of Light - Malice
3. Live For The Whip - Bitch
4. Search And Destroy - Demon Flight
5. Lesson Well Learned - Armored Saint
6. Child Of The Damned - Warlord
7. Be My Slave - Bitch
8. Die By The Sword - Slayer
9. The Tempter  - Trouble
10. The Day Of The Saxon  - Witchkiller
11. Give 'Em The Axe - Lizzy Borden
12. Chemical Warfare - Slayer
13. Blower - Voivod
14. Damnation - Fates Warning
15. Deathrider - Omen
16. American Metal - Lizzy Borden

DISC 2:
1. Animosity - Corrosion Of Conformity
2. Fear Beyond The Vision - Nasty Savage
3. Hell Awaits - Slayer
4. Ruby Eyes (Of The Serpent) - Omen
5. Gideon - Trouble
6. Gladiator - Sound Barrier
7. One Foot in Hell - Cirith Ungol
8. Hammerhead - Flotsam & Jetsam
9. Lethal Tendencies - Hallows Eve
10. Notorious - Lizzy Borden
11. Holy Martyr - Omen
12. Guardian - Fates Warning
13. The Misery Shows  - Trouble

DISC 3:
1. Lord Of The Flies - Lizzy Borden
2. The Prince  - Diamond Head
3. Death Squad - Sacred Reich
4. At The Gallows' End - Candlemass
5. Dark Are The Veils Of Death - Candlemass
6. Speed Freak - Hallows Eve
7. Quietus - Fates Warning
8. Evil For Evil - Heretic
9. Blood On The Ice - Anvil
10. Surf Nicaragua - Sacred Reich
11. Bitter End - Helstar
12. Mothra - Anvil
13. Sins Of The Flesh - Lizzy Borden

DISC 4:
1. Nothing Left To Say - Fates Warning
2. South St. Kids - Princess Pang
3. Enemy Within - D.R.I.
4. Slaughterrama - Gwar
5. A Skull Full Of Maggots  - Cannibal Corpse
6. Stage Fright - Legs Diamond
7. Immune - Lethal
8. Bomber - Ken Baumgartner
9. Well Of Souls - Candlemass
10. Stormbringer - Deep Purple
11. I Don't Mind - Junk Monkeys
12. Detroit Girls - Starz
13. Violation - Starz
14. Reign Of Fire - Armored Saint
15. Hurricane - Y&T
16. Covered With Sores - Cannibal Corpse
17. Surfer Junkie Dude - Earl Slick

DISC 5:
1. Life In Still Water - Fates Warning
2. Gor-Gor - Gwar
3. Hammer Smashed Face - Cannibal Corpse
4. I Got Fear - Junk Monkeys
5. Warrior - Riot
6. Angel Of Death - Thin Lizzy
7. Apocalypse Inside - Sacrifice
8. The Bell Witch  - Mercyful Fate
9. Welcome To New Jersey - X-Cops
10. Lycanthropy - Six Feet Under
11. Crush Kill Destroy - Gwar
12. Holocaust - Savatage
13. Can U Deliver - Armored Saint
14. For The Sake Of Heaviness - Armored Saint
15. Book Of Blood - Armored Saint
16. Feel The Rage - Galactic Cowboys
17. The Power Of The Written Word  - Sacred Reich
18. Mummified In Barbed Wire - Cannibal Corpse
19. Into The Unknown - Mercyful Fate

DISC 6:
1. Trick Or Treat - King Diamond
2. Insect - Six Feet Under
3. War Between One - Grip Inc.
4. Penguin Attack - Gwar
5. Part 7 - Fates Warning
6. High Noon - Flotsam & Jetsam
7. Tomorrow - Galactic Cowboys
8. Revenge Of The Zombie - Six Feet Under
9. Mechanical Man - Crisis
10. The Art Of Immolation  - God Dethroned
11. Liberty - Riot
12. Ride For Vengeance - Amon Amarth
13. Voodoo - King Diamond
14. Hollow Eyes - Ty Tabor
15. Sentenced To Burn - Cannibal Corpse
16. Crossroads - Mercyful Fate
17. Friends - Poundhound

DISC 7:
1. Nothing To Say - Galactic Cowboys
2. Eleventh Hour - Fates Warning
3. Higher Than God - King's X
4. No Guts No Glory - Bolt Thrower
5. Swords And Tequila - Riot
6. Feasting On The Blood Of The Insane - Six Feet Under
7. Sons Of Society - Riot
8. Alone - Engine
9. The Pillar - Armored Saint
10. Wings - Vader
11. Marsh Mellow Field - King's X
12. Death Explosion - The Crown
13. The Trees Have Eyes - King Diamond
14. One - Fates Warning
15. Stripped, Raped, And Strangled - Cannibal Corpse

DISC 8:
1. Manowar - Manowar
2. There Will Be Blood Tonight - Lizzy Borden
3. Take Me Away - Supershine
4. Revelation - Spock's Beard
5. Heavy Metal Mania - Holocaust
6. Balancing The Furies - Catastrophic
7. Bastards Of A Lying Breed - Amon Amarth
8. Real Swagger - Armored Saint
9. The Murderers - Six Feet Under
10. False Alarm - King's X
11. Meet Me In The Dark - Brainstorm
12. Bloody Mary - Gwar
13. The Storm - King Diamond
14. Pit Of Zombies - Cannibal Corpse

DISC 9:
1. Crowned In Terror - The Crown
2. Mourning In Magenta - Beyond The Embrace
3. Realize - Engine
4. War Machine - Chinchilla
5. Warriors Of The World United - Manowar
6. House Of Death - Manowar
7. Sacrifice - Cannibal Corpse
8. War Is Coming - Six Feet Under (live)
9. Have You Seen Me? - Gwar (previously unreleased, demo version)
10. Shadows Of My Face - Armored Saint
11. Groove Machine - King's X (live)
12. Zanzibar - Lizzy Borden (previously unreleased, demo version)
13. In Trance - Fates Warning
14. The Ripper - Mercyful Fate
15. Mr. Ridiculous - Flotsam & Jetsam (previously unreleased)
16. Infatuation - Bitch (previously unreleased)
17. I Take Your Life - Vehemence

DISC  10 (DVD)
1. Armored Saint “No Reason To Live” - Live
2. Bitch “Live For The Whip” - Live
3. Omen “The Axeman” - Live
4. Lizzy Borden - “American Metal/Godiva” - Live
5. Nasty Savage - “Gladiator” - Live
6. Sacred Reich - “Surf Nicaragua” - Live
7. Cannibal Corpse - “Unleashing The Bloodthirsty” - Live
8. Six Feet Under - “Revenge Of The Zombie” - Live
9. Armored Saint - “Reign Of Fire” - Live
10. King’s X - “Smudge” 
11. Gwar - “Sick Of You”
12. Cannibal Corpse - “Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead”
13. Candlemass - “Mirror Mirror”
14. DRI - “Suit And Tie Guy”
15. Trouble - “Run To The Light”
16. Anvil - “Mad Dog”
17. Lethal - “Immune”
18. Sacrifice - “Soldiers Of Misfortune”
19. Mercyful Fate - “Egypt”
20. Six Feet Under - “Manipulation”
21. Fates Warning - “Through Different Eyes”
22. Galactic Cowboys - “Feel The Rage”
23. King’s X - “Fade”