Drive-Thru Records DVD Volume IV / 2006 Drive-Thru / 8 Videos / http://www.drivethrurecords.com / Reviewed 13 January 2006
For individuals that want to know what exactly Drive-Thru Records was up to in 2006, this DVD is a necessary purchase. There are eight videos on this DVD, featuring Hellogoodbye, Dave Melillo, The Early November, Halifax, Hidden In Plain View, I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business, Socratic, and An Angel. While a few of these videos have been played on mTV and Fuse (Hellogoodbye being the major one here), the videos are all present in a way, without commercials, that would be offered very few places. Couple that with the fact that the videos are DVD quality and are not some crappy encode from Youtube, and the DVD would be able to sell itself.
However, Drive-Thru was feeling kind with this DVD and decided to add a number of other things for their fans. For the bands that shoot through the eight videos quickly, there is live footage present from both The Early November and a band that has not broken completely large yet (House of Fools). For those individuals that want to know how things were done, there is a “making of the videos†section present. If individuals want to get into the minds of Drive-Thru bands, there are short interviews present with a number of bands already mentioned (along with I Am The Avalanche). To top things off, there is a Fear Factor-like segment with the aforementioned Drive-Thru bands and Self Against City. The content of this DVD is reminiscent of the tapes that Metal Blade records released back in the late eighties and early nineties. Of course, the DVD allows for more in the way of information to be included, but the same high energy segments are interspersed with more goofy and fun times with the bands.
Without having seen the prior three DVDs that have been released by Drive-Thru Records, I would have to push for the label releasing a DVD of this caliber every two or so years, to update individuals with the new signatures of the label as well as capture any extra footage that they might have lying around their offices. However, these DVDs should be coupled with band or show-specific releases by the DVD arm of Drive-Thru. This would allow individuals to pick up a release by a band that they like and immediately have a second disc of bands that they may not be familiar with. Doing a bundle would increase sales dramatically. As for the quality of the footage, the videos are obviously near perfect, while the interviews are a little less so and the live footage is the lowest the level gets. However, Drive-Thru has some solid footage shot throughout the DVD, and individuals will not need to squint or be really close to the TV to make out members of their favorite bands. For fans of the emo brand of music that Drive-Thru Records comes out with, “Volume IV†is a necessary purchase. Gain an appreciation for a band that cannot be bolstered merely by live and studio recordings, an appreciation that will be given fans by videos and other footage.
Rating: 7.3/10