Disco de Megadeth: “Arsenal of Megadeth”

In terms of content, I have basically no complaint. A couple videos are missing, but most are there. (Not counting the non-Capitol videos, that's a rights issue.) However, there are some major issues with this release:

1. Video quality. This can only be described as grainy at best. I'm talking about the official music videos. I'd rate most of the first discs videos on par with an old VHS tape. The newer material looks better, but still lacks. Bootleg footage and old interviews are going to look crappy and I'm not counting those.

2. Sound Quality. The sound quality may be even worse than the video quality. The proof that most of these videos were just carted over from VHS is when a sound mistake that appears on the Rusted Pieces VHS at the end of Hangar 18 appears in the exact same spot on the DVD. Also, there is a lot of cracking, and volume varies from one track to the next.

3. Censorship. Just about any word that could be slightly considered offensive is blanked out. (This also blanks out any music that may be playing too.) I was almost surprised that the word Hell wasn't censored from the song "Go to Hell." The phrase, "This about how many times I tried to kill myself, but just couldn't get the f#@$%ng job done..." Is cut out from the beginning of "Skin of My Teeth." Also, the song "Holy Wars" has had any of it's "controversial" war footage removed and replaced with bland nonsense.

I'm only hard on this because I've waited for this since DVDs became popular, and this effort was not worth the money.

A new DVD from megadeth that compiles the best of the old available videos is a great idea, spanning it over 2 discs to try and complete, great, but ultimately there is always stuff left out. The Angry again video did not make this disc, and neither did 99 ways to die video, both great tracks from the capital years. Also, since this is capital, you miss out on the great sanctuary years and the past 2 studio albums.

I also agree with the previous reviewers, the sound could have been better (not mastered in 5.1 surround, still 2.0 stereo), and the video quality is only slightly better than the vhs. Additionally, a few liner notes are appreciated, with full track lists, not just a brief overview. finally, censorship, why?.

overall, a needed addition to the megadeth collection, but this could have been the be all, end all of videos. There is hopefully something else cooking in the future for the Arsenal archives that will make this feel more complete.

Megadeth is one of the best metal bands in the world and they have made brilliant videos. The videos are sometimes even strange, like "Train of Consequences" (babys hanging) and "Sweating Bullets" (Dave Mustaine copies). This could have been perfect if there would have been all the Megadeth videos. I think I have seen "Angry Again" and surely I have seen "Breadline", "Crush 'em", and "Moto Psycho". Well, it's not so bad because those videos aren't their best ones...still it makes this collection incomplete. There's also interviews and other stuff but I like to watch them only once...they could have been bonus material.

1. Peace Sells

2. Wake Up Dead

3. In My Darkest Hour

4. Anarchy In The U.K.

5. No More Mr. Nice Guy

6. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due

7. Hangar 18

8. Go To Hell

9. Symphony Of Destruction

10. Skin O' My Teeth

11. High Speed Dirt

12. Foreclosure Of A Dream

13. Sweating Bullets

14. Train Of Consequences

15. A Tout Le Monde

16. Reckoning Day

17. Trust

18. Almost Honest

19. A Secret Place

20. Insomnia

A must have for any Megadeth fan, but it is a bit disappointing.

Pros:

- Extensive amount of videos and clips from 1986 to 2005, minus the Sanctuary Records material

- A lot of excellent material from the RIP lineup including the (Hidden) Marty Friedman audition of Wake Up Dead

- A few cool hidden "extras"

- You get to see the 2005 lineup tear through two Deth classics

Cons:

- 2 discs, could have easily been put on 1

- 2.0 audio is poor

- Annoying curse censoring. I have Night of the Living Megadeth recorded on VHS and MTV can not be blamed for this

- Video quality is poor

- Missing several videos from Capitol era

- No bonus features - interviews concerning lineup changes over the years and updates on ex-members would have been AWESOME!

Recommended for Deth fans

Interesting career spaning dvd with tons of videos to get lost in but not enough extras to receive 5 stars. The backstage and tour footage was great with each line-up but there is just not enough of it. As you watch the first disc you are thrown back to '86 with the original line-up speaking on a couch. But then it seems like the timeline skips ahead so fast you really don't get great footage of the next line-up....and so on. It is really not until you get up to the 'Youthansia' album sessions where you see the band rehearsing and recording and being interviewed. I was expecting more live footage from through out the years. The audio is horrible and the video is not much better. Along with that you get many words censored which leaves me scratching my head

All in all this is a good dvd for the hardcore fan and even better if you can find it for under $20.