Monsters of Metal Vol. 1 (2003)

• 80%
• 2003
• Music

Monsters of Metal gives no quarter, cramming 50 videos by 50 different metal bands onto two discs. You name the place and the sound, and it's here: from all over Europe (England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, and Denmark), the U.S., Canada, and Brazil comes hard rock in all shapes and styles, from radio-friendly pop-metal to heavier thrash and speed-metal to extreme forms like gothic, industrial, and death metal. If you're already a fan of the genre, you can discover bands you most likely haven't heard before; if you're not, four hours of head-banging probably won't change your mind. But for those already converted, here's a golden opportunity to widen your metal outlook: Brazil's thrash-metal quartet Sepultura's heavy-duty cover of U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky" and stalwarts Iron Maiden's live version of its classic "Run to the Hills" are the exceptions to the rule of unfamiliar or new bands showing off their considerable metal chops.