Rust In Peace (Live) (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)First off, this was awesome!!!! I remember seeing these songs performed during the "Clash of the Titans" tour back in the 90s, and I'm glad Mustaine chose to do this album in its entirety. Not too many heavy metal albums rank next to this one, and I rank this album as one of the greatest of all time.
The musicianship is second to none. I would go so far as to say this is the best Megadeth lineup, as I think Shawn Drover is the best drummer Dave has played with in a long time (Gar Samuelson was probably the best). He is a solid drummer who can play the all the material. He has the chops and style. Chris Broderick is massive on the guitar. He really can move over that fret board and seems like a natural for all the parts. Personally I like to hear all the original solos played as they were originally written, but I don't mind when someone like Broderick adds his own flare because after hearing his work on "Endgame" I think to myself, "What would he have done with 'Rust In Peace?' Not dissing Marty, just giving respect to Chris.
I gave this 4 stars because of a few short comings. Take my following criticism more like suggestions for the future as I am really a diehard fan of Megadeth, and have been for decades (but I know Dave and Megadeth management will never see this review).
1) The vocals were overdubbed, and it is easy to see. My question is, "why?" Mix as you will, but let the true live experience come full force. The music sounded great, I'm sure the vocals sounded just as good. I have this problem with many live DVDs; don't funk with the mix so much.
2) Backstage footage was skimpy. This would have been a great opportunity to really go behind he scenes and see how the band sets up, check out the equipment, and do some solid up close interviews, especially with the other band members. Also, show some footage of the tour preparation rehearsals when the band was first playing all of "Rust In Peace" in a rehearsal studio (and when Ellefson just came back). The DVD creators could have even re-visted footage from "The Clash of the Titans," and do a retrospective kind of thing. That would have been awesome!! A nice biography would have been great, tracing the history of Megadeth up till now (something quick and creative). And last for this point, fan interviews. The screaming fans showed the energy and excitement, but do something more refined to really get the feel of the fans. Some of those fans came a long way. I would had loved to had heard their stories about Megadeth a bit more in depth. So much more could have been done, and it would have been worth the price hike. I felt the creativity with the DVD was lacking.
And 3) Again, with the bonus footage. I'm a bass player, and I love the drums, and the guitar work on "Rust In Peace" is genre breaking and defining, so why aren't there performance isolation angle options? This would have been great for the Blu-Ray DVD (as all this extra footage would need the space). Show the parts being played live, up close and personal. Dave Mustaine once said in an interview, where he was showcasing his signature Marshall stack, that the best way to learn a guitar part is to watch the actual musician play it (if you want to learn it note for note). This would have been a great opportunity for that to come true. But the bonus material really doesn't hold up to the what other bands produce. I think Megadeth could have taken a lesson from Dream Theater (actually Mike Portnoy) in this regard, and pack the DVD with every possible thing you could imagine, and sell the hell out of it. Mike Portnoy could have lent Shawn Drover his drumcam(s), so we could see his technique, etc. I would have like to see those drum parts, like on "5 Magics" and "Rust In Peace...Polaris." Again, the package could have been for the Blu-Ray only, or make it multiple DVDs, whatever, just give me more. I would have paid the price.
I'm obviously thinking with a fans mind, and maybe some of what I said could not have happened logistically or financially, but I think if minds and the powers that be had sat down and really thought out this process, and looked outside the box to give the fans the ultimate experience then more stuff could have been packed in to the DVD. In the end, the performance was awesome!!!! And for what the DVD offers, the price is right, but it could have been so much more.
Peace,
Fan from 'Back in the day'

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In March of 2010 Megadeth hit the road in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their classic 1990 album, Rust In Peace. The show was filmed on the last night of the tour at the legendary Hollywood Palladium, not far from where Megadeth was formed in 1983. The band played Rust In Peace in its entirety, including all-time classics Holy Wars...The Punishment Due and Hangar 18. The set list also featured several other fan favorites, including Trust, Symphony Of Destruction and Peace Sells. DVD Bonus Material:Behind-the-scenes footage, including band rehearsal.1. Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due2. Hangar 18 3. Take No Prisoners4. Five Magics 5. Poison Was The Cure 6. Lucretia 7. Tornado Of Souls 8. Dawn Patrol 9. Rust In Peace ... Polaris 10. Holy Wars Reprise Bonus Performances 11. Skin O My Teeth12. In My Darkest Hour13. She-Wolf14. Trust 15. Symphony Of Destruction 16. Peace Sells

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Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (Special Edition)(CD/DVD) Review

