Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton considers videographer Doug Spangenberg to be a member of the band.

Spangenberg, camera in hand, hit the road with the Richmond metal band over a two-year period on a world tour that stopped in 17 countries in support of its Grammy nominated metal album "Sacrament."

The result of the countless hours of filming is "Walk With Me in Hell," a two-disc DVD scheduled for release July 1. The video goes beyond documenting the 90-minute performances of the band; it takes fans behind the scenes, which can be as mundane as it is exciting.

"It gives fans a look into what it's really like to be in a heavy metal band," said Morton, a Williamsburg native. (Singer Randy Blythe attended Western Branch High School in Chesapeake.) "It's a lot of sitting around, traveling, and some of us will go to great lengths to keep ourselves occupied. There are a lot of slap-fights going on, shooting guns at each other, bullwhips and blood 'n' guts."

Where the "Killadelphia" (2005) DVD reflected the band's darker side, "Walk With Me in Hell" finds the band members in a much better place both physically and psychologically.

"It certainly doesn't suck that we're playing arenas, had a top 10 record and were Grammy nominated," said Morton. "We're very proud of our success, and it has come full circle to where it's a lot of fun again. The lifestyle of being a touring heavy metal band can be kind of hard. You can get yourself into some bad places with all that, and we've gone down all those paths and come through it, growing as people and together as friends."

Chillin' in the park

Smooth jazz will dominate Town Point Park when the 26th Annual Norfolk Jazz Festival is presented July 25 and 26 by Festevents. Making live jazz performances a profitable venture in this region has proven to be a formidable task, not only for small restaurants but also for large operations such as Festevents.

"We've broken even one year in all the many years we've had this event," said Karen Scherberger, executive director of Festevents. "We lost about 50 grand last year. We can incur a deficit on some events at a certain level, but when they start to get that significant, it's tough."

Scherberger insists the genre is important and that she and the city of Norfolk are committed to hosting jazz. But for so-called jazz purists, better cozy up to the more widely popular smooth jazz format.

"We've tried to present the more traditional jazz artists, but what we have found is that you really need a more intimate setting for those artists. Financially, in order to make it work for us, we have to have much larger audiences, and the smooth jazz format does attract those audiences."

Jazz headliners this year will include Euge Groove and Norman Brown on July 25 and the Rippingtons, Ken Navarro and Eric Marienthal on July 26.

Tickets are available at www.festeventsva.org [1].

Main man

Cory Daniel, a dynamic 17-year-old, blind guitarist from the Churchland area, will headline Saturday at The NorVa. Performing as the Cory Daniel Band, the group mixes its obvious Southern flare with blues, rock, country and even reggae. Tickets will run $10 in advance, $13 day of show.

Back for a night

Larry May, who recently moved to New York City but still sings for punk bands the Crums and Candy Snatchers, returned to town for a gig with the Crums on Saturday night at Tanners Creek in Norfolk. The band's high-octane garage sound delighted the 60 or so enthusiasts in attendance.

Digital benefit

Fredericksburg multi-instrumentalist Keller Williams - a longtime favorite in Hampton Roads and a former resident - is releasing a digital-only collection of Grateful Dead tunes given a not-so-bluegrass treatment. All proceeds from the recording, titled "REX (Live at the Fillmore)," will benefit the Dead's nonprofit charity, the Rex Foundation.

Side note: Williams will perform at The NorVa on June 26.

Jeff Maisey, (757) 222-3934, jmaisey@pilotonline.com