The Ozzfest tour has been running for a long time, ten years as of the 2005 incarnation, and in honor of that milestone the tour is finally receiving its first DVD. Combining concert footage from the 2005 tour along with loads of backstage footage, interview segments, and other assorted video tidbits this is a pretty lengthy look at the concert event that has become a pretty regular Mecca for metal.

On of the coolest things about the tour is that it has always done a pretty good job of mixing the old guard of the genre with some of the best up and coming acts that maybe haven't quite broken out yet or who are just starting to peak. This gives the tour a very solid variety and even if not all of the bands are to everyone's tastes each and every year out, for the most part, the line ups have been very good.

The DVD, aside from the candid bits and behind the scenes bits, contains the following sixteen live performances in their entirety, all of which were filmed at the Donnington performance in England and the show that was put on in Camden, New Jersey :

Anthrax – Caught In A Mosh
Trivium – A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation
Soilwork – Blind Eye Halo
The Haunted – Bury Your Dead
Gizmachi – Voice Of Sanity
Alter Bridge – The End Is Here
Rob Zombie – More Human Than Human
Wicked Wisdom – You Can't Handle
It Dies Today – A Threnoby For Modern Romance
H.I.M. – Soul On Fire
A Dozen Furies – Awake And Lifeless
Rob Zombie – Dragula
Velvet Revolver – Sucker Train Blues Black Sabbath – War Pigs
Black Sabbath – Iron Man
Black Sabbath - Paranoid

While that might look like a decent set list, keep in mind that both Iron Maiden and Black Label Society were on this tour, and neither of them are represented here. While it was well reported that there was (and still is) a minor feud between the Iron Maiden camp and the Ozzy camp (namely, Sharon), without Maiden on the DVD, or Black Label Society (their omission is very surprising) on the DVD, this release doesn't even come close to representing the whole Ozzfest 2005 experience. It's also very disappointing that Mastodon, Killswitch Engage and Archenemy, three of the better bands that appeared on the second stage, aren't included here either.

To add insult to injury, while In Flames, Shadows Fall, and Mudvayne all performed on the main stage throughout the tour, they're not here either. While neither of these bands do much for me, it seems odd to omit headlining acts from what is supposed to be a DVD that captures the entire tour.

Shouldn't it go without saying that most fans would rather see a wider variety of acts included on the bill represented here? With a total running time of over two hours in length, it would have made a lot more sense to focus on what really matters here – the music and the performances – than show us what is honestly rather dull footage of the Osbournes hanging around backstage and goofing off. Some of the non-music footage is interesting (Rob Zombie is still cool, I don't care what anyone else says) but there's a lot of it here, and to cut out bands that played in lieu of this material is a really odd move that wreaks of egotism.

With that little rant out of the way with, some of the quick little interviews with the fans at the shows are pretty fun. It's a really interesting range of people who show up at the event, from all age groups and from all walks of life, and as such there are all kinds of characters in here. Most of the fans are pretty excited to be there, sighting the music as the main reason they're attending. It's just a shame that there wasn't more focus on that reason for attending the event on this DVD.

The performances that are here are pretty decent. Black Sabbath headlines the event and they close it all up in style but Anthrax and Velvet Revolver also give really good shows and Rob Zombie makes sure he gives his fans his all.

Video:

The 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer for this release looks a lot better than most concert videos and some obvious care was put into the shot compositions and the lighting. The colors come through nicely, there's nothing at all to complain about in terms of print damage or anything like that, and the black levels stay strong throughout. There is definitely some edge enhancement present in a few scenes and some obvious instances of line shimmering here and there but for the most part, this DVD looks very nice.