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(More customer reviews)First off if your a huge Zombie fan then you should love this album. It seems to me that a lot of people quite don't understand his style and i understand it's not for everybody but those who do understand how his brain works will love the sequel to Hellbilly Deluxe. With that said it's also important to know that this album won't sound like the first Hellbilly because it's a different band and a different decade. I loved the Industrial stuff Zombie did in the 90's and miss it at times on his new album but when you have a guitar god like John 5 in your band you just have to use him. Another great thing about John 5 is that he brings a wide range of sounds and styles to Zombie that I find very refreshing. To me Devil's Hole Girls and the Big Revolution has a old White Zombie feel to it because of the main riff. You have a mix of heavy songs, fist pumping songs and some awesome halloween 60's groove songs like the new Michael song about Michael Myers. Everything is Boring is a song that fits nicely on the album and the chorus has been stuck in my head the past couple days. I like that the acoustic intro to Mars Needs Women is a song all by itself now so if you want you can just skip right to the beginning of the drums and the lyrics. Even the middle of The Man Who Laughs is cool because it breaks into a kind of arabian gypsy kind of guitar sound which again just shows the various styles of music John 5 can play. Essentially the Special Edition is Hellbilly Deluxe II on steroids. It has three new killer songs and the changes made have only improved the cd.
The only bummer was the dvd part. I was hoping it would include the music video to Sick Bubblegum as well as some entire live performances off the recent tour but you only get bits of it here and there in the documentary which i feel could of been better. I was hoping for a documentary that left you with the feel of what it's like to go on tour with these guys from rehearsing, to traveling and performing. Instead you get a couple cool scenes and a lot of weird stuff like slurpy machines and close ups of pouring coffee and i don't know it was just weird, I wanted more talking. Essentially just a bunch of random stuff edited together that left me wanting more.
Overall I'm very glad with this Special Edition. The album was good originally and it sounds even better now. The only improvement to me would be the the dvd features. Having just seen them during Mayhem Fest and knowing they recorded those shows I would rather of had a live concert dvd instead because that tour was epic.

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'Hellbilly Deluxe 2' is the sequel to the mulit-platinum solo debut, 'Hellbilly Deluxe.' The album harkens back to that classic album with its music and artwork and is exactly what the Rob Zombie fan has been waiting for. Lead by the first single 'Sick Bubblegum' the album picks up where the first 'Hellbilly Deluxe' left off. -Features 3 bonus tracks and a reimagining of 'The Man Who Laughs' all featuring Joey Jordison on Drums.-DVD featuring a 30 Minute tour documentary directed by Rob Zombie as well as the 'Mars Needs Women' music video and 'School's Out' (live) - with Alice Cooper.

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Fearless (Platinum Edition, CD & DVD) Review

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(More customer reviews)Taylor Swift is one talented teen! She had a hand again in every song on her highly anticipated sophomore CD - this time she wrote 7, and co-wrote 6. The first single, "Love Story" is a good example of how she can combine great lyrics with a catchy beat - and then produce a smash crossover hit. The most remarkable thing about the album is that it is incredibly balanced...and almost every song is so good that it could be released as a radio single. I think it is now safe to say that she is a rising star who will just keep on rising!
Taylor opens the album with the strong title track "Fearless", and ends the album with the powerful theme song of the summer Olympics, "Change". In the middle is a sure huge hit "The Way I Loved You" - a song that she wrote with John Rich. "Fifteen" is her most personal song, a bittersweet gem where she sings about her freshman year and her best friend for the past 5 years, Abigail. "White Horse" (which has already been featured on Grey's Anatomy) is a well written tearjerker - a heartfelt song that is just waiting to become her next blockbuster hit. A good example of her more acoustic side is "Breathe" - a simple song written with Colbie Caillat who also sings background vocals in the song. Taylor's writing seems to have matured and grown in the past 2 years. Take "The Best Day" for example - which is a completely different but awesome song, which is written about her family. She appeals to a wide audience, and executes this so well here on Fearless.
It's incredible how quickly Taylor crossed over and became not only a big country star, but a huge pop star also. It took only her second single - Teardrops On My Guitar - for her to become amazingly popular in mainstream music! Then she continued to release 3 more hits (two of them #1) off her debut album. Talk about a hard act to follow - but I can't see this trend stopping anytime soon with Fearless - this album is a major home run. She isn't the same country artist who sang "Tim Mcgraw", and I understand that some people will not be happy about that. If there are any flaws here, it would be that many of the songs are pop-country hits which are about the same subject - teens. You can't please everyone, but look for her to just become even bigger and more popular, with more #1's and crossover pop smash hits. Taylor's sophomore CD is very well done...filled with excellent, self-penned, radio-friendly top 40 hits! Overall ~ 9/10 ~

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CD/DVD featuring 11 original FEARLESS tracks plus 6 new songs! DVD footage includes music videos for "Love Story," "Change," "White Horse," "You Belong With Me," "The Best Day," Behind the Scenes of "Love Story," "White Horse," and "You Belong With Me," 67 exclusive photos from the FEARLESS Tour and an exclusive webisode!

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