Post your favourite live videos (must have video footage, not just audio) and give your thoughts and comments on them. I'll start:

Morbid Angel - Rock City, Nottingham, UK, November 14th 1989

Also known as the Live Madness '89 video, here they perform the entire Altars of Madness album. Carcass, Bolt Thrower and Napalm Death were with them on the same tour. This video shows just how unstoppable the band was in their prime: very good sound quality, arguably David Vincent's best vocals and faceripping solos from Trey Azagthoth, plus loads of stage diving.

Assück - Trumbullplex, Detroit, USA, June 29th 1998

Probably the best footage of this deathgrind band, recorded just a few months before they split up. The camera is positioned so you can see Rob Proctor destroying the drums as well as Steve Heritage's ferocious harsh vocals and guitar skills. Although the vocals are a bit hard to hear, the guitar tone has tons of crunch and the snare has a satisfying crack. Overall the amount of raw energy is just incredible and it's amazing how they pulled off such technically demanding music live.

Watchtower - Bang Your Head, Balingen, Germany, July 1st 2000

Originally I was only able to find the drum cam of this performance but someone managed to find another video recorded at the same time and edit/sync both of them together. This was the band's second show after reuniting in 1999. Rick Colaluca is an amazing drummer and his skills are on full display here; meanwhile Jason McMaster's vocal range is still as impressive as 15 years before.

Grave performing "You'll Never See" at the 2013 Obscene Extreme Fest. Some of the best live guitar tones I've ever heard. Really clear drum tones as well. It's pretty rare to hear anything similar captured as well live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6D4P81uIqA

I like this show a lot. Attila's performance is great.

Ulver - Live at the National Opera is a must watch

I put Alestorm in 013 Tilburg, the Netherlands in 2019 on this list.

They filmed it for a dvd so the sound and video is perfect and then decided to put it on youtube. (they did release it on cd/dvd later on.)



I like the interaction with the audience and the banter between songs.

Assuck Florida 1990. I swear there is a far better quality version of this show, but I've never found one online. Back when they were a 3-piece, the original group. If you were a VHS trader back when, you had this. Paul Pavlovich was a possessed front man. Few could compete with them in their prime.
https://youtu.be/KyVmj28BcWw

DxRxIx - Live at the Ritz 1987. The VHS is the best sounding and looking. The laserdisc is close, but still not as great. The DVD transfer is not very good, and the audio CD version also pales in comparison to the original VHS.
https://youtu.be/fgeRQZNSamM

Extreme Noise Terror - From One Extreme to Another. This is another one that was heavily traded on the VHS trader scene. The grindheads at this up, so it wasn't just the crusty punks loving ExNxTx.
https://youtu.be/xyhLt02qMe8

Man Is The Bastard - Live at Gilman street in Berkeley Ca. 1993 or 1994. Such a behemoth beast this band was live. I wish I could find a video of them playing "Moloch" from Fiesta Grande #4.
https://youtu.be/9AemQ4_9cL0

Just singular songs. Never really watched a whole gig through on YouTube.

Slayer - Hell Awaits. Because the bass is really there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttSIZComZdU

Thin Lizzy - Holy War. So much feeling. Later days for Phil. Wins the studio version by miles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMlRYCMsIvI

Fleetwood Mac - Sisters of the Moon. Not metal, just love how crazy they all look. I don't want the same stuff they have taken.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1kF5HsUw84

Iron Maiden - Gothenburg 2005. Setlist consists of songs from the first four albums only.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG5VNDZGYck&

Black Sabbath - Paris 1970. Not sure if there's a video of the full thing, but I think this playlist has all the songs. I believe a lot of these songs were on the Past Lives album.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... NKA3DS-9r-

Candlemass - Stockholm 1990

It's pretty funny that Messiah is addressing the crowd in English although they're in Sweden, it was probably decreed by the record company since this was recorded for a live album. The performance itself is stellar.

