Sigh. So much hype. How could you possibly live up to it? And how could you possibly surpass it? It's like Stew Johnson and the list of riders recruited to grace the sequel to Anthem are on another level. Not human. I saw the trailer, I heard the hype, I knew what to expect, yet still the bangers hit me like a brick wall. And the crashes... Dear lord, the crashes. It is at this point that you know Anthem II meant a LOT to the riders involved. For every brutal fall a rider took, he didn't get a big bonus or even a guarantee of medical bill help or something... What did he get? He got a taste of what it is like to be a legend and be a part of a legendary film. For some people, that is so beyond money it doesn't even compete. Do I even need to write any more now? I guess so...

Anthem II comes in a cool little case that features 2 discs filled to the brim. Disc 1 contains Anthem II, the focus of this review, and Anthem: Home of the Brave (the original). Disc 2 contains "1201" and "Lights Out" by Scum, "1999" by Trend, "Tweekers" by P.U.S.H., "Soil" by Ryan Brennan, and "One-Footed Dead Sailor" by FBM... All classic videos that you want in your collection so you can kill a whole flock of birds with one easy stone here. Unforunately, I am only reviewing Anthem II in essence of time.

There is a very brief introduction that drops the names of the legends in this video and a couple of shots to set the mood, build the anticipation even more, and pretty much get you ready. And then before you know it, your foot is in the door of the Mike Aitken section. Each rider has their corresponding sponsor in the bottom right corner of the screen. Not sure if it's the sponsor that helped pay for filming/traveling or something but it's a cool little gesture to demonstrate the diverse riders coming from all different places.

In case you don't follow BMX, Mike Aitken has been recovering from a major head injury that saw him in a hospital and barely able to operate one side of his body for months. He has since recovered enough to get back on the bike and start riding with his trademark style, but he's not 100% yet. The footage in this video is form before the accident and Aitken's riding nearly brings a tear to my eye. You can see the older footage stand out amongt the newer footage as the bars get bigger and bigger. Haha. Most of the video was filmed within the past few years but some is older footage, age having nothing to do with quality. His banger is epic and shot very well. First angle was amazing.

Brian Yeagle. Brian Yell-gle. I knew he was epic at the trails and concrete skateparks but didn't expect him to be so bone deth. I guess in the spirit of Anthem he had to go big... And go big he did. Yeagle put a ton of good spots down and probably held the title of most creative rider in this video. He rides pool tranny like it's meant to be ridden. I don't mean perfect pool tranny; I mean that super tiny, super vert, sketchy pool tranny that most people won't touch.

The first friends section (of two) is great because when you're Stew Johnson you have a lot of amazing friends. Friends like Tony Cardona, Kevin Porter, Kareem Williams, Albie Bennett, the Corts, Chester Blacksmith, Gary Young, Van Homan, Jimmy Levan, and more. It literally speaks for itself. The second friends section is just as amazing so remember to watch both of them in this video. I know in some DVDs a friends section is an instant skip, but this isn't one of those DVDs.

I have been a fan of Give D! since its inception, and good ole Dirt Ron has always held a special place in my heart. A special place full of candy bars, front brake tricks, and mustaches. It also consists of really clean 540s and barspins that, I can't explain why but, are really weird. Then on to a legend who was a legend long before this video, Brian Foster. Being a very good BMX racer, Brian knows just which line to take to gain what kind of speed at the trails and hits them perfectly with style from head to toe every time.

Mark Mulville! One of the most exciting trail riders to watch. Super stylish but at the same time SUPER technical. The master of combo tricks. He's like a video game. Take any combination of x-ups, tables, turndowns, ETs, one or no-footers, one or no-handers, cans, nacs, supermans, barspins, 360s, and more and that's what his airs are like. His last combo is just insane... First time all those tricks put together in one air? Probably.

Eli Platt. Where has he been? Apparently, hot hiding since he does work in the streets here. Chase Hawk footage. I feel like this video would be seriously missing something without some clips of Mr. Hawk. If you're going to have a list as deep as this, might as well hit the bottom of the ocean.

