Posted on: September 5, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Chris Adler and Jason Bittner – Live At Modern Drummer Festival 2005 / 2006 MVD / http://www.moderndrummer.com / http://www.mvdb2b.com / Reviewed 05 May 2006

This is not what I expected from a drumming clinic. Instead of just being a drummer taken out of context, the performances during this DVD have a live guitarist that works with them to show the interplay between the two instruments. While there are panoramic shots aplenty during this DVD, what is much more common is a shot behind the kit, so that listeners can see exactly what is going on. This allows present and future drummers to get an idea how to play some of these tracks and learn a proper format.

By the time that these live tracks are done, individuals know exactly why Chris Adler was given the title for the best new drummer of 2005. What I personally would like to have seen was how Adler sounds just given a random guitar track, something not necessarily in the metal vein. To show eir ability, there needs to be some empirical form of establishing eir ability beyond the tracks that individuals may hear on a studio album. Jason Bittner (of Shadows Fall) provides much more in the way of range during eir tracks on the DVD, with orchestral metal just being one of many of eir fortes. Regarding the point about an empirical test, Jason really makes one on the fly – a near ten-minute drum solo. This solo is a pure solo, as there is nothing else in the way backing eir up. This shows the drummer’s ability to come up with things on the fly, as well as their ability to come up with interesting drum lines without a guitar or bass line to hide behind. Of particular use to drummers on this DVD are the little lessons that Jason has with the audience. This means that individuals are taught how to properly do the double bass technique, and do it in a way that does not just seem like individuals have happy feet.

This little lesson, plus the resulting question and answer session, may just be worth the cost of the DVD itself. For Shadows Fall fans, the songs are recreated in toto in the sense that all the instrumentation and vocals are recreated as Bittner throws down the bass lines. While the style of the drummers are shown well during this DVD, the extras are where drummers would want to focus. In the extras section, there are interviews about the realistic expectations of a drummer, as well as hints and tips for drummers both young and old. This is the bread and water of the disc, as there are split screens of drumming technique. One camera is straight on and shows the hand motions perfectly, as the second camera shows the footwork. There is no reason why individuals should not make this DVD fly off of shelves, as there is something for ecveryone. For fans of Lamb of God and Shadows Fall, there is a vital way to see in the processes of members of the band, while there are a few lessons that drummers can take from two of the most talented individuals currently in the metal genre.

Rating: 7.2/10

Leave a Comment