Tales From The Pit #5 Review

After three long years of waiting, Tales From The Pit #5 has arrived, and it's been worth the wait. The 160 minute video magazine features some of the biggest names in thrash, traditional and death metal. Director Jerry Allen has put together a near masterpiece of interviews, video clips and other rarities that metal fans will love. Allen, who lives in the birthplace of thrash, the Bay Area, has been doing Tales From The Pit since 1989.

The hosts of Tales From The Pit #5 are Sean Killian from Vio-Lence and Mark Osegueda of Death Angel. This issue is shot using digital equipment instead of the home equipment used in the past. The result is a much more professional look, but that underground vibe is still there.

The content is everything a metal fan needs: interviews with their favorite artists, video clips, blasphemy, profanity, political incorrectness and of course, nudity. There's also no love for Metallica, who get slagged by Deicide's Glen Benton and have their St. Anger CD blown up by a couple of Tales From The Pit crew members.

Instead of giving a chronology of each segment of the 2 hour and 40 minute video, I'll talk about some of the best parts of Tales From The Pit #5. Probably the best interview was with the recently reformed Death Angel. Their reunion at the Thrash Of The Titans concert (which I'll talk about momentarily), was supposed to be a one time show. The fan response was so great that they decided to get back together. It's a very interesting interview, and the performance clips show why Death Angel fans are happy they reunited.

Another great segment was the tribute to Paul Baloff, the former Exodus vocalist who died of a stroke. Interviews with his girlfriend and several fellow musicians create a fitting memorial. It's not sappy and melancholy, it remembers how crazy and fun he was and celebrates his life instead of mourning it.

Some of the other interviews that were really good include George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher from Cannibal Corpse, Glenn Benton from Deicide, Lemmy from Motorhead and Ronnie James Dio. One cool thing that is included after every interview is a discography showing each of the band's album covers.

Other interviews include Morbid Angel, S.O.D., Rob Halford, Geoff Tate from Queensryche, Witchery, Ronnie James Dio, In Flames, Iron Maiden, Destruction, Morbid Angel, Kreator and Nuclear Assault.

There are three non-music interviews included in Tales From The Pit #5. One I liked, two I didn't particularly care for. The interview I really enjoyed is Tom Savini. He's a special effects artist who has created some of the goriest creatures in horror movies that have inspired many metal bands. He had some very interesting and insightful stories and you definitely want to watch his segment.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic