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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Godsmack-Live (2001)

Godsmack-Live (2001)

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Released 19-Mar-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Music Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2001
Running Time 82:24
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (47:58) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Ian Barrett
Studio
Distributor

Warner Vision
Starring Sully Erna
Tony Rombola
Robbie Merrill
Tommy Stewart
Case Click
RPI $39.95 Music Godsmack


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
English dts 5.1 (1536Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Hailing from Boston, Godsmack could be something of a new generation for the heavy metal genre if this DVD is anything to go by, offering lots of theatricals, playing to the crowd, a pyrotechnics display atop a very gothic looking backdrop plus some raucous numbers that are total high energy. All-in-all, this was a very good first-up effort by the band, whose lead singer, Sully Enra adds his own brand of irreverence to the proceedings. The other members of the band are Tony Rombola on guitar, Tommy Stewart on drums and the bassist, Robbie Merrill, who reminded me of a whacked-out version of Billy Connelly!

    I had no idea who Godsmack were before I got this DVD (and before I downloaded a few MP3s to check out their music), but it was definitely worth finding out. I've been a long fan of hard rock/metal but I don't get as much chance to indulge myself as I did when I was younger since my peers are all of the Eagles variety these days. Still, it was nice to get back to my musical roots, if only for a day, and get into something that is in-your-face, as these boys tend to be.

    The concert consists of 80-odd minutes of frenetic activity, both on and off the stage from the opening track Awake to the close of Whatever. Along the way, I found a couple of real beauties that I really enjoyed including Voodoo, their latest single Greed and Bad Magick. Some of their music sounded very much in the mold of Metallica from around Master of Puppets but with a definite edge to it. Enra's singing and the antics of the other band members keep the hectic pace throughout the show and there is absolute pandemonium going on in the mosh pit. The rest of the audience isn't far behind and really get into it, as evidenced by the number of breasts on display! A very interesting first-up effort, but more stage show oriented than I'm used to seeing with heavy metal bands over the past few years. It will be interesting to watch these guys over the next few years, as they have a good sound and real presence.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Track Listing

1. Awake
2. Sick of Life
3. Vampires
4. Bad Magick
5. Bad Religion
6. Mistakes
7. Greed
8. Trippin
9. Get Up, Get Out
10. Spiral
11. Keep Away
12. Voodoo
13. Whatever

Transfer Quality

Video

    This is a typical concert setup: bright lights, a fairly static stage backdrop (although there are quite a few pyrotechnics used) and lots of cameras; hand-held, boom and fixed with varying degrees of quality depending on how they are used. Overall it is fair to say this is well presented with a quality feel to it at times and very few, if any, major problems to detract from the viewer's enjoyment. The usual array of quick edits do make it a little hard on the eyes, but this is more than compensated for by the fact that the actual concert is so full of energy it's hard not to be impressed.

    The disc is presented at 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    The sharpness varies throughout but there are moments that stunned me, a hard thing to do normally (at 4:34 during Awake, the strobing with the backdrop just looked magnificent). Shadow detail is much of a muchness but then there isn't a lot to be seen in the background so it isn't missed, but there is plenty of fine detail on offer and you can almost read Sully's tattoos at times. The almost total lack of grain gave evidence of a digital source for this DVD and there is simply no noise in the transfer at all.

    The colour is all over the place with the lighting as you'd expect. For the most part, it is totally suitable with little chroma noise and no bleeding seen throughout.

    There was no sign of MPEG or film artefacts at any stage during the concert. You may notice what look like little specks here and there which are actually camera flashes or reflections (it took me a while to work some of them out). There was no sign of aliasing or moiré artefacts and overall this transfer is as clean as a whistle.

    There were no subtitles on the disc which is a pity as Sully's singing leaves a lot to be desired in the diction department. Still, if you are into metal, this comes with the territory.

    The layer change is at 47:58, perfectly located during a fade to black and the only thing that gives it away is a slight audible click.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are three audio tracks on this disc. The first is a Dolby Digital 2.0 track at 224 kilobits per second. Next is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track at 448 kilobits per second and last is a dts 5.1 track at the full dts bitrate of 1.536 megabits per second. Strangely enough, the Dolby Digital 2.0 track is the best on the disc and the worst is the dts track. Overall, this was a bit like listening to the Eagles acoustic concert from a few years back - great sound, but lacked bite.

    What it boiled down to for me was that the sound on both the Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts tracks were hollow as if you were sitting inside a bowl and the sound was all around you but not smacking you in the face. I guess I could be accused of being too critical but if I am listening to heavy metal I expect to be bullied, beaten, bloodied and bashed around the head and battered into unconsciousness by the sound. The dts track had heaps more bass and vibrated my place tremendously when played, but it lacked any immersiveness. The surrounds were active but they didn't add that enmeshing quality you expected. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track had heaps less bass, but the same surround effect and had a slightly fuller quality about it. The Dolby Digital 2.0 track was slightly discordant at high volume but actually was less hollow than the other two.

    There was no problem with the syncing but I dare anyone to make out the words Sully is singing half the time, but hey, that's the genre. Try listening to Bathory sometimes if you think this is bad!

    On the Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts tracks the surrounds are constantly in use, although they seen lacking. Possibly this is more a fault of the fact that the fronts are so wimpy (or at least were in my estimation) and consequently the rears weren't complementary, rather they were combative.

    On the dts track, the .1 channel is stunning. You could rock a building to bits with it. This is slightly less so the case with the Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but still a very healthy thumping subterranean beat is felt constantly throughout.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    Actually quite an interesting concept this. I've only seen it before on the World at War series. Basically the menu is stretched across three screens which are navigated by the arrow controls on your remote. Inserted next to each track listing is a small outtake from the concert and the music overlays are from various songs on the disc. One thing to note - the loop is fairly brief, about 20 seconds, and after the first loop the animation and music cease until you make a selection or move to another section of the menu.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    From the looks of it, the only difference between the R1 and the R4 is that we miss out on

    I'd stick with the R4 for the superior vision. According to reviews in Region 1, they seem to have slightly more grain than we do, which lowers the visuals just slightly.

Summary

    Godsmack is an interesting band if not to everyone's taste, but definitely a group to take a look at. The music is still fairly narrow within the genre but they seem to be stretching out which can only be a good thing. They give good DVD at least.

    A stellar video transfer is marred only by the fact that it is a highly edited concert, but apart from that, the visuals are amazing.

    Although the sound should be better than the video with a full-bit rate DTS track on the disc, it was too hollow for me and therefore rated below the video. You might find it less objectionable. I like my metal to tear my limbs off!

    The lack of extras keep this in the mid-range for overall rating. A good first up effort but for music videos you really need multi-angle/background stuff and extras out the kazoo to make the disc a "must own".

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Carl Berry (read my bio)
Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDLoewe Xemix 5006DD, using RGB output
DisplayLoewe Xelos (81cm). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderRotel RSP-976. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationRotel RB 985 MkII
SpeakersJBL TLX16s Front Speakers, Polk Audio LS fx di/bipole Rear Speakers, Polk Audio CS350-LS Centre Speaker, M&KV-75 Subwoofer

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