I remember ten years ago when it seemed that I would have to get a booted, twenty third generation of High Live on VHS. That was my quest, my Holy Grail. Before the internet, before You Tube, before DVD’s I had spent years listening to and loving Helloween without seeing them in actual living motion. I finally tracked down a copy of this bad boy and dropped thirty five dollars for it. When I got back home I must have worn that cassette tape out more than my porno collection. It was a prized possession for years and I retired it in style when I upgraded to DVD. What was the point of that rambling diatribe? The other week when I scored this new Helloween DVD, Live On Three Continents it was almost like an afterthought. My expectations for it weren’t too grand because to me, nothing could surpass High Live, and it actually sat in my room for a few hours when I came back to my apartment while I took a dump and cooked dinner (no, not at the same time but I wish, I wish I could). So, as I sat down to my evening feast I popped this on and holy shit, I was enthralled. Live On Three Continents is a DVD that is meticulously crafted and has had no expense spared. This is bursting at the seams with fan service material. Over the course of the two discs there is enough substance here to keep long time fans glued to the screen and newer fans have ample opportunity to delve deeper into the history that is Helloween.

The first disc contains most of the live material which is footage from three concerts in Europe, South America, and Japan spliced together. An interesting feature of this show is that during the course of several songs the viewer has the option to see the track at a different locale than the Brazilian one which is where the brunt of the footage is from. Example: During Mr. Torture an animated pumpkin with a Rising Sun bandana pops up and if you press enter on your control then the song is shown as the audience saw it in Tokyo. The footage from these other shows in Tokyo and Bulgaria are both of the same high quality as the rest of the show and ups the “repeatability” factor of the DVD. Helloween also are not too anal retentive to completely airbrush their performance here either. Again using Mr. Torture as an example, Markus starts to play the song with his bass turned down and after the first couple notes he goes “egad” and turns it back up. Little things like this add so much to giving the show an authentic feel. There shouldn’t have been that much studio wizadry either because each member of the band is on top of their game, especially Andi Deris. He sounds better here than he did eleven years ago on High Live. This is a result of his extensive vocal training that he has undergone which he discusses in depth on disc two. He nails the high notes on songs like King For A 1000 Years, Power, and I Want Out. Since the stages that the band graces are much bigger than the ones in Madrid and Gerona from High Live, you get to see Andi play the role of front man to perfection. My respect for him is that much stronger after the many viewings of this DVD and I didn’t think that was possible. Sascha and Daniel bring a sense of youthful cheer and excitement as the two new guys in the band and really play off each other well. During Sascha’s guitar solo, Daniel comes out with one of those mini wiener guitars and him and Sascha have an amusing guitar duel before going into Future World. Trust me, it’s funnier than it sounds.

Disc two is packed with all sorts of cool stuff for the fans and isn’t a typical boring ass “extras” disc that most DVD sets have. The road movies are actually entertaining and have plenty of laughs. Two extra songs that didn’t appear on disc one are here, the awesome Occasion Avenue and the classic Halloween. Two extra long, extra juicy tracks, one from the original Keeper albums, and one from the new legacy. Occasion Avenue is superb, but I think this got dropped from the set because it really gives Andi a workout vocally. As great a singer as he is, just performing that song alone every night would strain anyone’s voice. Also included is a fifty minute interview with the band and is filled with funny, interesting, and informative stories that detail a large portion of Helloween’s career. Finally, the two SPV music videos round out the bonus disc, Mrs. God and Light The Universe. Think of these videos as the dollop of ice cream on your apple pie, they might pad out the disc but I could think of worse ways to do so.

Live On Three Continents is the definitive Helloween DVD. I hate to say it but High Live, you’ve been surpassed. The song selection is excellent, and while my own personal favorites such as March Of Time and Mankind aren’t on here for me to whine and moan about it would fall on the deaf ears of people rocking out to Halloween, Keeper Of The Seven Keys, and Dr. Stein. If you are a Helloween fan of old, you will enjoy this DVD. If you are a newcomer to the band, you will enjoy this DVD. If you like to blast great music at an extremely high volume and shake your genitals at your dog, then hey you’ll enjoy this DVD too. But don’t send me pictures of that man, I’ve already had one great ’Weenie song ruined due to dongs and dogs.