Review of Mudvayne: Live Dosage 50 Live In Peoria

Introduction

Mudvayne aren`t a band I`ve come across before, so when the disc dropped through my letterbox I wasn`t sure what to expect. This alternative metal band was formed in 1996 and features Kud (M. McDonough) (vocals), Gurrg (G. Tribbett) (guitar), and sPaG (C. Gray). If you think the names are weird, just wait until you see them in person.

This DVD features a concert recorded at in their home town of Peoria, Illinois on 14th June 2001 and features 90 minutes of live concert and bonus materials.

Video

The video is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is absolutely atrocious. The only place you`re likely to find more grain is in a farmer`s field - the picture is of a lower standard than VideoCD. Mind you, this is probably just as well, as you wouldn`t want to see the freak show in hi-definition video or you`d be scared!

The visuals consist of footage of the aforementioned costumed make-up wearing freaks strutting their stuff on-stage with attitude and in plenty of fog.

Audio

The soundtrack comes in Dolby Digital 5.1 or PCM stereo, neither format manages to do anything about the dreadful music, but it is better presented in Dolby Digital. I`m a fan of rock music and some heavy metal, but not this grungy gothic American metal, which consists of tuneless noise with freaks shouting drivel over the top. Allmusic describes their tone as "Hedonistic, Raucous, Intense, Fiery, Ominous, Rousing, Malevolent, Cathartic, Angst-Ridden". I prefer to describe it as s***e.

Features

The extras include a music video for "Death Blooms" - the director`s cut apparently, but as I have never seen (and hope never to see) the original I have no idea what extra footage there is. As it was, the song was so dreadful that I didn`t watch all of it anyway. There`s also some behind the scenes footage - very short clips on further investigation - which consist of someone with a badly focussed camcorder filming the band - and really isn`t very interesting. There`s also a biography, which may be worth reading if you want to ensure that you never stumble over any of the groups work again. Finally, there`s a freak show (photo gallery).

Conclusion

If you`ve read this far, you`ll not be surprised to learn that this is easily the worst music DVD in my collection, both in terms of the music (which really is staggeringly awful) and the video (which is amongst the worst ever seen on DVD).

Overall, even if you`re a fan of this band for some reason, I urge you not to buy this DVD - the presentation does not justify any of your hard-earned cash - you`d be better off with a CD instead.