Next up, Clint Reynolds. Heard of him? Neither have I. And if you answered yes than you probably think I'm an idiot (not far from the truth) but what do you expect? Clint has serious bike control that you can tell comes from hours of riding trails. He even does half barspins and continues riding (and doing tricks!) with the bars backwards. Another epic banger. Think Tom Dugan SoCal edit but narrower (kinda).

Stop! Doyle time. Most people won't think of Chris Doyle at first when they think of legendary riders because he lives that low profile life but when you see footage of him there is no doubt in your mind. He truly helped shape BMX into the amazing thing it is today. Aside from the expected epic trails footage, Chris has a slew of great street clips. It's funny how good he is at street when he's most well known for smooth, stylish trails riding. His tailwhips are so clean and I would say this is definitely Chris Doyle's best section ever.

Geoff Slattery. Dear lord, didn't anybody advise against the first clip he attempted? Right foot = obliterated. I love Geoff. First it was his This Is United part. Now this. They're both so epic I don't even know what to do with myself. As much as his huge, gnarly clips impress me, I may have liked his brick wall slider most. Sliders are sick.

And then... It happens... As much as you enjoyed the other sections, in the back of your head this is what you were thinking of the entire time. Sean Burns. I've already penned in Anthem II for my 2011 Nora Cup Video of the Year prediction, and the video part award hands down goes to Sean Burns. If anybody is useful for promoting the quality of a product, it's Sean Burns. You know he isn't riding a single thing he doesn't trust on his bicycle. The stuff he does doesn't permit it. I'm so speechless after watching his section. I really can't say anything for it. Just get it and watch it. If they doubled the price and only gave you Sean Burns' section it still might be worth the money...

Then, if you dare, you can watch the crashes. And just as I said for This Is United, I think this section should be donated to the Athlete Recovery Fund. People need to see this! Within it I think you witness Kareem Williams trying to 360 the universe, but I'm assuming he never got it as I never saw that clip. Now... Take a sigh of relief. Phew! Enjoy the credits if you choose to and feel enlightened. Next step, get ya pedalin' on!

First, we saw Brian Foster. Now, we see Mark Mulville. The Frenchys Trail Trip is an absolute well of amazing trails footage and it continues to produce with Mark Mulville's section. This Subrosa rider has style like none other and sort of epitomizes modern trail riding to me. Check it out.

The Birth of Big Air. A film behind mega ramp riding and getting as much air as possible featuring the innovator... Mat Hoffman. yeah, the mega ramp these days is sweet. However, Mat Hoffman was the first dude to build an oversized ramp and have a motorcycle tow him at it at proper speed and fly above 20 feet above the ramp deck... so to the ground that's like over 40 feet. So if you fall...

Also, Ride UK issue 137 is out now and they never lack the goods. Click HERE to view the article...



Also, trail expert Mark Mulville is now riding for Subrosa and we shall see many more great things to come from this...

Too much going on. Seriously.

Van Homan interview by defgrip... HERE

Davey Watson interview by fuel... HERE

Lotek dropped this overly epic shirt in spirit of Chase's new shoe. I don't care about the shoe much, though I haven't tried it so don't listen to me, but that shirt is win and I want it on me... gallery.

rideUKbmx issue 131 is out... click here for their web feature on it and then pick it up. seriously.

I didn't know Volume had a UK team, but apparently they do (if this edit of them riding is anything to judge by). Also, they are re-releasing the Hellion frame (which I first thought was a joke on Colony's Hell Stallion frame) from when they first started pretty much. Cool. Check gallery for image...



A trails edit from Deluxe's Mark Mulville. Never disappointing. AGH, I have got to move somewhere green...



T-Mobile hosts a lot of contests. In Germany. Or something. FreedomBMX released this video of a recent contest in Germany by T-Mobile with the help of Marcus Wilke. It ain't bad... watch it...



Not sure about the backstory of this video, but it is apparently a demo from this year at Piret... ? It's trails, okay! Watch it!