V/A - Giants of Grind I

GENRE: Grindcore
COUNTRY: N/A
FORMAT: DVD
LABEL: Power It Up Records
YEAR: 2005

RATING: 5/10
REVIEWED BY: PSL
PROVIDED BY: Power It Up Records

The title of this DVD is perhaps a bit misplaced with regards to the bands performing because there are really no giants of grind there. If you're into really underground stuff then this DVD is a must otherwise I don't think it will be of much interest.

Recorded at the Giants of Grind Festival 2004 in Salzgitter, Germany, it features live performances from 13 grindcore bands, mostly from Germany. The DVD bears a lot of traces of being a real underground thing, I in particular think of the bands and the footage, but it's what gives it its charm. The footage is shot from various angles with four cameras, and that gives it a certain dynamic. The quality of the footage is very good, but it seems a bit dark at times. I guess that's mainly due to the poor lightshow on the stage.

The performance from the bands varies quite a bit, but overall it's pretty good. Music-wise I found Birdflesh, Sanity's Dawn and Neuron to be the highlights. Besides the live-recordings there's something extra in shape of interviews with Birdflesh and F.U.B.A.R.. Both interviews are short, but entertaining and fairly interesting. The footage in those interviews is chaotic to say the least; particularly in the F.U.B.A.R. interview the cameraman has problems holding the camera steady.

This DVD doesn't appeal to a wider audience and you have to be familiar with some of the bands performing to really appreciate it. All in all Giants of Grind I is a good DVD that will satisfy fans of the bands and deep underground stuff in general.