Morbid Angel in Montreal in 98. I'd probably trade my soul to go back in time and be at this show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cDFWi61k6Q

Signs of the Swarm 2021 Fall Tour. I saw them a few weeks earlier than this recording but its a pretty accurate representation of how they sounded, same set list, absolutely sick Dave is a phenomenal frontman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBFG6wPsdcQ

Warlord in Athens, 2013. It's got an amazing setlist (only missing Soliloquy), every member is playing amazing, and Giles nails the vocals, really elevates the songs from The Holy Empire. Great stuff.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cgpBXE-db88

Strange you mention the sound quality, as this video is an anomaly among OEF official live clips. Usually everything sounds like shit: drums are mixed real low, guitar mics sound out of phase, and the vocalist is cupping the mic and making it sound terrible.

That being said, the OEF channel is home to one of my favorite live videos ever, this Gutalax performance. I don't think I've ever seen a video in which people look like they're having as much fun as they are here.

SEPULTURA: LIVE UNDER SIEGE 1991 BARCELONA. Easily rivals Metallica in their prime on the Live Shit footage. Still gives me chills to hear the intro.



Intestine Baalism: Live 2018
This one is a bit more personal to me, but damn. Even the sound is fucking incredible, I thought this band was long gone and their first album recently got reissued too!


Napalm Death: Grindcrusher Tour, April 20 1991
Someone DIED at this show. The sound is shit but this is something that should be archived by National Geographic or something, at one point you can see a pit break out on the stage itself... If I had a time machine this is the first show I would go to just to capture and witness all the violence that took place this day. Gang members are partly to blame.

Think it was this (Venom, Slayer, Exodus), just out of nostalgic reasons. First metal live video I saw

Iron Maiden's Live At The Rainbow is brilliant, the sound quality is amazing considering it was filmed in 1981.



Hell yeah, that video is legendary.

I wish I could see a show like this

Maiden England. I was just getting into Maiden (and more generally into metal) when I bought the VHS in 1992. I watched it endless times. Still a favorite of mine although I haven't seen in a while.
I always loved Slayer' official live video for Raining Blood/Black Magic that came out in the early 90s. I believe they planned to release a full concert in video as a companion to Decade of Aggression but unfortunately it got scratched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK6Ja1K ... layer4ever

This video from the South of Heaven tour is also awesome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qERcmK ... k_Metal_UK

I agree. This is cinematic and creepy as fuck. Love this.

I'll always go with Seattle '89 as my benchmark for a live concert video. I think the film should be part of the Criterion Collection, and I will die on that hill.

Di'anno sings Killers with different lyrics on this show, why's that?

King Diamond - Songs for the Dead is in my humble opinion, the greatest metal concert DVD ever released. In terms of sound, editing, and obviously performance - it's absolute perfection and a really wonderful treat to the fans.

Other favorites:
Gorefest at Dynamo, 1992(?), always loved the vibe & atmosphere of this clip, the band's stage presence is fuckin' electric. JC's vocals during that time were fucking monstrous.
Messiah performing on some TV show, 1991, the pure enthusiasm of the singer (Andy Kaina) . Really unrestrained headbanging, super entertaining to watch, and of course his vocals are amazing. The part where he angrily throws down the mic stand when it gets in his way always makes me chuckle.
Death's part of Ultimate Revenge 2, a real nice historical document of the beginnings of the death metal genre.
Death performing "Zombie Ritual", 1998, some people don't like how Chuck used his TSOP-style voice for the old songs, but I love it! This performance of "Zombie Ritual" from '98 (performed by the TSOP lineup) has always been one of my favorite Death recordings. Kind of like, two worlds colliding.
Death performing "Living Monstrosity", 1990, not so much for the performance, but Chuck gets into a fight with a member of the crowd at the beginning of this video. His scream "FUCK YOU BUDDY!!!" will always ring in my head.
Obituary performing "Turned Inside Out", 1990 an all-time classic..most have probably seen it, but here it is anyway, really wish it was available in higher quality.
Bolt Thrower performing "When Glory Beckons", 1995, albeit brief, this interview for a German TV show (where Bolt Thrower has a paintball war) features the only known footage (to my knowledge?) of Martin van Drunen's time in the band. Not much but thought it would be fun to include.

