Helloween are a German hair-metal band whose sound, despite being heavy on the glam, tends to lean more towards thrash. Along with groups like Iron Maiden, Helloween were an integral part of the metal movement across Europe in the '80s. Whilst they've never really hit the 'big time' in comparison to many other metal bands from the period, they have had a fairly steadfast following in Europe. Some have said they are the successors to The Scorpions' reign of popular German super-groups, but in reality, especially considering their expansive line-up changes over the years, they seem more like Spinal Tap.

Certainly their popularity was strong enough in 1996 that this particular tour saw them performing arenas across Europe. Helloween - High Live was recorded during this period and consists of footage taken from their gigs in Italy and Spain.

Anyone who loves their old-school metal should definitely enjoy this concert, as it harks back to a genre that few are contributing to these days. The band is in great form for the duration, showcasing some mighty guitar solos and a generally high level of rock showmanship. Be warned however, plenty of big hair and songs about wilder beasts are contained within.

First off the bat, the video quality here is pretty awful. It's hardly the fault of Warner Vision, but the NTSC formatting of this DVD is only the beginning of its problems.

The footage was recorded way back in 1996, and as a result (assuming a lack of proper digital equipment), it's lacking in almost all areas of quality. The level of general detail throughout is pretty dire, not to mention next to no shadow detail. Black levels throughout constantly appear as greys and the colour levels are almost permanently washed-out.

The plus is, of course, that we have an anamorphic transfer here that gets a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but I can't imagine this looking much better on a large widescreen device.

Despite all of the above problems, it's still watchable, but in comparison with the general standards of music DVDs, it falls short in many areas.

The audio transfer here fares much better than the video thankfully, but still suffers from a few overall problems. For starters, the mix is generally a little on the muddy side of things at times. Most of the time it's simply a case of a lack of separation even though it's presented in 5.1. The surrounds are extremely quiet for the majority of the performance, only being used slightly for reverb effects and crowd noise.

On the whole, however, the audio here is clear enough to enjoy the concert, but unfortunately problems from the source remain intact. Despite the cover's claims of a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, the secondary track is just another 5.1 mix with commentary from the centre speaker.

As above, the major extra included on this disc is an Audio Commentary by Rock Journalist and DJ, Malcolm Dome. In actual fact, the commentary doesn't run the whole program; rather it's a succinct introduction and explanation at the beginning of each track.

Also included is a five minute Introduction piece by Malcolm Dome. It is brief but quite detailed.

Helloween - High Live will probably be a bit dated for most people, but anyone still into bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest should enjoy it.