Search - Megadeth - Rude Awakening on DVD

A fitting testament to a great band's career

Wheelchair Assassin | The Great Concavity | 09/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How do I love this DVD? Let me count the ways:-Dave. Any discussion of Megadeth's DVD should start with him.
In addition to his prodigious musical abilities, he also proves himself to be quite a stage presence. Sure, he doesn't say too much onstage, but he doesn't have to. His voice here is in fine form, as menacing as ever, and he and Al Pitrelli tear it up on guitar.-The song selection is pretty damn good. Sure, there was no "Five Magics" or "Addicted to Chaos," but as the saying goes, you can't please all the people all the time. Every album gets represented except for "Risk," which I doubt most fans will miss anyway. Megadeth classics like "Reckoning Day," "Peace Sells," "Hangar 18," "Trust," and "Sweating Bullets" get treated here, and I severely doubt anyone will feel cheated.-The performance of "In My Darkest Hour" is a tear-jerker. Even the guitar riffs are brooding and evocative, and Dave's tortured vocals and lyrics make the song one of the few in thrash-metal history that can accurately be described as moving. It sounds even better here than on CD, and is in my opinion definitely the highlight of the show.-You get to see Jimmy Degrasso annihilate his drum kit. The drum solo at the end of "She-Wolf" is completely gratuitous, and man is it great. -The sound quality is uniformly cystal clear. The guitar solos, especially, come out extraordinarily well.-It's Megadeth, for crying out loud. I shouldn't have to tell why you should want to see such a comprehensive concert from one of metal's defining bands."

An absolute must have for every Megadeth fan

N. Durham | Philadelphia, PA | 10/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Containing what is footage from Megadeth's possible final tour, the Rude Awakening DVD is an absolute must own for any and every Megadeth fan. Featuring some of the most aamzing guitar work ever captured in a live video concert performance, Rude Awakening is a more than fitting swan song for one of the most legendary metal bands of all time. Seeing the band perform "Dread & The Fugitive Mind", "In My Darkest Hour", "Angry Again", "She Wolf", "A Tout Le Monde", "Mechanix", "Sweating Bullets", and "Peace Sells" on this DVD is almost as good as seeing the band in person; the audio and visual presentation is uncanny. While it would have been nice to see some other fan favorites like "Mary Jane", "Forclosure of a Dream", "Looking Down the Cross", "This Was My Life", "Countdown to Extinction", "Insomnia", "Diadems", and "Moto Psycho", this concert DVD is still phenominal."

Intimate and Extreme Performance

Wrathchild862000 | FL, USA | 02/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Megadeth has easily endured the test of time and keep making brutal riffs and articulate lyrics in their music (pick up THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED). In this dvd, Megadeth was supporting their THE WORLD NEEDS A HERO album (which was ok, but had only one really good song, DREAD AND THE FUGITIVE MIND, which is what they open up with on this dvd). The whole band shreds it up big time on this album, as they welt out their classics one by one, kicking everyone's ass each time. Watching the dvd, you actually feel as you are there (I know it sounds cliche, but you really do). So if you're just a casual fan, or a die hard fanatic, I highly suggest that you pick this up."

Finally! A live concert video that ISN'T a bootleg!

Drewboy | Urbana, IL USA | 04/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have waited a very long time to see Megadeth do a live release like this. I must say, it is quite impressive. The video is crystal clear and the audio is in 5.1 digital surround sound. I love the way they edited the crowd into the rear speakers, it works very nicely. Also, its got one of the nicer menus when compared to other music DVDs such as Metallica's releases. It is very easy to navigate, is in 5.1, and the visual interface is really neat. The concert itself sounds a lot different than the CD release of the same name. The 5.1 audio adds back in the crowd, something missing at times from the CD version. My only problem with the video is that it skips around too much. I'd prefer more close ups on the guitar playing, and possibly multiple angles, but that wasn't present. The interview in the bonus section is very nice, and shed light on some things that I've been curious about for some time now. Definately worth the purchase as a Megadeth fan just for the interview present in the DVD. The tracklisting on the back of the DVD is incorrect, however all tracks are present. Some of them are in the bonus section of the DVD. Sad to say, but "Prince Of Darkness" is absent from this release. The songs present are exactly the same as the CD. If you are a hardcore Megadeth fan, then you probably already own this and I don't need to say anything more. But if you are a metal fan, you should look into getting this. It is among the best metal that I've ever heard. If you aren't really into metal, but are into intelligent lyrics in music, then this is something you might be interested in. That is what hooked me into Megadeth is Dave Mustaine's ability to come up with intelligent lyrics to their songs. Some people just don't get the meaning in the songs because they do not give enough time to try and figure it out. But there is almost always a deep message to each and every song. For the lyrics, go to Megadeth's website. By now most people know that the band has broken up, so this is the last concert that they played. That adds to the significance of this release. In the final words of Dave Mustaine in the concert: "You've been great! We've been Megadeth! Goodbye!""