Product Description

Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music) Release Date: 04/09/2002

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23219 in DVD
• Brand: UNI DIST CORP (MUSIC)
• Released on: 2002-04-09
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Explicit Lyrics, DVD, Full Screen, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 140 minutes

Amazon.com
Shot in the fall of 2001 on the group's final tour, Megadeth's Rude Awakening catches a seminal metal band at the top of its game. Although references to the then-recent terrorist events are rare, they instill songs like "In My Darkest Hour," "Symphony of Destruction," and "Peace Sells" with an undercurrent of bitterness, laced with the anger that's already there.

Singer-songwriter Dave Mustaine is a charismatic figure, and one of speed metal's most literate elder statesman, as demonstrated by his astute, witty comments in the DVD's brief interview section. Also on the DVD, the 105-minute concert is augmented by additional footage of five tunes (including "Kill the King" and "A Tout le Monde," dedicated to the victims of the September 11 attacks), shot in grainy black and white. Rude Awakening is the first official Megadeth live concert release, and if it's also the last, it will remain a testament to the band's durability and musical ability. --Kevin Filipski

Customer Reviews

An absolute must have for every Megadeth fan
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.

A fitting testament to a great band's career
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.

Intimate and Extreme Performance
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.