I have nothing against documentaries, but when it interrupts the concert it's a total pain in the ass.

When this was presented to me for review it made me realize that I haven't actually listened to anything from Dragonforce for bloody ages. Although never a rabid fan, I have always enjoyed their frenetic widdling, mainly because they do it with such joy and vigour, not to mention talent.

This is the first release with new drummer Gee Anzalone and it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that he does a sterling job at the back. In front of him (and the rest of the band) are a hoard of Japanese fans having a whale of a time and it's plain to see that Dragonforce have indeed come through the fire and the flames and are merrily carrying on.

There's only ten tracks here (eleven on the CD), the concert being a second stage festival headliner (the Ultimate Stage at 2014's Loud Park Festival in Tokyo) rather than a "proper" tour show. The set-list is impeccable; a nice inclusion being 2003's 'Black Winter Night' and of course they play 'Through The Fire And Flames' to the ecstatic delight of many fans. I know Guitar Hero meant the song was overplayed, but it's still a brilliant piece of music. The whole thing is so upbeat, melodic and joyous that I loved every minute and the band are tight as a gnat's arse throughout. It seriously made me want to get right back into Dragonforce and that means they did a good job.

The downside with this is that the set is interspersed with documentary footage of what the band got up to during their time off in Japan. Now I have nothing against documentaries, but when it interrupts the concert it's a total pain in the ass. Bowling For Soup did the same thing on their live U.K. DVD ('Live And Very Attractive') and it was shit then as well. The sensible option would have been to put the footage together as a DVD extra, or at least made it an option when watching the concert. Instead, it's just there and whoever made that decision needs a kick up the arse.

Aside from that it's brilliant, but you have been warned – at least the accompanying CD is documentary free.

Alan Holloway