From wikipedia:
Live at the Rainbow is the first live video recorded by Iron Maiden on 21 December 1980 and released in 1981. It includes one of the band's earliest concerts with guitarist Adrian Smith as well as a very early version of "Killers", with lyrics that differ from the album version that would be released in 1981. Paul Di'Anno later admitted writing the lyrics five minutes before going on stage that night

That's pretty impressive, Killers has quite a lot of lyrics. It must be hard remembering them in a short amount of time.

Oh, goody, I love a GOOD metal live performance! If the sound production is good enough to convey the sweat and passion, I'm set.

First kudos to some already mentioned:
Sepultura - Under Siege - DEADLY, peak Sepultura live, rivalling peak live Slayer.

Ultimate Revenge w/ Venom, Slayer, Exodus - not just for nostalgia, it's 11/10. Seeing Strike of the Beast from that video in 1988 (I was 11) was one of the most awesome experiences, Paul Baloff, Tom Hunting and Gary Holt (in that order) were THE coolest. That bridge KILLS me even today. But the entire video, all bands, is excellent.

Candlemass - 1990, again, my first contact with the band, Dark Reflections ("why do they call doom metal bands slow? this ain't that slow!"). Excellent live, huge frontman.

The Live Shit by Metallica is awesome too, of course, Seattle being the obvious best.

---------
Judas Priest - Fuel for Life tour 1986 (Priest...live!). First contact with Judas Priest, seeing choice cuts in Mick Wall's Monster of Rock metal show (same place I saw Strike of the Beast by the way) with Rob and KK guesting, promoting Ram it Down. Absolutely loved it and still do. I know it's not the most legendary of their performances but it will always be my favorite. It's great in its own right anyway. The Sentinel or Hellion/Electric Eye or Hell Bent or any really, serve as wonderful definitions of heavy metal.

And this is another definition of heavy metal. One of them anyway. One of the best heavy metal live albums ever, like better than the studio version.

Taking it up a notch, Armored Saint are not the favorite band of a lot of people. I know personally people who consider them the best live band they've ever seen.
This is insanely metal

Savatage - Anaheim Devastation - Criss Oliva, peak Sava era, Chris Caffery singing Power of the Night with his best Oliva impression while Jon plays the guitar, fucking hell.

The gig which I hate having missed the most (and I have missed A LOT). Crimson Glory in 2014 with Todd. Red Sharks*. They played fucking everything from the first two, Todd did a superb job, even after singing almost the entire debut and all but blowing his voice, he still had Transcendence to go through, the vibe of the audience (like Warlord in '13 but imagine the difference in intensity of the material), the sound, the playing, he gave everything and the audience did the rest. Classic. The entire show is the best thing from recent years I've seen.
(*) 0:45 Alex, the "Polish" (RIP), legendary dude of the scene, stagediving.

Slayer live in 1988. When it was really dangerous to go near the action at a Slayer concert despite karate mosh not being a thing. Opening with South of Heaven. Then going into Raining Blood, a setlist to die for, perhaps literally, closing with Angel of Death of course. A perfect, maintained HOLY SHIT throughout.

Speaking of crowds, this is my favorite video of stagediving. I LOVE how on the count of 4, band and audience start the shit. I had the exact segment taped from Headbanger's Ball (Vanessa show).

And this is perhaps the one song I've seen most. I know I have posted it here at least twice. It is just perfection. Young guns (Craig Locicero is 19 here and Glen Alvelais is 20, oozing talent, ability, thrash passion, musicality translated into violence. Fucking Forbidden - Chalice of Blood 1988 (Ultimate Revenge 2).

SOD - Live at Budokan is probably my favourite. How Milano or anyone beneath him survived that dive is beyond me. Mental show. I also love the Sepultura one from 91 that's posted already.

The Cradle of Filth "Heavy Left-Handed and Candid" DVD was an absolute favorite of mine for years. I still love it, though I haven't watched in forever because I don't have any optical disk readers anymore. I should probably get a DVD player again.

