Review of Megadeth - Rude Awakening (DVD)

How sad is it when one of your favorites bands while growing up has an extremely difficult time facing up to the fact that they just might not have what it takes any longer? That was the case for me as a Megadeth fan. Having heard Peace Sells way back when and continuing to follow the progress of a band I dubbed as one of my most inspiring of all, I watched as they eventually released an album that will arguably go down in history as one of the best ever in all of music. Rust In Peace was another one of those albums for me that was like medicine. In a time in my life where I again turned to music to get me through, it was Rust In Peace along with Slayer's Seasons In The Abyss and Persistence Of Time from Anthrax that kept me going strong. Unfortunately, like Megadeth, those two bands have also refused to stop grinding the axe and continue to release sub-par albums. And now, with Dave Mustaine being completely run down we may never hear another Megadeth record again. I know he called it "the end of the band", but I doubt it and so should you. In an interview that MetalReview's very own Diabolic held with Iced Earth frontman Jon Schaffer, Jon stated that he believes Dave will be back and that he'll write the best music he's ever written. I would love to feel optimistic about that comment, but both Mustaine and Ellefson got my hopes up already when they boasted that The World Needs A Hero would be just like the old days. Even though a few tracks do touch on the beauty of the old days, the rest of the songs are a result of Dave's unwillingness to just give in and come across as a disappointment. Alright, on to Rude Awakening. Well...give me a few more moments. I had the opportunity to see Megadeth live one time in my life and it was a great time. Having snuck in a pint of Jack Daniel's into the venue, my friends and I had a ball watching Mustaine, Ellefson, Marty and Nick (pre-Risk era) run through a setlist that had all of my favorite tracks. With Jimmy DeGrasso replacing Nick Menza and Al Pitrelli taking over guitar duties from Marty Friedman, Rude Awakening is a collection of all of those songs I witnessed when I saw them live and then some. There are 24 tracks on this DVD, studio footage from the sessions for The World Needs A Hero, interviews with all the current members, a biography and some bonus concert footage. The content here is the perfect amount and I think it should be standard issue that all DVD's contain "all the goods". Anything less is an insult to the consumer (unless it's Emperor's Emperial Live Ceremony DVD...review coming soon). Some of my all-time favorite Megadeth tracks are here including Wake Up Dead, In My Darkest Hour, Devil's Island, Hangar 18, Hook In Mouth (what a treat this was), Mechanix (fuck The Four Horseman), Tornado Of Souls, Peace Sells and Holy Wars just to name 9 of them. I assure you there are absolutely no songs from Risk on this DVD. The performances by all members are excellent, of course. When I'd heard that Nick and Marty were out of the band and replaced as quickly as they were I knew Dave would have no trouble finding two guys with that level of talent. He did and they're great players. Whether or not you give Dave Ellefson credit for being a good bassist you have to give him credit for putting up with Dave Mustaine for all of these years. Maybe it's no big deal, but to me I think it's extremely honorable that he's done so considering all the mayhem endured by everyone close to Mustaine including himself. Ellefson's performance is solid even though there is very little physical movement on his part. The lack of physical movement seems to have been contagious with the exception of the always moving skinsman because they all lacked aggressiveness. I guess that's what happens when you get old. On to the leader, Captain Dave himself, one of the greatest guitar players ever to grace the metal scene. That pure talent shines throughout the entire performance and the fact that he sings while he plays has always been an impressive quality in my book. The one and only complaint that I do have is that on this particular night his voice doesn't seem to have the power it held in previous years and on the studio albums in particular. Even though Dave has one of the most unique voices in all of music, he just seemed to have lost it along the way, or maybe some of us as fans simply got tired of hearing it. Knowing now that the band is considered "done", you can almost see it coming while watching this performance. I know that's easy to say now, but for some reason you can just feel it as you watch. I could probably write another 10 paragraphs on Dave and Megadeth. I'm just in that kind of mood right now, however, as I look out the window I see it is a beautiful day and my work in front of the computer is complete (for today anyway). I'll make it simple, if you were a fan of Megadeth back in the day you will want this keepsake. If you are still pissed at Dave for going soft and not ever living up to the Rust-In-Peace-Sells days you should get over it and buy this anyway, or at least seek out a chance to watch it.

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Megadeth

Rude Awakening (DVD)

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