The Amon Amarth 4-disc massive DVD had some really good live performances as well.

Great one! ("smoke crack and be happy!") I knew what you were going to say about Milano before you said it! the fact that he flips too is just great.

Lilker and the Anthrax dudes reminded me of this epic thrash gig: Anthrax - Gung Ho live 1987 in Germany

...and after the big post above, I put this brilliant, brilliant live on and I should share it. CORONER. GODS.

But basically, the entire Thrashing in the East Berlin show is most excellent and a real classic, all bands delivered a killer set and they were all in their prime...
Tankard, Sabbat, Kreator, Coroner

I love this Rotting Christ concert. I love their enthusiasm here and the sound is good (though a bit low.. turn it up!)



This Emperor concert, the quality is some of the best for hearing the songs well:



Also, of course this Nightwish concert, probably considered their best concert by most fans and I agree

this probably happens a lot more than you'd think lmao. my band was about to debut a new song and right before we hit the stage we asked him if he had lyrics for it. he said yes and enthusiastically shouted the name of the song when we followed-up. he later admitted he didn't have any lyrics, made up the title on the spot, just babbled on stage, and later wrote actual lyrics around the song title he randomly made up.

One of my recent favorites. Some of the band members look ancient compared to how I remember them yet they sound as good as ever. The mix is pretty good as well.

I like the Emperor one, as the individual instruments and the riffs are much more distinct than on the studio albums. I guess you lose some of the atmosphere/wall of sound aspects of the studio recordings, but I think that the songs benefit a lot from being less muddled. I saw them live last week here in Chile and their live sound was great, the songs really come to (unholy) life.

Gorgoroth - Black Mass Krakow 2004
Rammstein - Live Paris
Metallica - Live Shit: Binge & Purge

Yes, this one is great and I probably would have included it on my list had I decided to make a more thorough one! It's funny you posted this one close to right after I posted here because it actually crossed my mind after I posted and I just never went back to add it. Epidemic of Violence is one of my few 10/10 albums so see some of those songs done well live is great.





Yes I agree on the live sound being better for hearing the instruments and it's nice to hear those classic songs done with more clarity to contrast what is on the album. Though I appreciate the album sound for what it is as well.

Lots of Slayer but here's another one. Hell Awaits at Studio 54(!). This one has everything - Araya intro'ing the song by asking "have you learned the words?", Hanneman playing a Les Paul, Kerry King playing that shitty looking welded guitar with the beginnings of skullet, and Lombardo being Lombardo:



Type O Negative - World Coming Down, somewhere in Europe I think. It hits harder here than on the album and Josh Silver adds some nice flourishes as well:



Led Zeppelin - The Ocean from '73 at Madison Square Garden. The interplay here between Page and Bonham is fun, and a really underrated song in their catalog.



Neurosis - Locust Star at Ozzfest. They look like they want to kill everyone, plus it contains Dave Edwardson's massive, booming vocals. I come back to this one time and time again:

I love that video. I taped it in VHS from some late night music TV program in the early 90s and watched it endlessly as a teen (not the whole concert, they just played the Hell Awaits clip). I love the crappy visual effects. Many years later I got the whole concert as a bootleg DVD.
I miss my VHS tapes with random metal videos.

W.A.S.P. - Chainsaw Charlie, live at Donnington 1992
One of the most energetic shows I have ever seen. Whole band is top notch here but Johnny Rod's co-lead/backing vocals are out of this world.

Shit, didn't know good live footage existed of Intestine Baalism. Need to check this, seems top notch quality wise.

Running Wild's 1989 live video from the Death or Glory tour is pretty amazing. The band is at the top of their game and perform every song to pretty much perfection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXUegLSHbWQ

Alice Cooper's Welcome to my Nightmare is not metal, but highly influental (for King Diamond especially) and just an amazing piece of rock history.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqEVYNTdc3c

Deep Purple also has a bunch of amazing live performances filmed from the early 70's but I always go back to this performance of Child in Time in some TV show. Just baffles me that Ian hits those notes without any monitors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OorZcOzNcgE

this is the greatest live video ever, IMO: